Republicans take control of U.S. House

 

Xinhua, November 3, 2010

Republicans have picked up enough seats to gain majority in the U.S. House of Representatives, an outcome that has been well anticipated by politicians and analysts, according to several U.S. media projections Tuesday night.

Republicans need to make a net gain of at least 39 seats to become the majority in the House, and CNN estimated the party was due to gain at least 50 seats.

"Virtually every major network has projected that we will take control of the House, and that sure feels good," Republican Congressman Greg Walden said at a victory party in Washington Tuesday night.

The shakeup in the House will mark an end for Nancy Pelosi's job as the first female U.S. House speaker, and current Republican House Minority Leader John Boehner is on track to take over her job after the new Congress is sworn in next year.

House Republican whip Eric Cantor is likely to become majority leader in the new Congress.

In a prepared speech Tuesday night, Cantor promised to repeal the healthcare reform law and cut federal spending to rein in deficits.

"We will get to work right away to reduce the deficit by cutting federal spending next year down to 2008 levels. That will save 100 billion dollars in the first year alone," he said.

Cantor was basically echoing the core principles House Republicans unveiled in September in their election-year agenda.

In a 21-page document called "A Pledge to America," Republicans vowed to cut taxes and spending, ease government regulation, as well as repeal the healthcare law that President Barack Obama signed in March. But the document failed to provide specific proposals such as how to rein the huge budget deficits.

Republicans' overwhelming victory in the House is widely seen as a repudiation of Obams's policies in his first two years, reflecting voters' dissatisfaction with the sluggish economic growth and anemic job market.