Democrats had to wait until a week after Election Day to hear confirmation that they secured control of the U.S. House of Representatives. The Associated Press on Tuesday night called three more House races for Democrats, giving them more than half of the 435 seats in the chamber. The current count stands 219-202.

But compared with the “blue wave” in the 2018 midterm elections—when Democrats picked up a net of 41 seats—the party now faces two years with a slimmer majority and may have only a four-seat margin.

When Franklin D. Roosevelt assumed the presidency in 1933, he worked fast, and he went big. Within the first 100 days, he passed 15 New Deal programs to try to alleviate the Great Depression. Since his example, the first 100 days of a presidency has measured a new president’s early effectiveness.

“FDR had a rare historical moment and sweeping congressional victories to help him accomplish so much,” said Amy Black, a political science professor at Wheaton College. “Biden will not have a sweeping mandate and may not have a Democratic Senate to help him.”

WASHINGTON—Christopher Miller, director of the National Counterterrorism Center, will become the acting secretary of defense. President Donald Trump fired Secretary of Defense Mark Esper on Monday and announced Miller would step into the role immediately.

Early 2020 exit polls estimate that in a year of increased racial tensions, President Donald Trump improved his standing

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