On January 3, 2017 the 115th congress was sworn into the House of Representatives and U.S. Senate.  After a brutal campaign season ended in November, Washington D.C. became overwhelmingly red.  The Republican party now has full control of the US House, Senate, and executive branch. With a Republican president, the U.S. Supreme Court will stay balanced or possibly even lean right if enough justices are named in the next four to eight years.

The swearing in took place in both houses of Congress on the cold January day. Iowa Senator Chuck Grassley and Representatives Rod Blum, Dave Loebsack, David Young, and Steve King all held on to their seats. With our six total U.S. representatives, 5/6 of them are a part of the Republican party.

Washington D.C. is not the only place that turned red this election cycle. The people of Iowa gave a mandate to the Republican party to get things done. The already Republican controlled house picked up two seats making their majority 59-41. The Iowa Senate, which was controlled by the Democrats, picked up six seats to make their new majority 20-29 (with one right-leaning Independent). The Governor’s race isn’t until 2018- giving the new majority time to make major changes to the state.

President-Elect Donald J. Trump will take the oath of office on January 2o, 2017. Things are set to get started right away in Washington. Iowa’s Congress will begin on Monday, January 9th.