After eight days of counting votes, the Republicans have won the House of Representatives. This means the party will have the coveted trifecta—control of the presidency, House and Senate—for at least the next two years. Republican control of Congress will give Donald Trump far more scope to implement his agenda, with a more unified party than when it last held the three branches, during his first term.

AFTER DONALD TRUMP won the presidential election in 2016—when he was a former television star rather than a former president—he managed the White House transition as if it were a high-stakes episode of “The Apprentice”. Aspiring cabinet members arrived at his eponymous tower in New York and walked past television cameras for interviews with the president-elect. Kanye West even made an appearance. This time Susie Wiles, Mr Trump’s campaign manager and his future chief of staff, has led an orderly, low-key process. Mr Trump’s deliberations at Mar-a-Lago in Florida are occasionally punctuated by announcements on social media. Applicants are skittish about discussing their job search publicly, but some patterns have emerged, providing an indication of how he would govern.