President-elect Donald Trump will take office in January 2025, and during his new term, he is expected to have the support of both the House of Representatives and the Senate. In addition to the White House, voters handed the Republicans control of both the Senate and the House of Representatives.
The new leader of the Senate, starting in January next year, will be Republican Senator John Thune.
“We have a mandate from the American people, not only to clean up the mess left by the Biden-Harris-Schumer agenda but also to fulfill the priorities of President Trump,” said Thune.
Senator Thune took over the leadership role in the Senate after the retirement of Senator Mitch McConnell, who served in this position for 18 years. The new Senate leader is already facing his first challenge. President-elect Donald Trump has proposed bypassing the constitutional role of the Senate in approving cabinet members.
“The Constitution gives the Senate the authority to approve treaties, judges, and cabinet members, so we will do everything we can to approve his appointments quickly so they can begin to implement his agenda,” Thune stated.
Democrats lost the majority in the Senate. They will have 47 seats in the new Senate.
“The American people have given us a new challenge. We need to learn from this,” said Senator Chuck Schumer, the current leader of the Democratic majority in the Senate.
During Trump’s first term, in the first two years, Republicans controlled both chambers of Congress. However, an analyst points out that this does not necessarily mean the White House will always get what it wants from Congress.
“Mitch McConnell had said he supported the president’s agenda, but then we saw that Republicans didn’t back initiatives if they thought the president had gone too far,” said Casey Burgat, an analyst at George Washington University.
After the current elections, Republicans retained control of the House of Representatives, earning high marks from Trump.
Mike Johnson
President-elect Trump supported Mike Johnson as Speaker of the House for another term.
“I believe this will be the most important Congress in the modern era, the most important administration of the modern era, because, frankly, we need to address nearly every area of public policy,” Johnson said.
However, Republicans have a slim majority in the House of Representatives, and Democrats have pledged to mount a strong political battle.
“The Progressive Caucus in Congress will continue to be a strong advocate for the working class and the poor,” said Democratic Representative Pramila Jayapal.
The new 119th Congress of the United States will be sworn in on January 3.
