Republicans win control of the U.S. House; Senate race between Casey and McCormick headed to recount

Republicans will remain in power in the U.S. House of Representatives, the Associated Press declared late Wednesday night.

With the Republicans also controlling the U.S. Senate, President-elect Donald Trump will have the opportunity to enact many of the policies he ran on.

U.S. Rep. Hakeem Jeffries, the House Democratic leader from New York, issued a statement earlier Wednesday evening conceding that Republicans would hold their majority.

Andy Kim, the U.S. Senator-elect from New Jersey, announced in a statement on social media that Matt Gaetz is ”not qualified” to be attorney general.

"I was originally going to hold off on commenting on nominations at this stage but I cannot stay quiet here. I don’t need a confirmation hearing to know that Matt Gaetz is not qualified for Attorney General. I will not support his confirmation," Kim wrote on X.

President-elect Donald Trump said on Wednesday that he wanted Gaetz, a controversial Republican congressman from Florida, as his nominee for the nation's top law-enforcement official.

The Republican National Committee plans to file two new lawsuits over vote counting in Pennsylvania, chairman Michael Whatley posted to X Wednesday night.

Whatley provided few details over the suits other than to say that they were intended to “STOP the counting of illegal ballots” and that it was a battle the RNC had won several times.

The lawsuits, which Whatley said would be filed Wednesday evening, will be filed in Bucks County and with the Pennsylvania Supreme Court.

U.S. Sen. John Fetterman called Trump's pick of U.S. Rep Matt Gaetz for Attorney General as “God-tier level of trolling. To own the libs," and he had a choice description for how he viewed the controversial Florida Republican.

Responding on social media to a CBS news reporter quoting him on “God-tier level of trolling. To own the libs," Fetterman, the Pennsylvania Democrat, elaborated on what he thought about the process so far.

"There have been serious, qualified individuals nominated to posts, like Rubio or Stefanik. Eric Schmitt would be a solid choice for AG," Fetterman wrote on X, referring to Trump announcing U.S. Sen. Marco Rubio (R., Fla.) for Secretary of State, and U.S. Elise Stefanik (R., N.Y.) for U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations, as well as Republican U.S. Sen. Eric Schmitt of Missouri.

Pennsylvania’s nationally watched U.S. Senate race is headed to a recount after incumbent Sen. Bob Casey did not waive an automatic recount.

The Associated Press called the race last week for Republican Dave McCormick, who narrowly leads three-term Democrat Casey by less than 0.5%, the threshold for triggering an automatic recount.

This will be the eighth time the state’s automatic recount is triggered since it was established in 2004.

President-elect Donald Trump on Wednesday said he will nominate Republican Rep. Matt Gaetz of Florida to serve as his attorney general, putting a loyalist in the role of the nation’s top prosecutor.

In selecting the congressman, Trump passed over some of the more established attorneys whose names had been mentioned as being contenders for the job.

“Matt will end Weaponized Government, protect our Borders, dismantle Criminal Organizations and restore Americans’ badly-shattered Faith and Confidence in the Justice Department,” Trump said in a statement.

Trump has chosen Tulsi Gabbard, a former Democratic member of Congress and presidential candidate, to serve as director of national intelligence, continuing to stock his Cabinet with loyal personalities complimentary to his own, rather than long-term professionals in their requisite fields.

“As a former Candidate for the Democrat Presidential Nomination, she has broad support in both Parties - She is now a proud Republican!” Trump said in a statement. “I know Tulsi will bring the fearless spirit that has defined her illustrious career to our Intelligence Community, championing our Constitutional Rights, and securing Peace through Strength. Tulsi will make us all proud!”

Gabbard would come to the role as somewhat of an outsider compared to her predecessor, Avril Haines who was confirmed by the Senate in 2021 following several years in top national security and intelligence positions.

Pennsylvania’s nationally watched U.S. Senate race is likely headed to a recount as incumbent Sen. Bob Casey did not waive an automatic recount.

The Associated Press called the race last week for Republican Dave McCormick who narrowly leads three-term Democratic incumbent Bob Casey Jr. But his lead is less than 0.5%, the threshold for triggering an automatic recount under state law.

As the trailing candidate Casey had until noon today to waive his right to a recount and he did not do so, the Pennsylvania Department of State said in a statement.

Republican Scott Baugh has conceded in a critical U.S. House race in California against Democratic Rep. Dave Min.

"It has become clear that despite running a strong campaign, connecting with voters, and mobilizing an incredible volunteer effort - that effort is going to come up a little short," Braugh wrote on social media.

While the Associated Press has yet to call the race, the victory would give Democrats 208 sets in the House, 10 away from the 218 needed to win the majority. Those are long odds, considering Republicans need just two more wins out of 11 races that have yet to be called.

South Dakota Sen. John Thune has been elected by Republicans to become the next Senate majority leader.

Thune defeated Texas Sen. John Cornyn by five votes in a secret ballot, 29-24. Florida Sen. Rick Scott was also in the mix, but was easily defeated in an earlier vote.

Thune is currently the Senate minority whip, and it will be the first time in nearly two decades Kentucky Sen. Mitch McConnell won't be the Republican leader in the Senate. Thune isn't up for reelection until the end of Trump's term in 2028.

First lady Jill Biden joined President Joe Biden to greet the president-elect when he arrived at the White House.

The White House says the first lady also gave Trump a handwritten letter of congratulations for his wife, Melania, the incoming first lady.

Melania Trump did not go to the White House with her husband for the traditional meeting with the outgoing first lady.

New Jersey Attorney General Matt Platkin said he is prepared to challenge in court any actions by the second administration of Donald Trump that undermine gun safety laws in New Jersey, including a ban on bump stocks.

"Rest assured, we are ready to step in, and I will be prepared to sue him and see him in court," Platkin said at a news conference Wednesday at which he announced legal action against several gun retailers who made cash sales of AR-15 ammunition without asking for identification or permits.

"It's not something that I wake up every day dying to do," Platkin said. "But it is something that I am now prepared to do to protect the residents of this state."

U.S. Sen. Bob Casey’s campaign remained defiant Wednesday morning, issuing a statement once again calling for all votes to count and criticizing legal efforts by GOP challenger Dave McCormick.

The Associated Press called the race for McCormick last week but Casey has yet to concede, insisting remaining ballots could still turn in his favor.

McCormick’s campaign filed two cases in Philadelphia last week seeking to segregate certain provisional ballots and allow for batch challenges. Though the suits remain, McCormick withdrew his request for emergency injunction in one case and a judge denied the request in another.

President-elect Donald Trump met with President Joe Biden in the Oval Office Wednesday, who pledge to do “everything we can to make sure you’re accommodated.”

“Welcome back,” Biden said.

“Politics is tough. In many cases, it’s not a very nice world,” Trump responded. “But it is nice today and I appreciate it very much.”

Prior to his meeting with President Joe Biden at the White House, President-elect Donald Trump met with Republican leaders and Elon Musk at a Washington hotel Wednesday morning.

Trump received a standing ovation from House GOP leaders gathered for a conference led by House Speaker Mike Johnson.

“It’s always nice to win,” Trump told Republicans. “We won it every way, all seven swing states by a lot."

As it remains unclear whether or not the Pennsylvania Senate race will go to a recount, counties across Pennsylvania will continue counting provisional ballots over the next several days.

Planned hearings over challenges to mail ballots and provisional ballots will continue through Friday.

In a board of elections meeting Tuesday, Republicans and Democrats indicated plans to lodge challenges over a series of decisions the Bucks County Board of Elections had made regarding which provisional and mail ballots to count. These challenges are all but certain to end up in court.

It seems like all of Elon Musk's work in Pennsylvania has paid off.

President-elect Donald Trump announced late Tuesday night that Musk and former GOP presidential primary candidate Vivek Ramaswamy will lead the newly-established "Department of Government Efficiency" (colloquially known as DOGE).

The commission — aimed at "large scale structural reform" — will operate from outside of the government but will partner with the White House and the Office of Management & Budget, Trump said in a statement. Their "work," Trump said, will be completed no later than July 4, 2026.

Counting continues in Pennsylvania’s U.S. Senate race, which the Associated Press called last week for Republican Dave McCormick.

As of Wednesday morning, McCormick led incumbent Sen. Bob Casey by just over 29,000 votes, about 0.4 percentage points. Casey narrowed the margin Wednesday following the latest count of provisional and mail-in ballots in Philadelphia and Allegheny County.

About 99% of all votes have been counted in the race.

President-elect Donald Trump stunned the Pentagon and the broader defense world by nominating Fox News host Pete Hegseth to serve as his defense secretary, tapping someone largely inexperienced and untested on the global stage to take over the world’s largest and most powerful military.

The news was met with bewilderment and worry among many in Washington as Trump passed on a number of established national security heavy-hitters and chose an Army National Guard captain well known in conservative circles as a cohost of Fox News Channel’s Fox & Friends Weekend.

While some Republican lawmakers had a muted response to the announcement, others called his combat experience an asset or said he was “tremendously capable.”

Before he comes back for good on Inauguration Day, Donald Trump will return to the White House briefly at the invitation of Democratic President Joe Biden, who had hoped to defeat his Republican predecessor a second time and reside there for four more years.

That may make for an awkward encounter, especially given that, after Biden ousted Trump in 2020, Trump offered no such White House invitation to Biden. Trump even left Washington before the Jan. 20, 2021, inauguration, becoming the first president to do so since Andrew Johnson skipped the 1869 swearing-in of Ulysses S. Grant.

Biden also has the unusual distinction of having beaten Trump in one cycle and run against him for about 15 months during this year’s campaign. As he sought reelection, Biden constantly decried Trump as a threat to democracy and the nation’s core values before leaving the race in July and endorsing Vice President Kamala Harris, who took on her own campaign and lost on Election Day.

Vice President Kamala Harris had not yet delivered her concession speech, and there was already a nasty public feud between her campaign and the leader of Philadelphia’s Democratic Party.

Longtime party chair Bob Brady said just hours after President-elect Donald Trump won that the Harris campaign didn’t respect the city’s party leaders. Harris’ team responded in kind, with a senior adviser hammering Brady’s voter turnout operation.

Discontent with the party and Brady’s stewardship of it extends beyond the Harris campaign. As the dust settles on a red wave election and a nationwide Democratic reckoning is underway, some Philadelphia Democrats are questioning the effectiveness of the Democratic City Committee under Brady, 79, a former congressman who has led it for nearly 40 years.

President-elect Donald Trump pushed Philadelphia to the right this year by increasing his vote totals across a range of demographic groups and improving his performance with working-class voters, a shift that’s been underway since his first run for president in 2016.

According to an Inquirer analysis of precinct-level data, Trump increased his standing in the city’s white, working-class neighborhoods, winning more than 30% of the vote in precincts where white voters make up the majority of the electorate. He also improved in majority-Black and -Latino precincts, and with middle- and working-class voters.

Vice President Kamala Harris, the Democratic nominee, still won Philadelphia handily, garnering 78% of the vote. That’s to be expected in a deep-blue city where registered Democrats outnumber Republicans 6-1.