Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer announced Wednesday that he and Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell reached a power-sharing agreement that would allow Democrats to take control of committees.
“I am happy to report this morning that the leadership of both parties have finalized the organizing resolution for the Senate,” Schumer said on the Senate floor. “We will pass the resolution through the Senate today, which means that committees can promptly set up and get to work with Democrats holding the gavels.”
Democrats officially regained a majority in the Senate after three Democrats were officially sworn in as U.S. senators on Jan. 20, hours after President Joe Biden’s inauguration.
Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) attends a press conference after a meeting with Senate Democrats at the U.S. Capitol on February 2, 2021 in Washington, DC. (Photo by Drew Angerer/Getty Images)
California Democrat Alex Padilla took Vice President Kamala Harris’s Senate seat, Georgia Democrat Jon Ossoff took David Perdue’s seat, and Georgia Democrat Raphael Warnock took Kelly Loeffler’s seat. The two Georgia Senate runoff victories secured Democrats’ majority in the Senate. Harris swore the three Senate Democrats in. (RELATED: Schumer Leaves The Door Open On Censuring Trump If He Is Acquitted In Senate)
The Senate is now split 50-50, with Harris giving Democrats the tie-breaking vote.