The 119th U.S. Congress will come into session Friday. After a contentious government funding battle last month, though, Republican Party control of both houses of Congress and presidency faces challenges.
The Senate enters the new session as Republicans take the majority from Democrats and Senator Mitch McConnell steps away from party leadership for the first time in 18 years. Republican Senator John Thune has already been selected to lead the Senate as majority leader.
Republicans will hold a 53-47 seat majority, well below the 60 votes needed to advance most legislation.
In the House, where Republicans hold a narrow 219-215 majority, the focus will be on votes for speaker. Current Speaker Mike Johnson’s position is in jeopardy after his deal last month with Democrats to keep the government funded and open.
It would take only as few as two Republicans to vote against Johnson to put his speakership in jeopardy. Democrats are expected to nominate Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries for the speakership but are likely to fall short by a few votes.
President-elect Donald Trump posted his support for Johnson on social media Monday, saying the speaker was “a good, hard-working, religious man.”
But Republican representatives Chip Roy and Thomas Massie have already stated their doubts about his leadership and Trump ally and adviser Steve Bannon has called on Republicans to remove Johnson from leadership.
“Mr. Johnson caught a lot of fire from his GOP colleagues. And he has an extraordinarily limited margin for his majority, just a handful of people,” Kevin Kosar, a fellow at the American Enterprise Institute, told VOA via Zoom.
Two years ago, at the start of another Congress, Republican Kevin McCarthy faced similar challenges to his bid for the speakership. He was finally elected on the 15th round of voting.
If Johnson, or another Republican, is unable to garner enough votes for the speakership the chamber could be without a leader in time for the official certification of Trump’s electoral victory on Jan. 6. Whoever does lead the House will, at least temporarily, hold an even tighter majority after Trump takes office on Jan. 20, as he has picked two House Republicans to join his administration.
Traditionally, the first 100 days of a new presidency and Congress are a time for an ambitious legislative agenda.
“He’s going to hit tariffs very hard. He’s going to focus on the border, and executive orders related to immigration and immigrants, particularly from Mexico and Muslim countries. And then he’s going to work on any compromises he can to get through the legislative agenda on things affecting the economy, groceries, as he likes to call it,” Casey Burgat, a professor at The George Washington University in Washington, told VOA via Zoom.
Some information for this story came from Reuters.
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