Republicans’ decisive Senate takeover has transformed what was once a body full of traditionalists who viewed President-elect Donald J. Trump with skepticism and even some disdain into a compliant and loyal chamber full of allies ready to advance his agenda.
Gone is the uncertainty and unease that met Mr. Trump from some G.O.P. quarters on Capitol Hill eight years ago, when his victory was wholly unexpected, his policy agenda largely unknown and leading Republicans were willing to challenge him. The incoming president and nearly every senator in the new majority of at least 52 Republicans now share almost identical goals on big issues such as taxes, immigration, energy production and domestic social policy.
As they celebrated their victories on Wednesday and the party pressed to hold onto its House majority, Republicans made clear that the Senate, at least, is Mr. Trump’s to command.
“I think the Senate is going to give great deference to a president that just won a stunning, what I think is an Electoral College landslide, when all is said and done,” Senator Marco Rubio, Republican of Florida and a one-time Trump rival, said on CNN.
Republicans are well aware that they owe their new numbers directly to Mr. Trump, who provided the political momentum to pull some of their winners over the finish line in red states where veteran incumbent Democrats were defeated in tough, very expensive races in Ohio and Montana. They included two candidates who aligned themselves closely with Mr. Trump’s policies: Senators-elect Tim Sheehy of Montana, a wealthy businessman and former Navy SEAL. and Bernie Moreno of Ohio, a former luxury car dealer
Senate leaders were holding out hope that they could push their numbers beyond 52 and perhaps pick up another seat or two. The size of the majority is crucial, since larger numbers give Republicans more cushion in the event of possible policy disagreements or defections on nominees.
“Obviously, the higher we get, the better,” said Senator Mitch McConnell of Kentucky, the outgoing Republican leader who noted that he had achieved a personal goal of handing over the reins next year with Republicans on top. “I’ve been the majority leader. I’ve been the minority leader. Majority is a lot better.”
Despite the impressive election showing, Republicans will remain short of the 60 votes needed to overcome a filibuster, providing Democrats with a weapon to slow the new president on legislative matters. But even by Wednesday, the G.O.P. had won enough seats to put together a majority for critical cabinet and judicial confirmations — and potentially some legislation — even if more moderate members who sometimes defect from the party line, Senators Susan Collins of Maine and Lisa Murkowski of Alaska, refuse to go along.
In his first term, Mr. Trump had called for gutting the filibuster to give him more legislative leeway, but Mr. McConnell, a staunch defender of the Senate’s signature procedural tactic, resisted. Should the filibuster emerge as a significant obstacle to his plans, Mr. Trump is likely to press again, but Mr. McConnell expressed confidence that Republican senators would not cave.
“I think the filibuster is very secure,” he said.
If Republicans can hold on to their current control of the House, they can skirt a Democratic filibuster on tax and budget issues by using a special process known as reconciliation that allows them to push through certain fiscal matters on a straight majority vote.
It remained unclear Wednesday whether Republicans would maintain their House majority and hand Mr. Trump a trifecta of holding the White House, Senate and House and a clear legislative runway. If Democrats were to gain even a minuscule House majority, it could serve as their firewall. But their hopes of doing so were slipping as vulnerable Republicans held on in critical races and the G.O.P. managed to flip key Democratic seats.
Should Republicans hold the House, they are likely to have a margin of just a handful of votes, a dynamic that contributed to deep G.O.P. dysfunction over the past two years. Internal divisions over spending, aid to Ukraine and other matters plagued House Republicans and left them relying on Democrats to do the basics of governing. Democrats even stepped in to save Speaker Mike Johnson of Louisiana from an attempt to oust him.
But with a united Republican government, the mavericks who bedeviled the leadership would come under intense pressure to cooperate with their colleagues or risk the threat of a severe backlash from the president and his allies.
Rebellious Republicans appeared ready to get on board.
“We must not squander this moment in history,” Representative Thomas Massie, Republican of Kentucky and one of those who sought to unseat Mr. Johnson, wrote on social media.
It is worth remembering that a trifecta is no guarantee of easy legislative success, and parties with unified control can still struggle. It does make legislative achievement more possible, as Democrats showed in the first two years of the Biden administration.
For their part, Senate Democrats were mainly quiet on Wednesday as they awaited final results and mourned the electoral loss of such popular colleagues as Sherrod Brown of Ohio and Jon Tester of Montana. Senator Chuck Schumer, the New York Democrat and majority leader, stayed out of sight and made no public statement.
Senate Republicans, on the other hand, were elated that they would finally be in charge of the next year after four years with Mr. Schumer in control of the floor.
While House Republicans were always tightly linked with Mr. Trump both as president and presidential candidate, some Senate Republicans have in the past been unsettled by his style, divisive statements and legislative plans they considered extreme.
In addition, seven Senate Republicans voted to convict Mr. Trump on impeachment charges related to the Jan. 6 assault on the Capitol in 2021. Three of them — Ms. Collins, Ms. Murkowski and Bill Cassidy of Louisiana — will remain in the chamber next year.
Mr. McConnell had a troubled relationship with him as well and the two front-runners to replace Mr. McConnell in an internal party vote next week — Senators John Thune of South Dakota and John Cornyn of Texas — have also run afoul of Mr. Trump in the past but have since worked to repair relations.
Now Mr. Trump’s commanding win, his boost to Republican candidates and his grip on the party are likely to stem any vigorous dissent even from those unsure about his policies and approach. It will be Mr. Trump’s Senate now.
“It is going to be a good relationship,” said Senator John Barrasso of Wyoming, the No. 3 Senate Republican. “We are a united Republican Party. We are going to be a party of consensus working closely with President Trump on a shared agenda.”
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