BY Mayte Figueroa-Camilo
Staff Reporter
In the 2018 midterm elections, the Democratic Party took control of the House of Representatives while the Republican Party won majority in the Senate.
“We are going to have a divided government now for the remaining two years of the Trump presidency,” said Dr. Gary L. Rose, professor and chair in the Department of Government.
The Democrats needed a net gain of 23 seats to break the Republicans’ eight-year hold on the House and place a check on the President, reported the Associated Press.
“There’s going to be more investigations,” said Rose. “Inevitably more people will be required to testify – probably under subpoena.”
The Guardian reported that the Democrats led Republicans by more than 12 million votes in Senate races, but failed to win majority due to the electoral process.
According to the election results, the Republicans flipped three Senate seats in North Dakota, Indiana, and Missouri in addition to their two-seat majority in the chamber.
“Trump still has the Senate though,” said Rose. “The Senate still has the authority to confirm the Supreme Court nominees, so he will probably get another Supreme Court seat too.”
Nancy Pelosi, House Minority Leader, will succeed Paul Ryan as House speaker now that the Democrats dominate the House.
Rose is certain that this speaker shift will bring forth changes in the chamber.
“A lot of the Trump agenda, if you will, is going to probably come to a grinding halt now,” said Rose.
Rose reported that with the House being controlled by the Democrats and with the Senate under Republican rule, congressional gridlock is inevitable.
“You have a Republican president who is not going to support anything the Democrats want in the House,” said Rose. “I think we are going to be in a stalemate period for two more years.”
Democratic politician Maxine Moore Waters was reelected to serve as House representative for California’s 43rd district for two more years.
“Maxine Waters is going to be the head of the Financial Services Committee. She’s the one who will be serving these subpoenas for financial records,” said sophomore Matthew Wyskiel.
According to Wyskiel, President Donald Trump will have to compromise if he wants Congress to pass any bills in his agenda.
Nearly 40 percent of voters cast their ballots to express opposition to the president, while one in four voted in support for Trump, according to the Associated Press.
“If the millennial generation really showed up at the polls, think of the power and the influence they’d have on public policy,” said Rose.
CBS reported that the 2018 midterm elections were the first in history to exceed over 100 million votes with 49 percent of eligible voters participating in the election.
Connecticut’s incumbent Democratic senator, Christopher S. Murphy, was reelected for six more years with 58.9 percent of the public’s vote over Matthew Corey’s 40 percent, according to the results shown by The New York Times.
“Chris Murphy’s gun policies, while unpopular for Republicans, are very popular for Democrats,” said Wyskiel. “He has been the lead charge since Sandy Hook, trying to get a handle on the problem.”
In Connecticut’s close gubernatorial race between Ned Lamont and Bob Stefanowski, Lamont won with 49.1 percent to Stefanowski’s 46.5 percent, according to the Associated Press.
For Wyskiel, Lamont’s desire to increase highway tolls will only drive more people out of Connecticut, hurting the state’s economy rather than improving it.
“Connecticut is basically going broke,” said Wyskiel. “The root issue is whether people are going to stay in Connecticut or whether they’re going to go find a job elsewhere.”
