Republicans in disarray as Congress returns to work

Congress returns on Monday with a long list of must-pass items by the end of the year and Republicans in disarray after a red wave failed to appear in the midterm elections.

As lawmakers arrive on Capitol Hill, control of the House remains in question while Democrats are celebrating retaking the Senate majority.

As of Monday morning neither party had secured the 218 seats necessary to win the House. The Associated Press has yet to call 19 races. Republicans need to net six of those seats; Democrats need 14. 

Democrats secured the Senate over the weekend when Senators Catherine Cortez Masto in Nevada and Mark Kelly in Arizona won their respective races. 

The scenario, however, leaves both Republican leaders - Kevin McCarthy and Mitch McConnell - faltering as lawmakers prepare for a busy lame duck session, where they must elect next year's party leaders, fund the government and hash out issues like the debt limit and aid to Ukraine. 

But, before the legislative storm, comes the jockeying for positions of power. 

Members-elect from the upcoming 118th congress listen to an orientation at the U.S. Capitol building in Washington D.C.

The newly-elected lawmakers walk into the Capitol on Monday to learn about how to set up the congressional offices

REPUBLICAN  CHAOS

Both Kevin McCarthy and Mitch McConnell are facing potential challenges to their leadership after the GOP's poor performance on election night.

McCarthy, in particular, is looking to shore up his position as top House leader even before the final tally of House seats is known. Republicans are predicted to take the majority but the margin looks slim and Democrats have a small, but fighting chance, to hang on to control.

Republican Rep. Andy Biggs of Arizona, a staunch ally of Donald Trump, is considering mounting a long-shot challenge to McCarthy, CNN reported.

'We need to have a real discussion about whether he should be the speaker,' Biggs told reporters last week. 'I think we should have a very frank discussion internally about where we're going to be going forward.' 

Biggs and other members of the Conservative Freedom Caucus are looking for concessions from McCarthy if he wants the top job. 

McCarthy, meanwhile, has been working the phones to tie up his support among House Republicans. He's also spoken to the former president several times.  

House Republicans will meet Tuesday morning to elect their leaders. Senate Republicans meet Wednesday.

But a number of Republican senators, including Lindsey Graham, Rick Scott, Josh Hawley, Marco Rubio and Ron Johnson, are calling for their leadership election to be delayed until after the Georgia runoff between Democratic Sen. Raphael Warnock and Republican Herschel Walker.

Even though Democrats secured the Senate majority over the weekend, the Georgia contest has gone to a Dec. 6th runoff.  

Thus far, however, the leadership election remains on track. 

There was pre-election chatter that Florida Senator Rick Scott may challenge McConnell. But Scott was in charge of electing Republicans to the Senate this year and the failure to secure the majority likely doomed his leadership ambitions. 

Senate Republican Leader Mitch McConnell (left) and House GOP Leader Kevin McCarthy (right) are facing potential challenges to their leadership after the GOP's poor performance on election night

And many Republicans are angry at the outcome of the midterms.

'Holy crap, the Democrats keep the Senate,' Republican Senator Ted Cruz of Texas said on his latest podcast. 'Worse than that, the Democrats potentially grow their majority in the Senate. Worse than that, yes, we take the House, but at best we're gonna take the House with a couple of seats. Maybe there is an outside chance we lose the House. I don't think we will. I think the numbers are enough that we will hold onto the House.'

Republican Sen. Tom Cotton of Arkansas dismissed calls to delay Wednesday's Senate leadership election, noting most of those races being uncontested.

'So far, no one's had the nerve to step forward and challenge Sen. McConnell,' Cotton said on CBS' Face the Nation.

DEMOCRATS WAIT ON PELOSI

Democrats will hold their leadership elections after Thanksgiving on November 30th.

But they are in waiting mode on Speaker Nancy Pelosi.

Pelosi, who was expected to step down after this term, declined to say on Sunday whether she's going to leave leadership.

Four years ago, Pelosi indicated she would step down if given another term in leadership amid frustration among younger lawmakers that there was little opportunity for them.

But she said in the wake of the 2022 midterm results, some of her Democrats are asking her to reconsider. 

'My members are asking me to consider doing that,' she told the Associated Press.

She is thinking about her next steps, particularly as her husband Paul Pelosi recovers from being attacked by a man with a hammer who broke into their San Francisco home looking for her. 

'My decision will then be rooted in what — the wishes of my family and the wishes of my caucus,' she said on CNN's State of the Union on Sunday.

She did say she would announce her final decision ahead of the House Democrats' leadership elections on Nov. 30.

Democrats are waiting to see if Speaker Nancy Pelosi runs again for Speaker

LEGISLATIVE AGENDA

In the lame duck session of Congress, which is the period from after the elections until the new Congress is sworn into office in early January, lawmakers have a heavy to do list.

Their agenda includes: funding the government to avert a shutdown before the end of the calendar year; passing the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA), the annual must-pass legislation that authorizes funding for the Department of Defense; possibly debate raising the debt limit; additional funding for the Ukraine; a vote in the Senate to protect same-sex marriage; and other issues.

'All I can tell you is that we are going to try to have as productive a lame-duck session as possible,' Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer said on Sunday, adding that it will include 'heavy work' and 'long hours.'

'I'm going to talk to my caucus. I'm going to talk to the Republican leadership and see what we can get done,' he said.

Government funding expires at midnight on December 16, giving lawmakers about a month to come together on the federal budget.

Additionally, the House's Jan. 6 committee comes to a close at the end of the year, and the panel members have yet to release a final report on how the Capitol attack happened and recommendations to prevent anything similar. 

There may be another public hearing to roll out their findings.

Meanwhile, the House passed a bill to strengthen the Electoral Count Act. It would restrict the vice president's role to counting votes, lift the threshold to object to electors, bolster laws about certifying elections for the correct winner and seek to promote orderly presidential transitions. 

The legislation has bipartisan support and is expected to pass the Senate before the end of the year. 

Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer is planning for a busy lameduck session of Congress

Rep.-elect Erin Houchin, a Republican from Indiana, arrives in the Capitol with other lawmakers for new member orientation

But, given the current 50-50 margin in the Senate, Democrats will remain unable to pass some of their major priorities for liberal voters – such as codifying abortions rights.

President Joe Biden has said codifying Roe vs. Wade is one of his top legislative priorities. But he condeded on Monday that is likely out of reach.

'I don't think there's enough votes to codify unless something unusual happens in the House,' he said during a press conference in Bali, where he is attending the G20. 

The Democratic House passed a bill this year that would have codified Roe but it doesn't have enough support in the Senate to reach the 60-vote threshold needed to move it through the legislative process.