MICHEL MARTIN, HOST:
We'll be talking a lot in the next hours and days about what Donald Trump might do in a second term. He has some significant advantages. His team now has presidential experience, and he has a favorable Supreme Court. And he has something else - control of the Senate. The Senate confirms judges, so the Republican majority gives Trump a chance to appoint more of them and add to his influence on the courts. The House remains undecided for now.
NPR congressional correspondent Deirdre Walsh has been following all this for us, and she's here to tell us more. Good morning.
DEIRDRE WALSH, BYLINE: Good morning, Michel.
MARTIN: So Republicans didn't need to pick up a lot to win the Senate - control of the Senate, especially given that the West Virginia seat was essentially a guaranteed flip after Joe Manchin's retirement. He started his career as a Democrat. He turned independent, and he decided to retire. But where else did they win?
WALSH: So Republicans picked up a seat in Montana. Democratic Senator John Tester lost to Republican businessman, former veteran Tim Sheehy. They also flipped a seat in Ohio. Republican businessman Bernie Moreno defeated Democratic Senator Sherrod Brown. Brown had been outperforming the top of the ticket, sort of like Tester was for a while, but Trump won the state of Ohio by double digits. That was just too much for Brown to overcome. Moreno talked last night about what Republicans are going to do with their majority.
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BERNIE MORENO: This is a new dawn of Republican leadership. We are going to advance an agenda that is an American agenda, an agenda that says we are pro-immigration but not pro-invasion. We're going to make certain that the people who come to this country are invited here.
WALSH: It's also possible that Republicans are going to expand that Senate majority even more. There are still tight races that haven't been called. Democrats are defending seats in Michigan, Wisconsin, Pennsylvania and Nevada. If Republicans gain more of those seats and flip those to red, it's possible they could have a cushion. They could even lose a couple of votes on - from some of their moderate members and still confirm Trump judges and nominees.
MARTIN: So Deirdre, it seems that these results kind of help to show how polarized the country is. There are almost no states left that have sent both a Democrat and a Republican to the Senate. You know, there was some ticket splitting in a few other races, but not for the Senate. So what does this mean for Trump's ability to govern?
WALSH: I mean, he has been given control - you know, solid control to install nominees for his cabinet. He'll also have the votes to confirm more conservative judges to the federal bench. If there are any vacancies on the Supreme Court, and there could be, a Republican Senate can confirm Trump's nominees. We already saw three conservative justices in Trump's first term be appointed - be confirmed to the high court, and we saw the impact that their decisions had on issues like abortion and presidential power. In terms of their legislative agenda, Republicans are planning to take up border security. They're planning to renew Trump's tax cuts. They're going to expire at the end of 2025. And energy legislation is another big thing on their agenda.
MARTIN: As for the House of Representatives, as we've said, it remains undecided at this point who's going to control it. What are you taking a look at? What are you watching?
WALSH: You know, there's still a lot of races that haven't been called in places like Arizona and California. There's still some really tight races in New York. Democrats need to pick up a total of four seats to retake control. There is a possibility that they could win a narrow majority. They would effectively be a backstop if that happens. But it's also possible that Republicans are going to hang onto their narrow majority and that Republicans would control both chambers of Congress. That's the scenario that Trump had when he took office in 2017, and we could be looking at that again.
MARTIN: That is NPR congressional correspondent Deirdre Walsh. Deirdre, thank you.
WALSH: Thank you, Michel.
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