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Donald Trump's Republicans maintained a slim advantage on Friday as election officials continued to count the final votes that will decide control of the US House of Representatives, despite Democrats managing to flip two seats in New York state. Republicans have secured at least 211 seats, seven short of the majority in the 435-member chamber, with 24 races still to be called, according to projections by Edison Research. Republicans are poised to hold a majority of at least 53 seats in the Senate. Full control of Congress by Republicans would provide Trump with significant latitude to pursue policies such as broad tax cuts, energy deregulation, and enhanced border security measures. Should Democrats manage to capture a majority, requiring them to win 18 of the 24 uncalled seats, it would empower them to resist Trump's agenda. Democrats' prospects of taking control of the House hinge on parts of California and New York, where challengers overnight succeeded in flipping two Republican seats. Laura Gillen defeated Republican US Representative Anthony D'Esposito to represent a section of New York City's Long Island suburbs, and Josh Riley beat Republican US Representative Marc Molinaro in the state's Catskills region. In Nebraska, centrist Republican US Representative Don Bacon fended off a challenge by Democrat Tony Vargas in a liberal-leaning Omaha-area district. Republicans' majority in the Senate will enable them to confirm Trump's appointments of cabinet members, judges, and other personnel, though they will lack the 60 votes needed to swiftly pass most legislation. The remaining competitive Senate races are in Nevada, where incumbent Democrat Jacky Rosen led Republican challenger Sam Brown by 1.3 percentage points with 96% of the expected vote counted, and in Arizona, where Democrat Ruben Gallego was leading Republican Kari Lake by 1.7 percentage points with 74% of the expected vote counted.
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