GOP takes charge in House

WASHINGTON (AP) - Claiming power beneath the Capitol dome,Republicans gained control of the House of Representatives Wednes-day as the 112th Congress convened in an era of economic uncertainty. Dozens of tea party-backed lawmakers took office in both houses, eager to cut spending and reduce government's reach.

"The people voted to end business as usual, and today we begin carrying out their instructions," said newly elected House Speaker John Boehner of Ohio, replacing Democrat Nancy Pelosi and transformed instantly into the nation's most powerful Republican in a new era of divided government.

Both the House and the Senate convened at the constitutionally mandated hour of noon for a day of pageantry and bipartisan flourishes that contrasted sharply with the fierceness of the midterm elections that set the new roll of lawmakers.

In the Senate, where Democrats retain control, Majority Leader Harry Reid of Nevada selected retired Republican Sen. Paul Laxalt to accompany him when he took the oath for a new term. In the House, children and grandchildren squirmed in the laps of their elders, less than transfixed at the historic events unfolding around them.

Republicans hold a 242-193 conservatives' majority in the House and have pledged to challenge President Barack Obama both with legislation and with their power to investigate. The first salvo is expected next week, a bill to repeal the sweeping health care law that Democrats pushed to passage 10 months ago and have vowed to defend.

Reid signaled as much, and more, in a speech marking the beginning of a new two-year Congress. "We have to do even more to help middle-class families, to create jobs, to hasten our energy independence, to improve our children's education and to fix our broken immigration system," he said.

Within a few hours of the opening gavel, Democrats unveiled a plan to limit the ability of Republicans to filibuster their legislation. No resolution is expected for weeks.

Sixteen blocks away, Obama seemed content to renew old battles in some areas at the same time he calls for bipartisanship in others. The White House resubmitted numerous appointments left over from 2010 for Senate confirmation, including four nominees for federal judgeships blocked by Republicans last year.

Senate Republicans gained six seats in last fall's elections, and their leader, Sen. Mitch McConnell of Kentucky, said the voters had made it clear they "want lawmakers to cut Washington, tackle the debt, rein in government and to help create the right conditions for private sector growth."