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What Happens Now that Democrats Have Won Control of the House? Brace Yourself

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WASHINGTON – A big change is coming to America. Now that the Democrats have won control of the House of Representatives, what actually happens?

One big difference will be in the priorities Republican House Speaker Paul Ryan's (R-WI) pushed and which priorities House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) will push if her party gives her the gavel again.

"Paul Ryan wants lower taxes, lower spending," The Heritage Foundation's Tommy Binion told CBN News. "He wants to focus on the economy. Nancy Pelosi wants to focus on social issues. Nancy Pelosi wants to raise taxes. She wants to spend more. She wants to investigate President Trump."

Binion suggests the angry political division in the country could also have a huge impact, noting the "scores of investigations into the president, his administration, his family members, his actions; launching impeachment proceedings."

There's also the possibility of Democrats taking a totally different course and deciding to work with the president on issues like infrastructure and prison reform.

But they can't take both paths, Binion notes. "You can't simultaneously be the resist movement empowered in the halls of Congress and be working towards impeaching the president and be working with him on a shared agenda," he said.

Pelosi says a very top priority is making sure LGBTQ rights trump any others – like a baker's religious right to not make a gay wedding cake, as in the case of Colorado baker Jack Phillips.

"People of faith like Jack Phillips would be required to help them celebrate their weddings and things such as that. They want a federal law to that effect," Binion explained.

Meanwhile, efforts to limit abortion will be derailed. "Republicans have been making progress on a 20-week abortion ban," Binion told CBN News. " Progress on that, at least in the House, will stop," and likely reverse course under Democrats.

Specifically, Binion predicts "more funding to Planned Parenthood and other abortion providers."

"No matter where your political loyalties lie, this is for certain: Democrats winning the House means the path these lawmakers have been going down the last couple of years is certainly going to change."

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About The Author

Paul
Strand

As senior correspondent in CBN's Washington bureau, Paul Strand has covered a variety of political and social issues, with an emphasis on defense, justice, and Congress. Strand began his tenure at CBN News in 1985 as an evening assignment editor in Washington, D.C. After a year, he worked with CBN Radio News for three years, returning to the television newsroom to accept a position as editor in 1990. After five years in Virginia Beach, Strand moved back to the nation's capital, where he has been a correspondent since 1995. Before joining CBN News, Strand served as the newspaper editor for