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Every two years, the period between the November election and when the new Congress begins is often the busiest swath of time for covering Congress.
Reporters are trying to figure out who won their elections and who lost. The existing Congress is back, attempting to prevent a government shutdown and often plowing through a landscape of other major legislation. There are often leadership elections. For instance, Sen. John Thune, R-S.D., defeated Sen. John Cornyn, R-Tex., and Rick Scott, R-Fla., to succeed outgoing Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., as the top GOP leader in the Senate. Thune begins as Majority Leader Friday afternoon. We still don’t know how much of a struggle House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., faces returning to the Speaker’s suite. It took former House Speaker Kevin McCarthy, R-Calif., 15 rounds before he claimed the Speaker’s gavel in 2023.
Time management is a problem for me with so much going on. The new Congress starts at noon on January 3. So I spend the time between the election and the beginning of the new Congress learning, studying and memorizing the faces and biographies of as many incoming lawmakers as possible.
It’s time-consuming. It’s a challenge distinguishing some rookies from one another. Even getting the names and pronunciations right.
REP. VICTORIA SPARTZ DEMANDS ‘ASSURANCES’ SPEAKER JOHNSON ‘WON’T SELL US OUT TO THE SWAMP’
It’s quite a learning curve.
This process intensifies during the holidays. It’s the final ramp-up to the launch of things on January 3.
Some people are easier to learn than others. Sens. Andy Kim, D-N.J., and Adam Schiff, D-Calif., were household names in the House before joining the Senate. In fact, they’ve already become senators. Other new senators are high-profile because they ran in competitive races. Think Sens.-elect Bernie Moreno, R-Ohio, Tim Sheehy, R-Mont., and Dave McCormick, R-Penn. Sen.-elect Jim Justice, R-W.V., didn’t face a challenging race to join the Senate. But…
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