Republicans are set to win the House of Representatives in last week's U.S. midterm elections, local media projected Wednesday, likely making the remainder of Democratic President Joe Biden's tenure challenging due to potential gridlock under a divided government.

But the prospect that Republicans can only secure control of the House by a slim margin -- falling short of what some speculated may become a "red wave" of victories -- while the Senate is retained by the Democrats appears to have given an unexpected boost to the 79-year-old president.

The Democrats headed into the Nov. 8 elections facing headwinds due to high inflation and the president's flagging popularity. Among other issues, their campaign focused on painting a bleak future for the country with Republican lawmakers still heavily swayed by former President Donald Trump, who denies the results of the 2020 presidential race.

After the media projections, Biden, a longtime senator, hailed the elections as demonstrating "the strength and resilience" of American democracy, vowing to work with House Republicans ahead of a looming split government from January.

"There was a strong rejection of election deniers, political violence, and intimidation. There was an emphatic statement that, in America, the will of the people prevails," he said in a statement.

"The future is too promising to be trapped in political warfare. The American people want us to get things done for them...And I will work with anyone -- Republican or Democrat -- willing to work with me to deliver results for them."

But a Republican-controlled House is certain to be a blow to Biden in advancing his agenda over the next two years, as the chamber can block the passage of big spending bills and ramp up oversight.

The Republicans may also launch congressional investigations into potentially damaging issues for the Biden administration, such as the botched U.S. withdrawal from Afghanistan and allegations surrounding the president's son Hunter, who has been accused of engaging in shady business dealings in Ukraine and China.

On the diplomatic front, no substantive changes are expected over the current tough U.S. stance toward China due to bipartisan consensus on the issue. But the Biden administration's efforts to support Ukraine against Russia's invasion could become complicated as some Republicans have questioned ballooning costs.

Prior to the elections, the Democratic Party held a narrow majority in the 435-seat House. The 100-member Senate has been evenly divided, but Democrats have controlled the chamber due to the tie-breaking vote of Vice President Kamala Harris.

More than a week after Election Day in the Senate, the Democrats won 50 seats, the Republicans 49, with the remaining Georgia race set for a runoff on Dec. 6.

During the election campaign, Republican Party members accused the Biden administration of creating decades-high inflation through what they view as "wasteful" government spending. They also slammed Democrats for being soft on crime and illegal immigration.

While the midterms are often seen as a referendum on the incumbent president, Biden has sought to make this year's elections a choice between Democrats and Republicans aligned with Trump, accusing the latter as plagued with "extremist" views as they reject the outcome of elections, threaten personal rights and embrace political violence.

The Democrats also campaigned for abortion access, banking on strong public backlash triggered by a Supreme Court decision in June that overturned a landmark 1973 ruling guaranteeing the constitutional right to abortion.

This year's midterms were the first major election in the United States since a pro-Trump mob stormed the Capitol in January 2021 in an attempt to overturn the results of the 2020 presidential election. Trump had called that election "rigged" and continues to repeat the claim without evidence.

The outcome is expected to affect Biden's potential re-election bid in 2024. Trump, 76, announced on Tuesday a bid to return to the White House even as his political clout has been questioned after candidates backed by him fared poorly in the midterms.

Close U.S. allies including Japan are closely watching whether Trump will make a comeback after his unilateralist "America First" foreign and trade policy was widely seen to have undermined long-standing alliances and multilateralism.

Biden, who became the oldest-ever U.S. president to be inaugurated and will turn 80 this month, told a press conference last week that his "intention" is to run again, but that he has not made a final judgment.