WASHINGTON: Senators elected party leaders Tuesday with little change at the top, but it is unclear who will be the majority leader in the new Congress with no party securing control of the Senate until the second round of the January elections in Georgia.
Sen. Mitch McConnell, R-Kentucky, won another term as Republican leader, his office said, cementing his role as the oldest Republican leader in American history. Senator Chuck Schumer, DN.Y. he won his party’s support to continue to lead the Democrats, according to a Democrat who was granted anonymity to discuss closed-door voting.
None of the leaders were challenged in Tuesday’s private elections, and all of their leadership teams will be reinstated.
But it remains to be determined whether McConnell will maintain his role as majority leader or hand it over to Schumer as the final races for the United States Senate unfold.
Last week’s elections left the house divided, 48-48, and headed for the new Congress next year. Republicans rejected Democratic rivals in several states, but failed to secure the seats necessary to retain their majority.
The two-seat races in Georgia heading into a runoff on January 5 are quickly turning into a showdown for control of the camera. The state is sharply divided, with Democrats making gains over Republicans, fueled by a surge in new voters. But no Democrat has been elected senator in about 20 years.
Two other seats in North Carolina and Alaska are left too early to call. In North Carolina, Senator Thom Tillis is trying to fend off Democratic challenger Cal Cunningham in a close race. Alaska Republican Senator Dan Sullivan is the frontrunner for another term against Al Gross, an independent Democratic candidate.
Even if Republicans secure the last two elections in which the ballots are still counted in North Carolina and Alaska, they still would not reach the necessary 51 seats.
The math has become more challenging for McConnell because the vice president of the party holding the White House casts the runoff vote in the Senate. Next year she would be Vice President-elect Kamala Harris. That means 50 seats for Democrats would result in control over the chamber. But the Republicans would need 51 seats to consolidate their grip on power.
The stakes are high for all parties, and strategists expect $ 500 million to be spent in the second round of Georgia’s elections in the coming weeks.
Republican Senator Kelly Loeffler will face Rafael Warnock, a black pastor from the church where the Reverend Martin Luther King, Jr. preached and Republican Senator David Perdue, one of Trump’s main allies, will face Democratic challenger Jon Ossoff.
A Democratic majority in the Senate, the party that also controls the House, would give the party a firm grip on power in Washington. Biden would have freedom over the nominees, including for his cabinet, and the opportunity to push important parts of his legislative agenda in Congress. If Democrats fall short, McConnell could wield the power to curb Biden’s ambitions.
The Democratic leadership team includes Sen. Dick Durbin, D-Illinois, as a whip; Sen. Patty Murray, D-Washington, Assistant to the Leader, and several others, including Sen. Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass., Sen. Amy Klobuchar, D-Minnesota, Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., Maintaining Leadership roles. Democrats added Senator Cory Booker, DN.J., and Senator Catherine Cortez-Masto, Democrat of Nevada, to the leadership team.
The Republican leadership team will include Sen. John Thune, RS.D., as a whip; with Senator John Barrasso, Republican of Wyoming, and others in other leadership roles.
Disclaimer: This post has been automatically published from an agency feed with no modifications to the text and has not been reviewed by an editor.
