The newly promoted U.S. Congress, which took office on Sunday (Jan. 3), still faces many uncertainties, with the situation in the Senate yet to be determined and the absolute lead of Democrats in the House of Representatives receding, resulting in some key areas more likely to be hamstrung by Republicans, which has intensified the standoff between the two parties in the U.S. House of Representatives.
In the November election, Democrats lost 11 House seats, with only a slight majority of 222-212 over the Republican seats. British media pointed out that moderates from all parties are more likely to flex their political muscle as the balance of power in the House and Senate narrowed this year.
In the January 3 vote, Pelosi received 216 votes to succeed the Speaker of the House. Pelosi won by virtue of winning a majority of votes due to the loss of staff in the House of Representatives due to the epidemic and the absence of several members. Previously Reuters argued that the smaller Democratic majority and the still raging Communist virus pandemic could make it difficult for the 80-year-old Pelosi to be re-elected.
Two years ago, 15 Democrats opposed Pelosi’s election as speaker, and some said it was time to replace the leader who has led the House since 2003 and has been speaker twice. And while 10 of those 15 will return to the House again, some newly elected progressives such as Jamaal Bowman (D-Calif.) and Cori Bush (D-Calif.) have declined to say whether they support Pelosi.
But in Sunday’s vote, lawmakers from both parties appeared more united under their respective party affiliations, with Republicans casting all their votes for Minority Leader McCarthy, and after five Democrats refused to give Pelosi their votes, other lawmakers all voted for Pelosi, helping her win by a narrow margin.
“I think she’s going to win,” House Majority Leader Snyy Hoyer (D-Md.) told reporters last week, “We’re not …… doing too much for the speakership, we’re more trying to maintain the majority , so we can make policy.”
Pelosi has pledged to help working-class people during the epidemic and last week announced the creation of a new Commission on Economic Inequality to address some of the domestic inequalities exposed by the coronavirus (C.C. virus) pandemic.
The epidemic played a negative role in Sunday’s congressional session. Last week, a newly elected House Republican died from the virus, while a Democratic lawmaker also tested positive and several other lawmakers declared self-isolation and did not attend due to the outbreak. Due to the outbreak, House members voted as a group, causing procedural delays. House leaders announced guidelines for social distancing, limiting access to the chamber to 72 lawmakers at a time.
For the Senate, last year’s Senate had 52 Republicans and 48 Democrats. But the current count is 51 Republicans and 48 Democrats. Georgia Republican Sen. Kelly Loeffler was appointed to the Senate a year ago to replace another senator who retired early. She remains in her seat until Tuesday’s (Jan. 5) runoff. But Georgia’s other Republican senator, David Perdue, has reached the end of his term, so he will have to wait for Tuesday’s election results to see if he can regain his seat. In the Senate, Republicans will still have a majority in the opening session Sunday, but Loeffler’s seat will still have to wait to be determined after the Jan. 5 election.
A Republican win of one or two seats in Georgia would solidify the GOP majority led by Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.). If Democrats win two seats in Georgia on Jan. 5, it will likely produce a 50:50 Senate. The vice president-elect will automatically become the president of the Senate when he is sworn in.
Recent Comments