US media outlets project Republicans retain control of House

WASHINGTON -- Multiple US media outlets projected Wednesday that Republicans will win enough seats to retain control of the U.S. House of Representatives, with the party securing at least 218 seats?— the threshold to maintain majority in the 435-member chamber.

NBC News and CNN made the call Wednesday afternoon, with nine House races yet to be projected. So far, Republicans have flipped seven seats from Democrats, while Democrats have flipped six seats from Republicans, resulting in a tally of 218 to 208.

According to earlier projections, the Republican Party flipped four seats from the Democratic Party in the Senate, winning back majority in the upper chamber. The 53-seat majority in the 100-member Senate will be a boon to the Republican agenda next year.

The presidential race between Donald Trump and his Democratic opponent Kamala Harris was called early Wednesday last week, when multiple US media outlets projected that the Republican candidate would win more than 270 Electoral College votes, the threshold needed to clinch the presidency.

Trump went on to win all seven key swing states, increasing his total in the Electoral College to 312, compared with 226 for Harris.

Trump also won the popular vote in the 2024 presidential election, marking the first time in his three presidential campaigns that he achieved this, and only the second time a Republican has done so since 1988.

With Republican victories in both chambers of Congress and a conservative-majority Supreme Court, President-elect Trump will be able to push through much of his agenda during his second term, according to media reports.