Even though the “red wave” that conservatives had expected for this year’s midterm elections was underwhelming in many respects, some GOP House leaders are promising to deliver on the promises made in this year’s campaign cycle.
The Senate will remain under the control of Democrats, with either the tie-breaking advantage of Vice President Kamala Harris’ vote or an outright majority, depending on the outcome of the December 6 Georgia Senate runoff between Republican Herschel Walker and Sen. Raphael Warnock (D-GA).
The House is returning to GOP control, as Republicans will hold either 221 or 222 seats depending on the outcome of one remaining race. Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) is expected to be replaced by Rep. Kevin McCarthy (R-CA) as the top House leader when the next Congress is sworn in on January 3.
.@ByronDonalds: “People should not lose heart…2022 has really shown us is the American people are sick of the Democrats. But…they’re not quite sure that they love Republicans…opportunity for us to make our case and to demonstrate with bold leadership.”https://t.co/u5LpmoPe9H pic.twitter.com/3gP40njPws
— Lisa Boothe 🇺🇸 (@LisaMarieBoothe) November 18, 2022
In a recent interview, Rep. Byron Donalds (R-FL) said that Congress has failed to properly check executive power and the GOP expects to change that shortly.
Donalds said that Joe Biden’s most recent extension of the pause on student loan repayment after the federal courts struck down his forgiveness plan is the latest example of Congress allowing the president to overreach in the name of the COVID-19 pandemic emergency.
In addition to the student loan declaration, the Biden White House recently declared a general extension of the national emergency declaration due to the pandemic. Meanwhile, Biden has issued more executive orders to this point in this term than any president since Jimmy Carter in the 1970s.
Donalds said, “This is where Congress has to do its job and actually go back in and unwind a lot of these presidential emergencies that are created by executive order.” He added that it is “outrageous” that Biden is still relying on “an emergency doctrine from COVID-19 to extend these moratoriums.”
Ultimately, Donalds said the situation “is Congress’ fault.” He said that House Republicans “have to reassert our authority in the federal bureaucracy and the federal government and take away some of these powers from the executive.”
Other GOP House members including Reps. Jim Jordan (R-OH) and James Comer (R-KY) have also promised since Election Day that Republicans will thoroughly investigate allegedly improper actions by the FBI and the international business dealings of Hunter Biden, Joe Biden, and James Biden.
