US voters yesterday reshuffled the deck in Washington, putting familiar faces in new jobs and bringing a fresh crop of elected officials to the halls of power. Here are some of the people to watch in Washington in the wake of the Republican takeover of the House of Representatives and the party's gains in the Senate over President Barack Obama's Democrats.
John Boehner
The top House Republican is almost certain to replace Democrat Nancy Pelosi as speaker, the number-three US elected official. He has vowed "no compromise" with Mr Obama on key issues.
Eric Cantor
As the likely Republican House majority leader, he will have broad control over the chamber's agenda. As the senior Jewish Republican in national politics, and a fierce Israel defender, Mr Cantor will likely place Mr Obama's Middle East policies under closer scrutiny, an aide predicts.
Steny Hoyer
Democratic House majority leader no more, Mr Hoyer is less likely than Ms Pelosi to be pushed aside. Broadly liked on both sides of the aisle, he could be a key player in any efforts at bipartisan action on key issues like taxes.
Mitch McConnell
The Republican Senate minority leader drew heavy fire from the White House recently for declaring that his party's top goal must be to deny Mr Obama a second term - and from some Republicans for warning they can best do that by avoiding partisan overreach.
Ileana Ros-Lehtinen
Born in Havana, Cuba, the Florida Republican is set to become the chair of the House Foreign Affairs Committee - a great vantage point from which to blister Mr Obama's foreign policy. She is also the most senior House Republican woman.
Marco Rubio
This newly minted Republican senator, son of Cuban exiles and a conservative lawyer by training, may be the one of the Tea Party's best hopes for long-term influence in the Senate. Mr Rubio, who is just 39, shocked Florida's Republican establishment when his strong poll numbers drove the party's once-popular governor, Charlie Crist, to mount an independent bid for the Senate.
Jim DeMint
The South Carolina Republican is as close as the Tea Party has to a patron in the US Senate, and party insiders say they expect him to rally elected members of the arch-conservative movement, including Mr Rubio, to form a potentially potent bloc in the Congress.
Paul Ryan
The Republican representative and free-market champion is in line to chair the House Budget Committee, epicentre of the coming wars over government spending.
