WASHINGTON - The 118th Congress will begin Tuesday as winners of the November election take the oath of office, ushering a period of divided governing back to the nation's capitol.
- Senator-elect John Fetterman (D-Pa.) will give Democrats slightly more breathing room in the Senate
- Rep. Susan Wild (D-Lehigh Valley) will begin her third full term in the House
- It remains to be seen if Republican leader Kevin McCarthy has the votes to be the next Speaker of the House
Rep. Susan Wild (D-Lehigh Valley) will begin her third complete term in the House, while John Fetterman will become Pennsylvania's junior U.S. senator. As Fetterman joins the Senate alongside Sen. Bob Casey, it will mark the first time two Democrats have represented the Keystone State in the Senate at the same time since 2010 when Sen. Casey served with the late Sen. Arlen Specter.
Major issues facing this Congress include supplying and funding Ukraine as it fends off the Russian invasion, high inflation, an energy crisis in Europe and the ongoing effects of the pandemic.
Getting anything done in the new Congress may prove difficult. The 118th Congress is a lame-duck session as President Joe Biden completes his first term. Republican candidates, including former President Donald Trump and Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, have already announced their candidacies for 2024.
Republicans will be better able to block Biden's agenda after winning the majority in the House, but they'll have little room for error. Thanks to their slim four-seat majority and dissension within the ranks, it's not clear if Rep. Kevin McCarthy (R-California) has enough support from his party to become House Speaker.
Things are just as tight in the Senate. Democrats are expected to hold a narrow 51-49 majority; Sen. Kyrsten Sinema (I-Ariz.) left the Democratic Party in December but signaled she will continue to caucus with them. The election of Fetterman gives Democrats slightly more breathing room than the last session, but defections from just two Democrats would kill any legislation that lacks bipartisan support.
The split Congress ends a two-year period of Democratic control of the House, Senate and the White House. During that time, Democrats passed the American Rescue Plan Act, the Inflation Reduction Act and a bipartisan infrastructure bill, among others.
