Republicans win majority of US House of Representatives seats, confirming an election clean sweep

The Republican Party has won the House of Representatives after reaching the 218-seat threshold to secure the majority.

It means the party has recorded a clean sweep in the US elections, winning the presidency, the Senate, and now the House of Representatives.

There is also a conservative majority on the Supreme Court.

A House Republican victory in Arizona, alongside a win in slow-counting California earlier on Wednesday local time, gave the party the 218 House victories.

Republicans earlier gained control of the Senate from Democrats.

With hard-fought yet thin majorities, Republican leaders are envisioning a mandate to up-end the federal government and swiftly implement Trump's vision for the country.

The incoming president has promised to carry out the country's largest-ever deportation operation, extend tax breaks, punish his political enemies, seize control of the federal government's most powerful tools and reshape the US economy.

The Republican election victories ensure that Congress will be onboard for that agenda, and Democrats will be almost powerless to check it.

The past two years of Republican House control were defined by infighting as hardline conservative factions sought to gain influence and power by openly defying their party leadership.

While House Speaker Mike Johnson — at times with Trump's help — largely tamed open rebellions against his leadership, the right wing of the party is ascendant and ambitious on the heels of Trump's election victory.

The Republican majority also depends on a small group of politicians who won tough elections by running as moderates.

It remains to be seen whether they will stay on board for some of the most extreme proposals championed by Trump and his allies.

When Trump was elected president in 2016, Republicans also swept Congress, but he still encountered Republican leaders resistant to his policy ideas, as well as a Supreme Court with a liberal majority. Not this time.

When he returns to the White House, Trump will be working with a Republican Party that has been completely transformed by his "Make America Great Again" movement and a Supreme Court dominated by conservative justices, including three that he appointed.

Trump rallied House Republicans at a Capitol Hill hotel on Wednesday morning, marking his first return to Washington since the election.

"I suspect I won't be running again unless you say, 'He's good, we got to figure something else,'" Trump said.

House Speaker Mr Johnson, who with Trump's endorsement won the Republican Conference's nomination to stay on as speaker next year, has talked of taking a "blowtorch" to the federal government and its programs, eyeing ways to overhaul even popular programs championed by Democrats in recent years.

The Louisiana Republican, an ardent conservative, has pulled the House Republican Conference closer to Trump during the campaign season as they prepare an "ambitious" 100-day agenda.

Trump's allies in the House are already signalling they will seek retribution for the legal troubles Trump faced while out of office.

On Thursday, Joe Biden welcomed Trump back to the White House for an Oval Office meeting to discuss the transition of power.

The president and the president-elect exchanged cordial remarks in front of the cameras on Wednesday morning, local time, committing to a smooth handover after Trump's decisive election win.

White House spokeswoman Karine Jean-Pierre said the meeting, which lasted almost 2 hours, was gracious and substantive.

Trump "came with a detailed set of questions" and discussed national security and domestic issues with Mr Biden, she said.

Trump has also announced several key appointments to his future administration, including right-wing congressman Matt Gaetz as his pick for attorney-general.

AP