It has long been said that Congress is a lot like a school.
What was the first thing they did in school? Attend the event.
That’s one thing they usually Don’t do it in Congress.
But maybe next year.
familiar face Familiar Places: The Latest from Capitol Hill
Determining who is present and responsible And who goes outside becomes one of the most dramatic daily events on Capitol Hill.
It’s always been about math on Capitol Hill.
But the 119th Congress will be like that. Really? It’s about mathematics.
Every day in the house depends on who is sick. Who has a parent/teacher conference? Whose plane was delayed because of snow? Anyone who just plays catchy is not trustworthy. Who is giving a speech downtown, gets stuck in traffic, and just can’t go back in time. Whose child is acting in a school play? Whose aunt died?
President Trump and the House of Representatives have big plans for the 2025 legislative agenda, but the sheer size of the GOP majority could dampen those expectations by the day.
House Majority Leader Steve Scalise (R-LA) speaks during a news conference with House Republican leaders at the U.S. Capitol. in Washington, D.C., United States, on November 19, 2024 (Posner/Anadolu via Getty Images)
It will be interesting to see what Republicans can do.
Republicans are likely to start the new year with a 219-215 majority for 434 seats, with one vacant seat when former Rep. Matt Gaetz, R-Fla., resigned. That’s a four-seat margin. But in reality It means that the GOP majority can tolerate just one Republican defector on each ballot without needing help from the other side. One Republican “naked” was 218-216, but two Republican rebels tied 217-217, as a rule, ties are lost in the Senate.
But the start of the new Congress on January 3 may represent Halycon Day for the House Republican convention.
Reps. Elise Stefanik, R-N.Y., and Michael Waltz, R-Fla., intend to resign in January to join the Trump administration. Stefanik became U.N. ambassador and wants confirmation for that post. The president-elect taps the waltz to serve as national security adviser. That position is not subject to Senate confirmation. So the Republican majority would shrink to 217-215 at that point. Republicans cannot afford to waste votes to pass their agenda.–
The hitchhiker’s advice on the status of GAETZ in the house and the report of the Ethics Committee
That’s a problem for the House of Representatives, which regularly hosts swarms of defectors. Since the government opened up to the impeachment of Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas. This could cause problems for House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., in returning to the speaker’s suite. Johnson will need to win a majority of all House members in the ballot when the new Congress meets on January 3 to become president. He will find some relief when the new Congress begins. But it won’t be much. House Republicans are still suffering from political PTSD after 15 rounds to elect former House Speaker Kevin McCarthy, R-Calif., earlier this year.
Yes. There will be a special election to fill the seats of Gaetz, Stefanik and Waltz. Florida Governor Ron DeSantis (R) has already called a special election for Gaetz’s seat on April 1.
You can’t make this up.
U.S. Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-FL) waves on stage on day three of the Republican National Convention at Fiserv Forum on July 17, 2024 in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. (Leon O’Neal/Getty Images)
Other special elections It’s months away, as Stefanik and Waltz have not resigned. In fact, if Stefanik is confirmed and resigns in late January, It could be May before a special election is held for her position. In accordance with New York law and at the discretion of the New York Government, Cathy Hochul (D)
Special election results sometimes produce “extraordinary” results. Normal voters stay home periodically. And the opposing party will seize those seats in the off-cycle elections. Therefore, even if these seats are Although the Republican party is “republican,” there is no automatic guarantee that the Republican Party will win.
But if things As planned Republicans will win those seats back within months. with a relatively strong majority of 220-215 votes That means Republicans can lose up to two votes on any key issue.
But there is always something missing. Always resign
And this isn’t limited to the Republican side of the aisle.
SPRINT to confirm Trump nominees to start in January
There have long been concerns about the health and attendance of 79-year-old Rep. David Scott, D-Ga., the top Democrat on the House Agriculture Committee. Scott faced criticism earlier this year for his lack of public appearances and interviews.
76-year-old Sen. Raul Grijalva, D-Ariz., is the top Democrat on the House Natural Resources Committee. Grijalva vowed this will be his last after suffering from cancer. Illness sidelined Grijalva for several months. He missed more than 300 ballots between February and this fall. and did not interview
Reps. Sheila Jackson Lee, D-Tex., Bill Pascrell, D-N.J., and Donald Payne Jr., D-N.J., were all in office when they died in This year, Sen. Dianne Feinstein, D-Calif., dies in 2023.
Democrats are making a lot of noise right now about President-elect Trump’s agenda. It will be incumbent on Democrats to join in full force to oppose Republicans and make the lives of the majority miserable. But Democrats can only do this if they show up. All the time.
House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, D-N.Y., conducts his weekly news conference in the Capitol Visitor Center on Thursday, May 23, 2024. (Tom Williams/CQ-Roll Call, Inc via Getty Images)
Such was the case when House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, D-N.Y., received every House Democratic vote in each House speaker nomination in January and October of last year. Only Rep. David Trone, D-Md., missed a few votes because he was undergoing surgery, but Trone returned to Capitol Hill that evening to cast his vote.
Rep. Al Green, D-Tex., was hospitalized last February. But Green came to City Hall in a wheelchair in February to help torpedo the initial effort to impeach Mayorkas. Republicans had three defectors on his side. Green’s new vote from hospital gurney forces GOP effort to fail and try again
One challenging factor for the GOP is the health of House Majority Leader Steve Scalise, R-La. Scalise was diagnosed with cancer last year. and was released in the first part of 2023. Scalise has now recovered, but his absence stymied the GOP with big votes like Mayorkas’ impeachment in the first place.
Unfortunately and inevitably there will be time off work due to health conditions. And God forbid there should be death. Congress rarely passes a legislative session without the death of a lawmaker – sometimes in unexpected circumstances. Rep. Jackie Walorski, R-Ind., and two aides died in a traffic accident in the summer of 2022.
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So listen to the bell ringing for next year’s parliament. Check the weather forecast and flight schedule at Reagan National Airport. Better look on Waze if they’re flying to Dulles. See if a new wave of influenza or COVID spreads through Congress.
Yes. Understanding who supports or opposes any bill or amendment is always important in Congress. But what comes into play is whether or not they actually exist.
