New Congress set to convene as uncertainty plagues McCarthy's bid for speaker - CBS News

What's up for Congress successful 2023?

What's up for Congress successful 2023? 02:48

Washington — The caller twelvemonth brings with it a caller Congress that is acceptable to convene Tuesday, kicking disconnected 2 years of divided authorities and absorption for President Biden from a GOP-controlled House intent connected thwarting his agenda.

The House and Senate volition conscionable Tuesday astatine noon to people the commencement of the 118th Congress, for which Democrats are maintaining their power of the precocious enclosure but the House volition beryllium held by a constrictive Republican majority. Eighty-two caller members are acceptable to beryllium sworn successful for the archetypal clip — 47 Republicans and 36 Democrats — including respective who are making past and one, GOP Rep.-elect George Santos of New York, who is under scrutiny aft helium admitted to fabricating parts of his resume.

But earlier members instrumentality their oaths of office, the House indispensable elite a caller speaker, and this year, the ballot connected the House level is definite to beryllium thing but straightforward. 

Republican Leader Kevin McCarthy is vying for the speaker's gavel aft 4 years arsenic number leader, and portion helium won the nomination successful a closed-door ballot by the House GOP league successful November, it's unclear whether helium has locked up the 218 votes needed to prevail Tuesday connected the House floor.

House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy, R-Calif., right, and erstwhile Speak John Boehner, R-Ohio, be a representation unveiling ceremonial for Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., successful the U.S. Capitols Statuary Hall connected Wednesday, December 14, 2022.  Tom Williams/CQ-Roll Call, Inc via Getty Images

McCarthy met with respective of his detractors and allies successful the Speaker suite Monday evening, CBS News' Nikole Killion reports, There was nary connection connected whether immoderate advancement was made.

Killion pointed retired that outgoing Speaker Nancy Pelosi's sanction has officially been stripped from the office's sanction plate. 

Facing absorption from immoderate members of the conference's close flank, McCarthy has made a fig of concessions successful an effort to unafraid their votes. But his attempts to appease immoderate of his GOP colleagues look to person been unsuccessful, arsenic McCarthy is inactive facing absorption from astatine slightest 9 House Republicans who said his promises autumn short.

"At this stage, it cannot beryllium a astonishment that expressions of vague hopes reflected successful acold excessively galore of the important points inactive nether statement are insufficient," 9 members and members-elect wrote successful a letter on Sunday. "This is particularly existent with respect to Mr. McCarthy's candidacy for talker due to the fact that the times telephone for extremist departure from the presumption quo — not a continuation of past, and ongoing, Republican failures."

McCarthy's commitments, the radical lamented, travel "almost impossibly precocious to code continued deficiencies up of the opening of the 118th Congress."

The California Republican laid retired his promises to his re-elected and incoming GOP colleagues successful a missive implicit the weekend, successful which helium notably pledged to marque it easier to trigger a ballot to region the talker from the post, a reversal of his stance connected the process known arsenic the question to vacate. Under McCarthy's plan, immoderate 5 Republican lawmakers tin initiate a ballot to oust the speaker.

A rules bundle enactment guardant by the incoming House GOP bulk — formalizing McCarthy's compromises — besides ends proxy voting and distant committee proceedings; eliminates fines for members who don't deterioration masks and flout information screenings extracurricular the House floor; and establishes a prime subcommittee connected the "Weaponization of the Federal Government to analyse the Biden administration's battle connected the law rights of American citizens." 

For House Democrats, the 118th Congress ushers successful a new procreation of leadership, with Rep. Hakeem Jeffries of New York serving arsenic the party's leader, Rep. Katherine Clark of Massachusetts arsenic Democratic whip, and Rep. Pete Aguilar of California arsenic caucus chairman. 

The caller people of soon-to-be lawmakers includes respective firsts, including Becca Balint, a Democrat who is the archetypal congresswoman and openly cheery idiosyncratic to correspond Vermont, and Maxwell Frost, a Democrat from Florida who astatine 25 years aged is the archetypal subordinate from Generation Z.

There volition beryllium 156 House Republicans successful the adjacent Congress who person cast doubt astir the validity of the 2020 statesmanlike election, including 1 incoming GOP member, Derrick Van Orden of Wisconsin, who attended erstwhile President Donald Trump's rally astatine the Ellipse connected Jan. 6, 2021, and was photographed astatine the Capitol during the riot. 

While the archetypal 2 years of Mr. Biden's archetypal word was marked by legislative packages delivering connected Democrats' priorities and galore bipartisan achievements, the 2nd fractional of his archetypal word is apt to bring his docket to a halt connected Capitol Hill owed to absorption from the GOP-led House.

The White House is besides bracing for a question of investigations mounted by Republican lawmakers, including into the concern dealings of Hunter Biden, Mr. Biden's son, the origins of the COVID-19 pandemic and the Biden administration's borderline policies.

Anita Dunn, elder advisor to Mr. Biden, told "Face the Nation" aft the midterm elections successful November that the White House "has and volition proceed to comply with just and morganatic oversight," but criticized Republicans for advancing a governmental agenda.

"The president is going to beryllium focused connected the priorities of the American people," she said. "And we would anticipation that the Republicans who've conscionable suffered a important decision successful presumption of some their expectations and what historically midterm elections thin to do, would besides perceive to the American people, absorption connected the priorities of the American people."

In the Senate, meanwhile, wherever Democrats volition power 51 seats to Republicans' 49, the expanded majority makes it easier for Mr. Biden's nominees to determination done committees and to the Senate floor.