THE HOUSES OF CONGRESS in the United States are likely to remain beset by bipartisan gridlock for the next two years, with the House of Representatives expected to remain in Republican control.
John Boehner will retain his position as Speaker, with CNN projecting that the party will hang onto its majority in the 438-member House – the lower but larger of the two houses of Congress.
Republicans have held the House since the 2010 mid-term elections, when a wave of antipathy towards the first two years of Barack Obama’s term saw the Democrats suffer a bruising defeat.
The House and Senate differ, however, in that only a third of the 100 members of the Senate are up for election at any one time – meaning that house is significantly more buffered from any sway in public opinion.
23 of the 33 seats up for grabs this year are held by Democrats, or independents who vote alongside them – and most projections expect the exchange of seats between the parties to mean the Democrats will keep at least 52 of the 53 seats they currently hold.
The bipartisan Congress has been a major feature of US politics for the last two years, with the divisions between the houses particular evident in last year’s negotiations on raising the US debt ceiling.
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