Return to a unified government“: On the composition of the U.S.-Congress after the Congressional election on November 8, 2016

In the 2016 Congressional elections in the USA, the Republican Party succeeded in confirming its majorities in both the Senate and the House of Representatives. Although they lost two seats in the Senate and six seats in the House they managed to win a majority of the decisive battleground states. The Republicans managed to retain an advantage in the House for the foreseeable future thanks to gerrymandered seats and a shrinking number of competitive seats in this chamber. The results can be interpreted as an endorsement of the status quo on Capitol Hill. The re-election rates of 97 percent (House) and 93 percent (Senate) are among the highest numbers in recent years. The 2016 elections turned out to be a successful year for incumbents both Republican and Democratic. President Donald Trump enjoys therefore a unified government, at least until the midterm elections of 2018. It will be interesting to see whether he will succeed in implementing his legislative agenda within the U.S. system of checks and balances with a Republican party that offers internal divisions, as could be seen in his (first) attempt to abolish the Affordable Care Act (ObamaCare) in March 2017.