There are still some loose threads, but the outcome of the 2022 midterm elections is basically clear. Republicans will take control of the House of Representatives, while Democrats will retain control of the Senate. The 82-year-old Democratic House Speaker, Nancy Pelosi, will relinquish her party leadership role to a younger colleague. There may be coming turnover among President Biden’s Cabinet.

Democrats are relieved that a “red wave” never materialized, with Republicans turning in the weakest midterm performance since Democrats in 2002. But the Democrats’ loss of the House will still sharply curtail Biden’s agenda during the next two years, since Republicans can block Democratic legislation. Here are four ways the midterm outcome will shape the second half of Biden’s presidential term:

A busy lame-duck session. Democrats will still control Congress for the rest of the year, and a big push is on to pass last-minute Democratic priorities before Republicans can block them in the next Congress. There are must-pass bills to fund defense and basic government operations. Those probably won’t be controversial, but they could be laden with pork and other add-ons.

Democrats may try to pass an extended child tax credit, similar to the temporary measure they passed in 2021. That expired at the end of last year, and some Democrats expected that voters would demand they renew it. That didn’t happen, however, and Democrats couldn’t muster the votes even among themselves to include it in other legislation they passed earlier this year. So they may try one more time to expand this credit, which can save low- and middle-income parents thousands of dollars. Generating enough support for that, even among Democrats, might require some corresponding business-tax breaks, for things like interest-expense write-offs, same-year research and development spending, and equipment depreciation.

Democratic Sen. Joe Manchin of West Virginia still wants to pass energy permit reform that would make it easier to build pipelines and other types of energy infrastructure. The Biden administration also wants another $38 billion in military and economic aid to Ukraine, which would be a large package that could last awhile and preempting Republican torpedoing of Ukraine aid next year.