A Look Ahead: Trump’s agenda vs. Congress
Washington — The 119th Congress begins Friday with Republicans in full control of the House and Senate for the first time since 2019.
Still, there’s the potential for sparks to fly in the House if Republicans revolt against Speaker Mike Johnson during the leadership vote, which is expected to take place shortly after 12 p.m.
In the Senate, Republicans will officially take the reins after flipping the majority in the November elections.Â
Here’s what to know as the new Congress convenes in Washington:
When do the new members of Congress get sworn in?
The new term of Congress, which lasts two years, begins Friday, when House members are expected to be sworn in. But first, they’ll have to elect a speaker, which has not come easy for a divided Republican Party in the last two elections to pick their leader.Â
It took former House Speaker Kevin McCarthy, a California Republican, 15 rounds to win the gavel in 2023, delaying the swearing-in of new members by several days. McCarthy was ousted months later, and it took Republicans three weeks to coalesce behind Johnson. The Louisiana Republican is hoping to continue as speaker, but is facing some opposition within his own party after another messy fight last month over government funding.
The Senate swears in members when it convenes Friday and then moves on to other business.Â
How does the speaker’s election work?
Typically, a member from each party will nominate a candidate for speaker ahead of a vote of all incoming members on the House floor. Those candidates were determined in November, when both parties separately decided who they would support for leadership.Â
Johnson won the backing of Republicans for another term. Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, a New York Democrat, will be nominated by his party. Members are not required to vote for those candidates and could choose to support someone else or no one.Â
During the roll call vote, members will state aloud who they favor for speaker. The candidate with the majority of votes cast wins the speakership. If no candidate wins on the first round, the vote is repeated until someone secures the majority.Â
What is the new balance of power in the House and the Senate?
Republicans flipped control of the Senate in the November elections and will have 53 seats. Democrats, including independents who caucus with them, will control 47.
In the House, Republicans held on to their majority, winning 220 seats. Democrats won 215. But President-elect Donald Trump tapped three Republican members for positions in his administration, cutting into the party’s already narrow margins until special elections are held in the coming months. Rep. Matt Gaetz of Florida also said he would not take his seat, giving Republicans a 219 to 215 edge.Â
Johnson will need 218 votes to win the speaker’s election if all members are present and voting.
What do Republicans want to accomplish first?
Republicans’ top priorities include immigration and border security, energy policy and extending tax cuts from Trump’s first term. But whether Republicans can quickly accomplish their goals depends on how unified the party is. They plan to use a process called budget reconciliation, which would give them the ability to pass large portions of their agenda with a simple majority, avoiding the 60-vote threshold needed for most legislation in the Senate.Â
“It’s going to take a lot of work to build a consensus among all the Republicans to get it done,” Johnson told Fox News on Monday.Â
Trump has also called for the debt ceiling to be increased, which limits how much the government can borrow to pay its bills. Without an increase, it’s likely to complicate Republicans’ legislative priorities.Â
Who are the new House members joining Congress in 2025?
More than 60 new members are joining the House this week. They are:Â
- Yassamin Ansari, a Democrat from Arizona
- Tom Barrett, a Republican from Michigan
- Michael Baumgartner, a Republican from Washington
- Nick Begich, a Republican from Alaska
- Wesley Bell, a Democrat from MissouriÂ
- Sheri Biggs, a Republican from South CarolinaÂ
- Rob Bresnahan, a Republican from PennsylvaniaÂ
- Janelle Bynum, a Democrat from OregonÂ
- Gil Cisneros Jr., a Democrat from CaliforniaÂ
- Herb Conaway, a Democrat from New JerseyÂ
- Jeff Crank, a Republican from ColoradoÂ
- Maxine Dexter, a Democrat from OregonÂ
- Troy Downing, a Republican from MontanaÂ
- Sarah Elfreth, a Democrat from MarylandÂ
- Gabe Evans, a Republican from ColoradoÂ
- Julie Fedorchak, a Republican from North DakotaÂ
- Cleo Fields, a Democrat from LouisianaÂ
- Shomari Figures, a Democrat from AlabamaÂ
- Laura Friedman, a Democrat from CaliforniaÂ
- Brandon Gill, a Republican from TexasÂ
- Laura Gillen, a Democrat from New YorkÂ
- Craig Goldman, a Republican from TexasÂ
- Maggie Goodlander, a Democrat from New HampshireÂ
- Adam Gray, a Democrat from CaliforniaÂ
- Abe Hamadeh, a Republican from ArizonaÂ
- Mike Haridopolos, a Republican from FloridaÂ
- Pat Harrigan, a Republican from North CarolinaÂ
- Mark Harris, a Republican from North CarolinaÂ
- Jeff Hurd, a Republican from ColoradoÂ
- Brian Jack, a Republican from GeorgiaÂ
- Julie Johnson, a Democrat from TexasÂ
- Mike Kennedy, a Republican from UtahÂ
- Kimberlyn King-Hinds, a Republican from the Northern Mariana Islands (non-voting member)
- Brad Knott, a Republican from North CarolinaÂ
- George Latimer, a Democrat from New YorkÂ
- Sam Liccardo, a Democrat from CaliforniaÂ
- Ryan Mackenzie, a Republican from PennsylvaniaÂ
- John Mannion, a Democrat from New YorkÂ
- Sarah McBride, a Democrat from DelawareÂ
- April McClain-Delaney, a Democrat from MarylandÂ
- Kristen McDonald Rivet, a Democrat from MichiganÂ
- Addison McDowell, a Republican from North CarolinaÂ
- John McGuire, a Republican from VirginiaÂ
- Mark Messmer, a Republican from IndianaÂ
- Dave Min, a Democrat from CaliforniaÂ
- Tim Moore, a Republican from North CarolinaÂ
- Riley Moore, a Republican from West VirginiaÂ
- Kelly Morrison, a Democrat from MinnesotaÂ
- Johnny Olszewski, a Democrat from MarylandÂ
- Bob Onder Jr., a Republican from MissouriÂ
- Nellie Pou, a Democrat from New JerseyÂ
- Emily Randall, a Democrat from WashingtonÂ
- Josh Riley, a Democrat from New YorkÂ
- Luz Rivas, a Democrat from CaliforniaÂ
- Pablo Hernandez Rivera, a Democrat from Puerto Rico (non-voting member)
- Derek Schmidt, a Republican from KansasÂ
- Jefferson Shreve, a Republican from IndianaÂ
- Lateefah Simon, a Democrat from CaliforniaÂ
- Marlin Stutzman, a Republican from IndianaÂ
- Suhas Subramanyam, a Democrat from VirginiaÂ
- David Taylor, a Republican from OhioÂ
- Derek Tran, a Democrat from CaliforniaÂ
- Sylvester Turner, a Democrat from TexasÂ
- Eugene Vindman, a Democrat from VirginiaÂ
- George Whitesides, a Democrat from CaliforniaÂ
Who are the new senators joining Congress in 2025?
Ten new senators are joining the upper chamber this year. They include four Democrats and six Republicans.Â
- Angela Alsobrooks, a Democrat from MarylandÂ
- Jim Banks, a Republican from IndianaÂ
- Lisa Blunt Rochester, a Democrat from DelawareÂ
- John Curtis, a Republican from UtahÂ
- Ruben Gallego, a Democrat from ArizonaÂ
- Jim Justice, a Republican from West VirginiaÂ
- David McCormick, a Republican from PennsylvaniaÂ
- Bernie Moreno, a Republican from OhioÂ
- Tim Sheehy, a Republican from MontanaÂ
- Elissa Slotkin, a Democrat from MichiganÂ
Two other new senators, Democrats Adam Schiff of California and Andy Kim of New Jersey, replaced their outgoing predecessors early, and were sworn in in December to have an edge on seniority.
Caitlin Yilek is a politics reporter at CBSNews.com, based in Washington, D.C. She previously worked for the Washington Examiner and The Hill, and was a member of the 2022 Paul Miller Washington Reporting Fellowship with the National Press Foundation.
