Midterms: What happened?
Republicans are close to winning a majority in the US House of Representatives with at least 218 seats. There are still a handful of outstanding midterm election races to be decided, but it is believed that the GOP has won control of the lower chamber of Congress.
The final outcome will likely see a very slim majority for Republicans making things difficult for party leadership, but Kevin McCarthy has already cleared the first hurdle toward being elected House Speaker by winning the nomination from members of his party by a vote of 188 to 31.
He now faces a weeks-long battle to quell right-wing objections likely by offering concessions to the far-right Freedom Caucus.
Meanwhile, Democrats are set to retain control of the Senate, securing 50 seats already with hopes of retaining another in a runoff in Georgia next month. Many Senate Republicans have criticised their leader, Mitch McConnell, since the election, but others have blamed Donald Trump for their failure to retake the upper chamber.
