Biden Wins White House as Republicans Appear Positioned to Control Senate

Biden Wins White House as Republicans Appear Positioned to Control Senate

November 7 the Associated Press announced that former Vice President Joe Biden became president-elect. While there is increased clarity about the White House, there are still outstanding questions about the next Congress.

House Democrats were able to secure a majority (218 seats) but fell well short of their election expectations, losing at least seven incumbents while results in several tight House races are still pending. Even with a Democratic president, Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) is likely to have less room to maneuver an ideologically diverse caucus where progressives continue to strengthen their power base.

Senate Republicans are expected to maintain control of the Chamber. While the official election results currently put the partisan balance of power at 48-48, Republicans are ahead in two uncalled races in North Carolina and Alaska and are expected to do well in runoff elections for Georgia's two Senate seats in early January. In the unlikely event that Democrats flip both Georgia seats in the runoffs, a 50-50 seat split would give Democratic Vice President-elect Kamala Harris (D-CA) the Chamber's tie-breaking vote

Hyper-partisan legislative proposals passed by the House in the 116th Congress are unlikely to move forward in 2021 if Republicans keep their majority in the Senate. However, it is incredibly likely that legislation such as the Protecting the Right to Organize (PRO) Act, proposals to raise the national minimum wage to $15/hour, and ambitious climate/sustainability bills will be reintroduced and passed by the House in the 117th Congress. A new Congress also means that all legislation not signed into law by the end of the year will need to be reintroduced in 2021.

 

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