Blue House, red Senate

Well folks, it’s official. The U.S. Senate will stay under Republican control, and the U.S. House of Representatives will flip to Democratic control.

What Democrats do with their newfound power may sway my sentiments.

However, due to thin margins in both chambers, the Republican-controlled House and Senate are not getting as much done as they should.

The Democratic party still has not found their identity after Hillary Clinton’s 2016 devastating loss to President Donald Trump.

Democratic Sens. Joe Donnelly and Heidi Heitkamp are solid members of the Agriculture Committee, and both are known for often voting with Republicans. However, they lost their seats.

Both Donnelly and Heitkamp voted against President Trump’s Supreme Court Justice pick Brett Kavanaugh. In fact, every Democrat in a hotly contested re-election race who voted against Kavanaugh lost their seat.

Though Republicans picked up seats in the U.S. Senate, the rest of the Democratic Agriculture Committee members held on to their seats, including Ranking Member Debbie Stabenow from Michigan, Amy Klobuchar and Tina Smith from Minnesota, Kirsten Gillibrand from New York, Sherrod Brown from Ohio, and Bob Casey from Pennsylvania.

Only two Republican Agriculture Committee members were up for re-election. Sen. Deb Fischer from Nebraska was easily re-elected, and Sen. Cindy Hyde-Smith from Mississippi will go into a run-off in December since no candidate won more than 50 percent of the vote.

As of press time, several congressional races were too close to call. However, the Texas and Missouri Senate races cemented President Trump’s stronghold. Senator Ted Cruz won re-election over rising Democratic star Beto O’Rourke in the most expensive Senate race in history, and Josh Hawley beat incumbent Democrat Claire McCaskill in Missouri, making him the youngest U.S. senator.

So what’s next? In 2019, House Democrats have a choice: do they use their power to investigate or legislate? Democrats have room to negotiate with the president on things the party cares about, especially infrastructure.

Leadership elections will be held next week, and the winner will give insight as to the next steps of the House Democrats. If Nancy Pelosi is elected Speaker of the House, I’m doubtful she’ll choose to start working with President Trump.

Not too much will change in the Senate. I presume Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell will continue stacking the courts with President Trump’s judicial picks. This will be slightly easier given the strengthened Republican majority in the Senate next year.

Another set of bureaucrats to pay attention to will be President Trump’s cabinet. It is expected that there will be a mass exodus after the election. However, I’d be surprised if Agriculture Secretary Sonny Perdue will be one to flee. He has done a good job of keeping his head down and staying out of the controversies that other Cabinet members have found themselves in. Agriculture needs him right where he is.

Editor’s note: Seymour Klierly writes Washington Whispers for the Journal from inside the Beltway.