Washington – The 119th Congress begins Friday with Republicans in full control of the House and Senate for the first time since 2019.
Still, there is the potential for sparks to fly in the House if Republicans turn 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 election.
Here’s what to know as the new Congress convenes in Washington:
When are new members of Congress sworn in?
Congress’ new two-year term begins Friday, when House members are expected to be sworn in. But first, they’ll have to choose a spokesperson, which hasn’t been easy for a Republican Party divided over the past two years. elections to choose their leader.
Former House Speaker Kevin McCarthy, R-Calif., needed 15 rounds to win the gavel in 2023, delaying the swearing in of new members by several days. McCarthy was impeached months later, and it took three weeks for Republicans to rally behind Johnson. The Louisiana Republican hopes to continue as speaker but faces some opposition within his own party after another messy fight last month over government funding.
The Senate swears in members when it meets Friday and then moves on to other business.
How does speaker selection work?
Typically, a member of each party will nominate a candidate for speaker before a vote of all incoming members in the House. Those candidates were determined in November, when both parties decided separately who they would support for the leadership.
Johnson won the support of the Republicans for another term. Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, a New York Democrat, will be appointed by his party. Members are not required to vote for these candidates and may choose to support someone else or no one.
During the roll call, members will indicate out loud who they favor as speaker. The candidate with the most votes cast wins the position of speaker. If no candidate wins in the first round, voting is repeated until someone wins a majority.
What is the new balance of power in the House and Senate?
Republicans flipped control of the Senate in the November election and will hold 53 seats. Democrats, including independents who caucus with them, will control 47.
In the House, Republicans maintained their majority, winning 220 seats. Democrats won 215. But President-elect Donald Trump tapped three Republicans to serve in his administration, narrowing 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 219-215 lead.
Johnson will need 218 votes to win the speaker election if all members are present and voting.
What do Republicans want to accomplish first?
Top Republican priorities include immigration and border security, energy policy and extending tax cuts from Trump’s first term. But whether Republicans can quickly achieve 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 a majority of legislation in the Senate.
“It’s going to take a lot of work to build consensus among all Republicans to get this done,” Johnson told Fox News on Monday.
Trump has also called for raising the debt ceiling, which limits how much the government can borrow to pay its bills. Without an increase, it is likely to complicate Republicans’ legislative priorities.
Who are the new House members joining Congress in 2025?
More than 60 new members join the Chamber this week. They are:
- Yassamin Ansari, Democrat of Arizona
- Tom Barrett, Republican of Michigan
- Michael Baumgartner, Republican of Washington
- Nick Begich, Republican of Alaska
- Wesley Bell, a Democrat from Missouri
- Sheri Biggs, Republican of South Carolina
- Rob Bresnahan, Republican of Pennsylvania
- Janelle Bynum, Democrat of Oregon
- Gil Cisneros Jr., a Democrat from California
- Herb Conaway, a Democrat from New Jersey
- Jeff Crank, Republican of Colorado
- Maxine Dexter, Democrat of Oregon
- Troy Downing, a Republican from Montana
- Sarah Elfreth, Democrat of Maryland
- Gabe Evans, Republican of Colorado
- Julie Fedorchak, Republican of North Dakota
- Cleo Fields, Democrat of Louisiana
- Shomari Figures, a Democrat from Alabama
- Laura Friedman, Democrat of California
- Brandon Gill, Republican of Texas
- Laura Gillen, Democrat of New York
- Craig Goldman, Republican of Texas
- Maggie Goodlander, Democrat of New Hampshire
- Adam Gray, a Democrat from California
- Abe Hamadeh, Republican of Arizona
- Mike Haridopolos, Republican of Florida
- Pat Harrigan, Republican of North Carolina
- Mark Harris, Republican of North Carolina
- Jeff Hurd, Republican of Colorado
- Brian Jack, Republican of Georgia
- Julie Johnson, Democrat of Texas
- Mike Kennedy, Republican of Utah
- Kimberlyn King-Hinds, Republican of the Northern Mariana Islands (non-voting member)
- Brad Knott, Republican of North Carolina
- George Latimer, a Democrat from New York
- Sam Liccardo, a Democrat from California
- Ryan Mackenzie, Republican of Pennsylvania
- John Mannion, a Democrat from New York
- Sarah McBride, D-Delaware
- April McClain-Delaney, Democrat of Maryland
- Kristen McDonald Rivet, Democrat of Michigan
- Addison McDowell, Republican of North Carolina
- John McGuire, Republican of Virginia
- Mark Messmer, Republican of Indiana
- Dave Min, a Democrat from California
- Tim Moore, Republican of North Carolina
- Riley Moore, Republican of West Virginia
- Kelly Morrison, Democrat of Minnesota
- Johnny Olszewski, a Democrat from Maryland
- Bob Onder Jr., Republican of Missouri
- Nellie Pou, Democrat of New Jersey
- Emily Randall, D-Washington
- Josh Riley, a Democrat from New York
- Luz Rivas, Democrat of California
- Pablo Hernandez Rivera, Democrat of Puerto Rico (non-voting member)
- Derek Schmidt, Republican of Kansas
- Jefferson Shreve, Republican of Indiana
- Lateefah Simon, a Democrat from California
- Marlin Stutzman, Republican of Indiana
- Suhas Subramanyam, Democrat of Virginia
- David Taylor, Republican of Ohio
- Derek Tran, a Democrat from California
- Sylvester Turner, a Democrat from Texas
- Eugene Vindman, Democrat of Virginia
- George Whitesides, a Democrat from California
Who are the new senators joining Congress in 2025?
Ten new senators join the upper house this year. They include four Democrats and six Republicans.
- Angela Alsobrooks, Democrat of Maryland
- Jim Banks, Republican of Indiana
- Lisa Blunt Rochester, D-Delaware
- John Curtis, Republican of Utah
- Ruben Gallego, Democrat of Arizona
- Jim Justice, Republican of West Virginia
- David McCormick, Republican of Pennsylvania
- Bernie Moreno, Republican of Ohio
- Tim Sheehy, Republican of Montana
- Elissa Slotkin, Democrat of Michigan
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 a seniority advantage.