Republicans take control of the US Senate And They are fighting to maintain their majority in the US House of RepresentativesThis will give the GOP complete power in Congress, as well as President-elect Donald Trump in the White House.

Republicans’ unified dominance of Washington will set the tone Trump’s agenda. Or if Democrats gain control of the House of Representatives, that would almost certainly lead to a rollback with veto power over the White House.

Speaking at an election night party in Florida earlier Wednesday, Trump said the results provided an “unprecedented and powerful mandate” for Republicans.

He called his Senate defeat “incredible.” And praised House Speaker Mike Johnsonwho left his own party in Louisiana to join Trump. “He’s doing a great job,” Trump said.

In some races, vote counting could take days and it’s too early to take control of the House.

The Republican rally began early on election night in West Virginia, when the state’s wealthy governor, Jim Justice, flipped the seat of retired Sen. Joe Manchin. From there, Republicans marched alongside Trump across the Senate map.

Republicans unseated Democratic Sen. Sherrod Brown, the first incumbent senator to fall in Ohio, along with GOP luxury car dealer and blockchain entrepreneur Bernie Moreno. They chased Democrats in the “blue wall” states of Pennsylvania, Michigan and Wisconsin, where Vice President Kamala Harris is struggling to move the party forward.

Democratic efforts to oust firebrand Republicans Ted Cruz of Texas and Rick Scott of Florida have collapsed. The unlikely battleground state of Nebraska put Republicans over the top. Incumbent GOP Sen. Deb Fischer held off a surprisingly strong challenge from independent newcomer Dan Osborn.

One of the most watched Senate races in Montana was decided early Wednesday. Democrat Jon Tester, a popular three-term senator and “soil farmer,” lost in the battle for his political career to wealthy former Navy SEAL Tim Sheehy, who Trump supports. Western state.

As a result, Senate Republicans have a chance to win more seats, potentially securing their solid majority in years — a coda to the outgoing GOP Minority Leader Mitch McConnellHe has made a career out of charting his path to power, this time by recruiting high-net-worth Republicans aligned with Trump.

McConnell called the election “a very good day” for the GOP. He told reporters that a Republican-controlled Senate would “check the guardrails” and prevent changes to Senate rules that would end the filibuster.

He declined to answer questions about his past harsh criticisms of Trump or his prospects for potential candidates in the new administration. He also said that he sees the election results as a referendum on the Biden administration.

“People were unhappy with this administration, and the Democratic nominee was part of that,” McConnell said.

The fight for control of the House of Representatives has become a fierce battle on a state-by-state basis, many of which are playing out away from the presidential race.

House races are centered in New York and California, where Democrats are trying to take back some of the roughly 10 seats where Republicans have made surprising gains in recent years.

Other House races are scattered throughout the country; the most contentious are in Maine, the “blue dot” around Omaha, Nebraska, and Alaska.

To gain control of the House of Representatives, Democrats need to take four seats from Republicans, an especially difficult task in congressional districts won by Trump.

Only a handful or as few as one seat may be needed to determine control of the House of Representatives.

Johnson voiced his confidence in favor of Republicans, tweeting about X: “This historic election proves that a majority of Americans are eager for secure borders, lower costs, peace through force, and a return to common sense.”

Harris sparked enthusiasm for her party when Biden withdrew from the race and rose to the top of the list, a stunning development just 100 days before the election. But Democrats watched as their own hopes for Washington’s rapid demise faded.

Voters said the economy and immigration were the most important issues facing the country, but the future of democracy was also a primary motivation for many Americans to vote in the presidential election.

AP VoteCast, a comprehensive survey of more than 120,000 voters nationwide, revealed a country mired in negativity and desperate for change at a time when Americans face a stark choice between Trump and Harris.

This is the first presidential election since the attack on the Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021, when Trump sent a mob of his supporters to “fight like hell” against the 2020 election. Many Republicans in Congress voted against President Joe Biden’s victory. Congress will be called again next year to certify the 2024 elections.

Still, the election came after one of the most chaotic congressional hearings in modern times, as the Republican-led House of Representatives impeached Speaker Kevin McCarthy, threatened to shut down the government and the administration struggled to carry out its core operations.

Johnson said Republicans in the House and Senate are working on an “ambitious” 100-day agenda that would include lowering taxes, securing U.S. borders and “flagging” federal regulations if they sweep the White House and Congress.

Trump himself has promised mass deportations and revenge against those he sees as enemies. To rein in the federal government, Johnson said Republicans want to move federal agencies away from Washington and reemploy the government workforce.

Johnson said he was “thinking big” about Trump’s legacy.

Many states will send history makers to the new Congress.

Voters elected two Black women to the Senate; Democrat Lisa Blunt Rochester of Delaware and Democrat Angela Alsobrooks, who defeated Republican Larry Hogan, a former governor, in Maryland. Only three Black women have served in the Senate, and never before have two served simultaneously.

And in New Jersey, Andy Kim He became the first Korean American elected to the Senate. The seat opened when Bob Menendez resigned this year following his federal conviction on bribery charges.

candidate in parliament Sarah McBrideThe Democratic state lawmaker from Delaware, who is close to the Biden family, became the first transgender person elected to Congress.

It’s still unclear who will lead the new Republican Senate as longtime leader McConnell prepares to leave office.

South Dakota Sen. John Thune, the No. 2 Republican, and Texas Sen. John Cornyn, who previously held the post, are front-runners to replace McConnell in secret ballot elections scheduled for senators to come to Washington next week.

Billions of dollars have been spent by parties and outside groups in the narrow battleground for both the 435-member House and the 100-member Senate.

If the two chambers actually exercise reverse party control, as much as possible, it will be rare.

Records show that if Democrats take the House of Representatives and Republicans take the Senate, the halls of Congress will turn to opposing political parties for the first time.

Associated Press writers Stephen Groves, Kevin Freking and Farnoush Amiri contributed to this report.