It’s great news for US president Joe Biden as the democratic party maintains control of the US Senate. Biden has received a mid-term boost while heading into the last two years of his first term.
The democratic party claimed a majority on November 13 after the re-election of Catherine Cortez Masto, the Nevada senator. She defeated Adam Laxalt, the republican challenger. The democratic party now has fifty seats in the hundred-seat senate. The swearing-in ceremony of the newly elected senate is scheduled to happen on January 3, 2023. The president has said he felt great about the election outcome and is looking forward to the upcoming years.
A senate majority means a lot for the next president’s term. It is not likely that the democrats will control the house. Yet, being the majority in the senate will provide the Democratic party with the ability to approve the judges the president chooses to fill the position on circuit courts, district courts, and high courts. This will be especially vital to the democratic party if a seat on the United States Supreme Court opens up in the last years of Biden’s term. The US Supreme Court now has a 6 to 3 conservative majority.
The win also provides the democrats with more legislative control. Suppose republicans get to control the house of representatives. In that case, they plan to attempt to roll back the president’s victories in fighting climate change and want to make permanent some 2017 tax deductions that are set to expire.
Since democrats now control the senate, they can reject legislations that a possible republican-controlled house sends over. The majority can also ensure a more streamlined process for the president’s cabinet appointments. Furthermore, budget resolutions can pass more easily because they need only a simple majority to pass. Yet, although the democrats win the house, they will lack the sixty senate votes required to move most major legislative changes.
