Democrats are set to formally take control of Congress in two months after voters handed them the House and Senate on Tuesday. That puts the answer to when is the new congress sworn in at the center of a short lame-duck stretch, with Republicans trying to move legislation before the transfer.
Top GOP leaders are discussing a catch-all package before the new Congress begins. Government funding runs out on Dec. 11, which leaves Republicans and Democrats to negotiate year-end legislation under a tighter schedule.
Bernie Moreno and the Nov. 9 push
Bernie Moreno, the Sen. R-Ohio, gave the clearest picture of the pace Republicans want. He said, “If we lose control of Congress, it’ll be the Last Supper.” He also said, “So it’ll be, you know, a giant reconciliation bill where we take all the Republican priorities that we can get done.”
Moreno added, “we should be here from Nov. 9 until Dec. 31 with no break at all.” His timeline matches the short window between the election result and the point when Democrats formally take control.
Ron Johnson and reconciliation
Ron Johnson, the Sen. R-Wis. and chair of the Senate Budget Committee, told MS NOW in September, “We’re talking about doing a bigger and better one.” The discussion points to reconciliation as the main vehicle Republicans are considering for a final legislative package.
That effort still runs into the calendar. Republicans and Democrats will have to negotiate with each other during the lame-duck session on year-end legislation, and the funding deadline arrives before the end-of-year span Moreno described.
The House and the 119th Congress
The House will also have to deal with a vote to impeach Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth in the final days of the 119th Congress. That leaves Republicans with more than one item competing for floor time before the new Congress takes over.
For readers tracking when is the new congress sworn in, the practical answer is that the transfer comes after the two-month window now facing lawmakers. The immediate question is how much Republicans can finish before that handoff, because the remaining schedule runs through Dec. 11 funding talks and the end-of-year push Moreno described.
