What to expect as the 119th Congress is sworn in amid speakership uncertainty

The 119th Congress convenes on Friday amid a major power shift in Washington, as Republicans take control of both houses of Congress ahead of the Jan. 20 inauguration of President-elect Donald Trump.

The first issue in the chamber will be the election of its speaker, a process that has created a lot of drama in recent years.

Republicans retained control of the House in November’s elections, but they will maintain a historically narrow margin. Speaker Mike Johnson of Louisiana appears to have the support of a majority of his conference, and Trump and Elon Musk, the billionaire donor who has been advising the president-elect. But it’s not necessarily a lock that Johnson will secure the hammer on the first ballot. GOP Rep. Thomas Massie of Kentucky has said he will vote against Johnson, meaning Johnson will be able to walk away from his conference. At least 17 Republicans say they are undecided, according to an ABC News count.

House Democratic Leader Hakeem Jeffries said Democrats will not help elect Johnson.

How is the spokesperson selected?

Johnson will need a majority of those present and voting to remain speaker. This means that the number starts from 218. The official majority will be determined after the Congress opens; The clerk reads the official number of election certificates received and is used to determine the majority and members register their presence in a quorum call.

A simple majority can vary depending on members who are absent or if members vote “yes”, which would lower the required threshold.

Former Republican Rep. Matt Gaetz, who resigned from Congress after being tapped by Trump to be his attorney general in November before retiring, is the most intriguing wild card.

Gaetz has toyed with the possibility of returning to the Capitol to participate in the speaker vote and create one last dose of chaos in Congress. The House Ethics Committee released its report on its investigation into Gaetz for violating House rules after he left the House, but he was re-elected in November before resigning.

If Gaetz is not returned on Friday, which is the likely scenario, then the total number of House members will be 434, with 219 Republicans and 215 Democrats. That means Johnson can’t afford to miss more than one defection; a second would block mat acquisition.

Democratic Speaker Emeritus Nancy Pelosi, who had hip replacement surgery in December, posted on X that she will be at the Capitol for the speaker vote.

What if Johnson loses the vote?

The House will continue to vote until a speaker is elected, without whom it cannot conduct any business, such as confirming the results of Trump’s presidential election on Monday. The House may vote a resolution to accept a speaker by plurality, the majority of votes of all the candidates. But that can be dangerous for Republicans and is unlikely. All Democrats are expected to vote for Jeffries.

Typically, a Home Open Day lasts approximately 2 1/2 hours. However, when it took Kevin McCarthy 15 rounds of voting to become speaker two years ago, anything is possible.

Here are some other times the House has struggled to choose a speaker:

2023: McCarthy was picked in the 15th try. A month later he was ousted by Gaetz and seven other Republican members.

1923: Fredrick Huntington Gillet was the speaker after nine votes. It sounds like a lot, but it was the longest competition…

1856: Nathaniel Prentice Banks of Massachusetts served only one term in Congress. When he was re-elected as a member of the American Caucus, he was elected speaker after 133 ballots — a process that took nearly two months, according to the House Historian.

1849: The chamber went 19 days without electing a speaker, no candidate receiving a majority of votes. Finally, after the 59th vote, the Chamber adopted a resolution that a speaker could be elected by plurality.

Does the speaker have to be a member of Congress?

no The constitution does not mandate that the speaker be a member, neither current nor former. In fact, the speaker must lead the entire House, not just one party. Some Republicans have suggested Musk as the speaker.

Today’s program at Home

Noon: With the house sticks inserted, it has a recorded quorum call.

12:45-13:00: Speaker elections begin.

TBD: After choosing the speaker, swearing in the members and representatives.

TBD: Adoption of the 119th Congress rule package.

from the Senate

Unlike the House, Senate leadership is set before Friday. And the new Congress is sure to bring plenty of big moments — a new Republican majority led by a new Republican leader, with Sen. John Thune of South Dakota replacing Sen. Mitch McConnell of Kentucky.

Friday’s program in the Senate

Noon: The Senate is involved.

Opening Prayer and Pledge of Allegiance: Presided over by the chaplain of the Senate. The current chaplain, Barry Black, was hospitalized in mid-December with a brain bleed. It is unclear whether he or another representative will lead the opening prayer.

Oath of Senators: Typically, every senator who won election in November will be sworn in for a new term, either by a newly elected member or a returning incumbent. They usually swear in groups of four. Each senator being sworn in will have an escort with them, usually a current or retired senator. Many senators will choose their state senator as an escort, but this is not required; some choose friends or mentors.

Signature of the oath book: After the senators take the oath, each of them will sign their name in a designated place in the oath book.

Establishing a quorum and adopting organizational decisions: After the members are sworn in, you will hear the majority leader’s request to establish a quorum. We hope this is Thune as party leader. The Clerk will read the roll of the entire new Senate.

The first order of business is usually to pass a resolution informing the President that the Senate is in a quorum and ready to receive communications from him. A similar resolution is given to the Chamber. Then, by a decision, the president pro tempore is appointed. The longest serving member of the majority party usually receives that honorary role, in this case Grassley. After the resolution is passed, we expect Grassley to take over from Harris to direct the Senate to pass additional organizational items.

It will then be approved unanimously to approve a block of the organization’s resolutions. Among them, there is a resolution to create the committee and another one that establishes the operating rules of the Senate. Because these things are worked out in advance among party leaders, these resolutions are almost always quickly passed unanimously with little fanfare.

Leader’s Speeches: We will hear speeches from two party leaders: Thune, for the first time, and Chuck Schumer, the Democratic leader of New York.

Swearing-in ceremony: After being officially sworn in on the floor, the senators will proceed to the old Senate chamber for a photo op with the vice president to announce the oath. Their families usually join them.

Some highlights in the Senate

Black Women Making History: When Lisa Blunt Rochester and Angela Alsobrooks are sworn in, they will be the first two black women to serve in the Senate at the same time.

More history: After being sworn in, Sen. Tim Scott of South Carolina will be the longest-serving black senator. Scott will also become the first black chairman of a standing Senate committee when he takes over as chairman of the Banking, Housing and Urban Affairs Committee. Scott will serve his third term.

And even more history: The 119th Congress will mark the first time five black senators have served simultaneously: Alsobrooks, Democrat Cory Booker of New Jersey, Blunt Rochester, Scott and Raphael Warnock of Georgia.

Recent Kamala Harris Features: As the current vice president, the 2024 Democratic presidential candidate will be in charge of swearing in new members. It will be one of Harris’ last responsibilities as VP, aside from Jan. 6 and the inauguration.

Chuck Grassley serves as President Pro Tempore: Chuck Grassley is 91 years old and will return to the role he held from 2019 to 2021 with the Republicans in control. Grassley was first elected to the Senate in 1980 and has been re-elected seven times.

Not Jim Justice (or Babydog, for that matter): Senator-elect Justice announced at a press conference last week that he will step down as governor of West Virginia on January 13, before Gov. Patrick Morrisey is sworn in to maintain continuity in his home state. We’ll have to wait a little longer for him and his famous bulldog to swear.

Adam Schiff and Andy Kim vow again: Unlike the rest of their classmates, Senators Andy Kim and Adam Schiff were sworn in on Dec. 9 after winning elections to fill seats previously held by alternates appointed by the governor. We hope they both vow again.

Who’s in, who’s out?

Here are the new senators and who they will replace:

• Angela Alsobrooks, D-Md., replaces retiring Democratic Sen. Ben Cardin.
• Retiring Republican Sen. Mike Braun is being replaced by Rep. Jim Banks, R-Ind.
• Rep. John Curtis, R-Utah, stepped down to replace retiring Republican Sen. Mitt Romney.
• Lisa Blunt Rochester, D-Del., replaces retiring Democratic Sen. Tom Carper.
• Rep. Ruben Gallego, R-Ariz., has been replaced by independent Sen. Kyrsten Sinema, who did not seek re-election.
• Jim Justice, RW. Va., is represented by retiring independent Sen. Joe Manchin.
• Former Rep. Andy Kim, DN.J., replaces Sen. George Helmy, who completed the term of former Sen. Bob Menendez after he resigned. Helmy did not run for election.
• David McCormick, Penn. The Republican replaces Democratic Sen. Bob Casey, who lost his re-election bid.
• Bernie Moreno, R-Ohio, replaces Democratic Sen. Sherrod Brown, who lost his re-election bid.
• Former California Rep. Adam Schiff replaces Democratic Sen. Laphonza Butler, who was appointed to finish out the term of former Sen. Dianne Feinstein. Butler did not stand for election.
• Tim Sheehy, R-Mont., replaces Democratic Sen. Jon Tester, who lost his re-election bid.
• Elissa Slotkin, D-Mich., replaced Democratic Sen. Debbie Stabenow, who retired.