GOP retains control of the Senate

After the Midterm Elections, the Senate Remains Conservative

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Kaiden Randall

The firefighters of station 55 raise an American flag over Hidden springs road.

Yesterday, the GOP retained their majority in the Senate. However they lost control of the House for the first time in 8 years. This splits congress. From here on out, one can expect to see the congressional houses working against each other, in order to implement policies most advantageous to their own party.

One huge impact of the Republican victory in the senate is that the GOP will be able to continue influencing the makeup of the judiciary branch. In the future, the Senators will be able to confirm conservative federal and supreme court justices, ensuring their authority. This could be critical in the future, considering long standing precedents may be overturned. Appointing federal and Supreme Court Justices will undoubtedly be a top priority for the GOP.

The Senate not only confirms Judicial nominations, but also presidential appointments. As soon as President Trump knew that his party’s control over the Senate was strengthened, he took the opportunity to ask Attorney General Jeff Sessions for his resignation, knowing that his appointment will likely be easily confirmed by the new Republican majority.

Another note of importance is that if the House of Representatives ever decides to impeach President Trump, the Senate would likely not vote guilty. This means that the president can sit comfortably with his party in control of the Senate.

Not only did the Senate remain conservative, but it became more pro-Trump. One of the new pro-Trump senators is Marsha Blackburn. Bob Corker was a conservative Senator for Tennessee, but Trump did not have his full loyalty.  It is highly unlikely that replacements such as Marsha Blackburn will vote against any of Trump’s policies and he can feel assured of her loyalty.

However, the Senate will have a very difficult time putting their policies in place. Tax and spending cuts will be opposed by the Democratic House, as well as immigration restrictions and curbs on Obamacare.  Not only that, but the GOP will still not have the 60 votes to break a filibuster.

As of the writing of this article, the Republicans have control of the Senate and it looks to balloon even further. This is because Florida, Mississippi, and Arizona Senate races are unresolved but leaning Republican.  Should they indeed go Republican, the conservative grip on the Senate will tighten.