What we know about the next Senate after Sinema’s announcement and the Ga. runoff
Arizona Sen. Kyrsten Sinema may have changed that Friday when she left the Democratic Party and joined the ranks of Sens. Angus King of Maine and Bernie Sanders of Vermont as an independent in the Senate.
Sinema has voted with Democrats multiple times, especially recently on the Respect for Marriage Act, which she sponsored, but she has also held up part of Biden’s agenda by refusing to end the filibuster.
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The White House offered support to Sinema in a statement Friday and said the working relationship wouldn’t change, but it punctuated a week of stark change for Biden who had a crystal clear majority Tuesday and a murky one by the end of the week.
the Georgia runoff, he secured his Senate seat for six years beginning in January and delivered Democrats another midterm win in a year when the party was expected to face stronger headwinds.
It was also a win for Biden, who would have an easier time getting his judicial nominations approved in a 51-49 Senate.
Biden has spent the first half of his presidency with a 50-50 Senate, which has given swing Democrats like Sens. Joe Manchin of West Virginia and Sinema the power to push through the president’s agenda or upend it.
“Manchin is a good person, but he has different views, and he represents a different constituency than most of us do. Same with the senator from Arizona,” Biden said at a fundraiser last week, according to press pool reports.
The senator from Arizona on Friday made herself more relevant.
More:Kyrsten Sinema leaves Democratic Party, registers as independent
Sinema is up for reelection in 2024, but she hasn’t confirmed a run. Changing her party affiliation to independent spares her a Democratic primary challenger should she seek reelection in two years.
Schumer, who hadn’t commented on Sinema’s switch as of noon Friday, was gleeful during a Wednesday morning press conference as he cheered the new 51-49 majority. .
“It’s going to be a lot quicker, swifter and easier,” Schumer said, noting that this year marks the first time since 1934 that each Senate incumbent of the party in power won their race.
Warnock wins election, boosting Democratic majority
Manchin and Sinema
Manchin and Sinema wielded enormous power in a 50-50 Senate, refusing to end a filibuster to pass Biden’s priorities or enshrine abortion rights into law. They also were key votes in helping to pass major pieces of legislation, such as the infrastructure deal.
Warnock win gives Democrats 51-seat Senate majority in 2022 midterms overtime battle
Warnock
In his victory speech Tuesday night, Warnock showed off his oratorical skills as a pastor and demonstrated why he will return to Capitol Hill as a rising star.
“I am Georgia,” Warnock said. “I am an example and an iteration of its history, of its peril and promise, of the brutality and the possibilities. But because this is America, because we always have a path to make our country greater against unspeakable odds, here we stand together.”
His win in a traditionally red state that is blurring to purple also means he’ll have more clout in the Senate.
Rick Scott and Mitch McConnell
The loss by Republican senatorial candidate Herschel Walker weakens the political position of National Republican Senatorial Committee chair Sen. Rick Scott, R-Fla., who led a failed effort to challenge Minority Leader Mitch McConnell of Kentucky.
Though McConnell was on track to again lead the Republican conference before the Georgia runoff, Walker’s loss all but assures it and further minimizes the bargaining position of Scott, who lost winnable seats in key battlegrounds of Arizona, Georgia, Nevada, New Hampshire and Pennsylvania.
Key points:5 takeaways from the Georgia Senate runoff between Raphael Warnock and Herschel Walker
Walker and Trump
Days after former President Donald Trump called for a termination of the Constitution, his chosen candidate Walker appeared to pivot from those remarks in his concession speech Tuesday night.
“I want you to believe in America and continue to believe in the Constitution and believe in our elected officials,” Walker said.
His loss was the latest big defeat for Trump and a Republican party that underperformed in the midterms, which tend to go against the sitting president’s party.
Republicans narrowly won the House and narrowly lost the Senate.
House v. Senate
When the next Congress takes office Jan. 3, it is unlikely any senator will be as powerful as Manchin and Sinema have been.
That power was neutralized in November when Republicans won the House.
Regardless of what leverage some senators may hold in the upper chamber, it can be largely canceled out by Republicans in the lower chamber, who are likely to block Democratic-led bills and try to make Biden appear ineffective heading into the 2024 election.
What the next Senate can accomplish
Despite the Georgia runoff results, a split Congress means both Democrats and Republicans will have trouble passing legislation in January.
Republicans control the House, and Democrats control the Senate and White House. If history serves as a guide, the next two years could be rife with partisan gridlock.
Senate Democrats will control which bills move through committees and reach the floor for a vote, but senators will have a tough time getting their agenda through the Republican-controlled House.
Even now, when Democrats control the House, Senate and White House, lawmakers are struggling to pass bills that will fund the federal government.
Just as Biden warned one senator could hold up his agenda, even a win in Georgia means there’s still one chamber that could prevent him from accomplishing anything heading into 2024.
Candy Woodall is a Congress reporter for USA TODAY. She can be reached at cwoodall@usatoday.com or on Twitter at @candynotcandace.