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The 119th Congress officially began at noon on Friday, January 3. This week, both chambers returned to Washington, DC, to certify the 2024 Electoral College results and begin their legislative work.
Rep. Mike Johnson (R-La.) secured reelection as Speaker of the House on Friday, emerging after two GOP members changed their votes, granting him the majority needed to begin the work of the 119th Congress. Johnson required 218 votes to win the gavel, but initially appeared two votes short. He then met with allies and conservative members for around an hour, seemingly heading toward defeat. A dramatic turn occurred when Reps. Keith Self (R-Texas) and Ralph Norman (R-S.C.), two of the remaining holdouts, switched their votes, giving Johnson the necessary majority. Rep. Thomas Massie of Kentucky remained the sole House Republican not to vote for Speaker Johnson, voting instead for Majority Whip Tom Emmer (R-Minn.). All 215 House Democrats voted for Minority Leader Hakeem Jefferies (D-N.Y.)—the final tally was (218-215-1). After the vote, Reps. Self and Norman shared with reporters that they had spoken with both Johnson and President-elect Donald Trump, who emphasized the importance of party unity.
Sen. John Thune (R-S.D.) formally took over as Senate Majority Leader. In his first speech, Thune spoke of the desire to work quickly to implement President-elect Trump’s legislative agenda. Senate Republican leaders will begin holding confirming hearings for President-elect Trump’s Cabinet nominations. The confirmation process will prove seamless for most nominees, although several of the incoming Trump Administration picks will have challenges securing Senate confirmation. Secretary of Defense nominee Pete Hegseth has become embattled over accusations of misconduct. FBI nominee Kash Patel and Director of National Intelligence nominee Tulsi Gabbard also have backgrounds that could affect their path to confirmation. There are questions about the candidacy of these nominees, although Majority Leader Thune has privately told President-elect Trump that Hegseth has the votes for confirmation as Defense Secretary. There are reports that the Senate is aiming to hold confirmation hearings for Hegseth, Marco Rubio as Secretary of State, Elise Stefanik as U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations, Pam Bondi as Attorney General, Gabbard as Director of National Intelligence, John Ratcliffe as the Director of the Central Intelligence Agency, Doug Burgum as Interior Secretary, Kristi Noem as Secretary of Homeland Security, Brooke Rollins as Agriculture Secretary, and Lee Zeldin as Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency. The earliest some of these nominees will be confirmed is the afternoon of January 20, after Trump and Vice President-elect JD Vance are sworn into office.
Today, unlike four years ago, Congress worked quickly and uneventfully to certify President-elect Trump’s 2024 election victory. Trump and Vance received 312 Electoral College votes while outgoing Vice President Kamala Harris and Minnesota Governor Tim Walz received 226 Electoral College votes.
During a closed-door strategy meeting last week, Speaker Johnson shared with House Republicans that President-elect Trump prefers one large budget reconciliation package as opposed to two bills that newly minted Majority Leader Thune initially planned to pursue. Thune’s plan was to pass a border and energy bill first, followed by a tax-related bill; Trump is calling for “one big beautiful bill.” The divide seems to exist between House and Senate GOP leaders, and Trump has seemingly placed his support behind House Ways and Means Committee Chair Jason Smith's (R-Mo.) preferred plan for passage of one large package. Chair Smith believes that one vote is favorable due to the lower chamber’s slim majority and potential internal challenges within the House Republican Conference. Speaker Johnson wants to vote on the legislation, which could include border security, energy, tax policies, and potentially a debt limit hike in the first week of April. However, on Monday, Trump stated publicly that he is open to a two-bill strategy on his priorities as long as his agenda gets passed.
The House will consider two bills this week: the Laken Riley Act (H.R. 29), which requires the Secretary of Homeland Security to take into custody aliens who have been charged in the United States with theft; and the Illegitimate Court Counteraction Act (H.R. 23), which imposes sanctions with respect to the International Criminal Court engaged in any effort to investigate, arrest, detain, or prosecute any protected person of the United States and its allies.
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