Yes, we now know that President Obama will have another four years in office, that Democrats have retained a Senate majority, and Republicans still hold their grip on the House of Representatives.

But what do the election results mean for business regulation, tax law, and other issues important to the compliance function? We'll be reporting in more depth on the implications of the election for compliance in the days ahead. In the aftermath of yesterday's election, however, I decided to lay out a few of the immediate ramifications of another term for President Obama and a still gridlocked Congress.

The most obvious effect of the election's outcome on business regulation is that Obama's central reforms are likely to remain intact. A Romney victory, at least as measured in campaign promises, would have ushered in a vigorous attack on two of the Obama Administration's top accomplishments, healthcare and financial reforms. That won't happen now.

Romney had pledged to “repeal and replace” the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, aka Obamacare. As for financial regulations laid out in the Dodd-Frank Act, he presented a similar strategy for a “streamlined regulatory framework” on his campaign Website. “The government gave itself an open check book to write ambiguous regulations that have left our businesses and households uncertain of their obligations and uncompetitive in a global marketplace," he wrote.

Romney didn't entirely dismiss some of the intent, however, saying that “some of the concepts in Dodd-Frank have a place,” such as “greater transparency for inter-bank relationships, enhanced capital requirements, and provisions to address new forms of complex financial transactions.”

The ball, in many ways, is now in the Republican court. Will they view their fresh loss, and the potential impact on mid-term races two years from now, as a call to build upon the common ground Romney expressed? Or, if an inter-party “civil war” erupts as some pundits believe, will the party continue to pull further to the right and become even more obstructionist as it crusades against new regulations? Either way, their ability—and possibly even their appetite—to water down Dodd-Frank or take aim at some of its pieces, such as the Volcker Rule's limits on proprietary trading by banks, will be greatly diminished.

What About the Democrats?

Don't assume that Obama's own party won't be also a thorn in his side as newly conceived regulations are promoted and an existing backlog implemented.

One might instinctively assume that the pace of Dodd-Frank rulemaking will become speedier in the months ahead. But consider the flip-side, and that some Democrats who held their tongue for the good of the party now feel free to be less receptive and more vocal now that the race is won. Moderate Democrats especially may be more willing to embrace Wall Street wants and business interests, either with consideration of corporate campaign contributions or because they truly believe regulation has hindered the economic recovery. There are some indications this may already be happening.

In the pages of National Review, John Berlau of the Competitive Enterprise Institute dutifully pointed out that the outgoing governor of Montana, the Democrat Brian Schweitzer (a featured speaker at his party's convention), pushed back against the scope of banking reforms as a panelist on HBO's “Real Time with Bill Maher.” “The very banks that were doing their job are having a tougher time because of the banks that are too big to fail,” he said of regulations placed upon big and community banks alike.

Dissenting Democrats may also look to raise the cost-benefit bar for new regulations. In August, Sen. Mark Warner (D-VA) joined with Republican colleagues Rob Portman of Ohio and Susan Collins of Maine to introduce legislation requiring independent agencies to analyze the costs and benefits of new regulations and “tailor new rules to minimize unnecessary burdens on the economy.”

“It is important to strike the right balance between protecting vital public safeguards and imposing costly regulations,” Warner said.  “We all agree that basic cost-benefit principles should apply to all regulators.”

Rep. Carolyn Maloney (D-NY) co-sponsored the Financial Institutions Examination Fairness and Reform Act.  It would allow banks the right to appeal regulators' decisions with an independent ombudsman, undercutting the efforts of the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency, the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp., the Federal Reserve Board, and Consumer Financial Protection Bureau. Thus far, despite bipartisan support in both houses, it has stalled.

What's Next on the Agenda?

During the election Obama delineated his second-term ambitions in general terms, mostly avoiding details on the specific reforms and changes he planned to pursue. In the coming months we'll see that agenda come into sharper focus. It will likely include closing $4 billion in tax loopholes and subsidies for big oil and energy companies and regulations to reign in natural gas “fracking.” New greenhouse gas emission standards and limits on industrial methane emissions are also among the slate of Environmental Protection Agency regulations that are queued up and already facing opposition from energy interests.

The administration could also attempt to go back and try to push through some of the aspects of health reform and the Dodd-Frank Act that ended up on the cutting room floor, such as a tax on big banks to pay for some of the additional oversight included in the law, a public option for health plans, and greater scrutiny over ratings agencies. The administration could also put proxy access back on the agenda of the SEC.

Those initiatives may take a while to develop and with Republicans in control of the House, it's unlikely the administration would get very far on these items. It is even more unlikely that much will be accomplished during the “lame duck” session of Congress. Then, there is also the urgent matter of the “fiscal cliff” to first contend with, a conflagration of disappearing “Bush tax cuts,” expiration of temporary payroll tax cuts, start of new taxes mandated under health care reform, and slashed spending triggered by the Budget Control Act of 2011 ($110 billion in Year One and $1.2 trillion over a decade).

Musical Chairs

As with any president's second term, many top, influential cabinet members and advisers are expected to leave the administration, some out of wariness and others to pursue greater riches in the private sector.

Speculation is rampant that among those who will depart their jobs as Obama's second term gets underway are SEC Chairman Mary Schapiro, Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke, and Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner. Future departures could also include CFTC Chairman Gary Gensler, who is rumored to be on a on a short list to replace Geithner. The controversial recess appointment Richard Cordray, director of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, is likely to undergo a legal challenge.

In Congress, we'll likely see new Republican leadership on the Financial Services Committee, with newly re-elected Rep. Jeb Hensarling (R-Texas) considered a likely bet to replace the outgoing (due to committee term limits) Rep. Spencer Bachus (R-Ala.) as chairman. Rep. Maxine Waters of California is in line to take over as ranking Democrat with the departure of Rep. Barney Frank (D-Mass.).

Don't expect a ton of cooperation and kindness on the committee. Hensarling is just as hawkish on Dodd-Frank and the CFPB as Bachus was, and, as tallied by the liberal group Think Progress, the financial sector (notably banking giants JPMorgan Chase and Bank of America) poured money into his election coffers in anticipation of the new post. Given Waters' reputation as a fiery liberal, don't expect détente.

And, what about Elizabeth Warren? The mother of the CFPB never had the chance to run the agency she helped create because of fierce opposition from Republicans. Now that she has reclaimed Ted Kennedy's former seat for Democrats in Massachusetts, will the President implore Senate President Harry Reid to give the freshman a high-profile role? Shuffling bodies to find space on the Senate Banking Committee, maybe? Or, perhaps deploying her as a pro-regulation, pro-enforcement surrogate?

The central plank of her platform was standing up to Wall Street and taking on big corporations. How that gets put into practice remains to be seen, but it's likely that business interests could find a fierce adversary in the Senate in Warren. Her influence could be even greater than it would have been had she had been allowed to head the CFPB in the first place?

With several Dodd-Frank Act provisions still waiting in the wings, new faces to fill top regulatory and enforcement posts, and a still hazy second-term agenda to shape, time will tell if a re-elected Obama plows full-steam ahead on crafting new regulatory reforms and pursuing continued aggressive enforcement of existing laws, or if he lets up on the gas. We'll also get to see, amid the flurry of new regulations, whether the president's promise of a “government-wide review” of existing ones, made via an executive order in January of 2011, eases compliance burdens and cuts red tape, or proves to be mere lip service soon to be forgotten.