Kamala Harris Presides as GOP Reclaims Majority in U.S. Senate

Republicans are officially reclaiming a majority in the United States Senate as the 119th Congress commences on Friday.

The GOP will regain control of the Senate for the first time in four years after Vice President Kamala Harris swears in the new body this afternoon.

Republicans will ultimately have a 53-seat majority over Democrats after picking up four Democrat-held seats and defending all Republican-held seats on election night in November. Incoming Sens. Jim Justice (R-WV), Dave McCormick (R-PA), Bernie Moreno (R-OH), and Tim Sheehy (R-MT) represent the key flips for the GOP.

Change was in the air in the Capitol building on Friday morning. Capitol workers swapped the placard outside the Republican leader’s office as outgoing Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) returns to the rank and file after a nearly two-decade run as the GOP leader.

The office now bears the placard of incoming Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R-SD), a longtime McConnell deputy who has emphasized his colleagues in the upper chamber are “excited” to enact the Trump agenda.

Thune’s old office for the Republican whip has also been updated. It now displays the name of incoming Majority Whip John Barrasso (R-WY).

While the GOP will ultimately have a 53-seat majority, it will operate with 52 seats to begin the 119th Congress as Vice President-elect JD Vance departs from his seat in Ohio. Gov. Mike DeWine (R-OH) is tasked with appointing a successor to Vance.

If and when Sen. Marco Rubio (R-FL) is confirmed as secretary of state, the GOP will temporarily lose another key seat until Gov. Ron DeSantis (R-FL) chooses Rubio’s replacement. In a scenario with Vance and Rubio out of the body and their replacements not yet sworn in, the GOP’s majority would be 51 seats.

While Republicans officially take the majority in the Senate, their counterparts in the House of Representatives vote to elect a Speaker.