U.S. House of Representatives elects leaders for 117th Congress

 
 

[The Federal Tap by Ballotpedia]
 

 

 

 
** WELCOME TO THE FEDERAL TAP
------------------------------------------------------------

 
** NOVEMBER 21, 2020
------------------------------------------------------------

Welcome to Ballotpedia’s _Federal Tap_, a day-by-day summary of important political events through both the past and upcoming weeks.

Two runoff elections in Georgia for US Senate will determine which party controls the Senate beginning in 2021. Follow these important elections by signing up for Ballotpedia’s daily Runoff Report ([link removed]) .

In observance of the holiday, there will be no Federal Tap on November 28, 2020. We’ll see you on December 5!

Read the full Tap online (https%3A%2F%2Fballotpedia.org%2FThe_Federal_Tap%3A_With_all_states_called%2C_Biden_projected_to_win_306_Electoral_College_votes%2C_Trump_232) [link removed]

 
 

 
** SHARE THIS NEWSLETTER
------------------------------------------------------------

[link removed] out this info I found from Ballotpedia&body=[link removed]

 

 

 

 
** WHAT'S ON TAP THIS WEEK
------------------------------------------------------------

------------------------------------------------------------

Tuesday, November 17

SENATE PRESIDENT PRO TEMPORE GRASSLEY TESTS POSITIVE FOR COVID-19, MISSES FIRST ROLL CALL VOTE IN 27 YEARS

* Sen. Chuck Grassley ([link removed]) (R-Iowa) announced Nov. 17 he had tested positive for COVID-19. Earlier in the day, Grassley had said he would be self-quarantining to await his test results after coming into contact with someone who was infected with the virus. 

* Grassley, who was first elected to the Senate in 1980, missed his first roll call vote in 27 years. 

* Other federal officials who tested positive over the last week include Reps. Cheri Bustos ([link removed]) (D-Ill.) and Rep. Tim Walberg ([link removed]) (R-Mich.), who announced they had tested positive on Nov. 16, Rep. Ed Perlmutter ([link removed]) (D-Co.), who announced his positive result on Nov. 17, and Reps. Doug Lamborn ([link removed]) (R-Co.) and Dan Newhouse ([link removed]) (R-Wa.), who announced they had tested positive on Nov. 18. Sen. Rick Scott ([link removed]) (R-Fl.)  announced his positive result on Nov. 20. 

BIDEN ANNOUNCES APPOINTMENT OF NINE SENIOR WHITE HOUSE STAFF MEMBERS

* On Nov. 17, former Vice President Joe Biden (D) announced nine appointees ([link removed]) who will serve as White House senior staff in his administration:

* Jen O’Malley Dillon ([link removed]) , Biden’s 2020 presidential campaign manager, will be deputy chief of staff. O’Malley Dillon is a former executive director of the Democratic National Committee and a founding partner of the Democratic consulting firm Precious Strategies. She led Beto O’Rourke’s 2020 presidential campaign before joining Biden’s.
* Rep. Cedric Richmond ([link removed]) (D-La.) will leave Congress to work as a senior adviser focused on public engagement. He will conduct outreach to grassroots organizations, public interest and advocacy groups, the business community, and climate change activists.  Richmond was a national co-chair of Biden’s presidential campaign. Richmond’s congressional district, Louisiana’s 2nd, is rated _Solid Democratic_. Vacancies are filled by special elections.
* Steve Ricchetti ([link removed]) , a longtime Biden aide, will serve as counselor to the president—a role currently held by Hope Hicks and Derek Lyons in the Trump administration. Ricchetti worked for Biden during the Obama administration, serving as his chief of staff in 2013.
* Anthony Bernal ([link removed]) will be senior advisor to Dr. Jill Biden. Bernal was a deputy campaign manager for the Biden presidential campaign and Jill Biden’s chief of staff. He has worked with the Bidens for more than a decade, including as director of scheduling and trip director for Jill Biden during the Obama administration.
* Mike Donilon ([link removed]) , chief strategist for the Biden presidential campaign, will be senior advisor to the president. Prior to joining the campaign, Donilon was the managing director of the Biden Institute. He has worked on six presidential campaigns.
* Dana Remus will serve as White House counsel. Remus was general counsel for the Biden presidential campaign. She previously worked as general counsel for the Obama Foundation. She was also the deputy assistant to the president and deputy counsel of ethics during the Obama administration. She clerked for Republican-nominated Supreme Court Justice Samuel Alito.
* Julissa Reynoso Pantaleon will be chief of staff to Jill Biden. She served as the U.S. ambassador to Uruguay and deputy assistant secretary of state during the Obama administration. She is a partner at Winston & Strawn and previously worked on the faculty of Columbia Law School and Columbia’s School of International and Public Affairs.
* Julie Chavez Rodriguez will work as director of the White House Office of Intergovernmental Affairs. She was a deputy campaign manager for the Biden presidential campaign. She previously worked on the Harris presidential campaign as the national political director and traveling chief of staff. In the Obama administration, Chavez Rodriguez was a special assistant to the president and senior deputy director of public engagement.
* Annie Tomasini, Biden’s traveling chief of staff, will be director of Oval Office Operations. She has worked for Biden for over a decade, including as his deputy press secretary during the Obama administration and as press secretary when Biden was the chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee.

Rep. Cedric Richmond to resign from Congress, will trigger first congressional special election of 2021

* After President-Elect Joe Biden ([link removed]) ’s transition team announced Nov. 17 that U.S. Rep. Cedric Richmond ([link removed]) (D-La.) would become Senior Adviser to the President and Director of the White House Office of Public Engagement, Richmond said he would resign from his district in the House of Representatives ([link removed]) .
* Richmond was first elected to the House in 2010 and was re-elected Nov. 3, receiving 64% of the vote in Louisiana's majority-vote system. Richmond chaired the Congressional Black Caucus ([link removed]) from November 2016 to December 2018. Before joining Congress, Richmond was a member of the Louisiana House of Representatives ([link removed]) from 2000 to 2011.
* Vacancies in the House of Representatives are filled by special election, and Richmond’s resignation will trigger the first special election of the 117th Congress. Richmond did not say when his resignation would become official. Louisiana Gov. John Bel Edwards ([link removed]) (D) said, “I will consult with Congressman Richmond about the timing of his resignation from Congress and with the Secretary of State and other leaders in his district about the best time for a special election to fill his seat when it is vacant.” Although the special election can be set on any date, Louisiana holds municipal primary elections on March 22, 2021, and municipal general elections on April 24, 2021.
* The final partisan composition of the House of Representatives after the Nov. 3 elections has not been determined. A consensus of five media outlets have called enough races to confirm that Democrats will retain their majority.
* In 2017, four U.S. House members—Mick Mulvaney ([link removed]) (R-S.C.), Mike Pompeo ([link removed]) (R-Kan.), Tom Price ([link removed])) (R-Ga.), and Ryan Zinke ([link removed]) (R-Mont.)—resigned to take positions in President Trump’s administration. In 2009, four U.S. House members—Rahm Emanuel ([link removed]) (D-Ill.), John McHugh ([link removed])) (R-N.Y.), Hilda Solis ([link removed]) (D-Calif.), and Ellen Tauscher ([link removed]) (D-Calif.)—resigned to take positions in President Barack Obama ([link removed]) 's (D) administration. The party of the outgoing representative won seven of the eight special elections triggered by those resignations. Bill Owens ([link removed]) (D-N.Y.) won a special election in November 2009 for McHugh’s seat.

Wednesday, November 18

U.S. SENATE CONFIRMS FIVE TO FEDERAL JUDGESHIPS

* The U.S. Senate ([link removed]) confirmed five nominees to federal judgeships—four to federal district court seats and one to the U.S. Court of International Trade ([link removed]) . The 94 U.S. District Courts ([link removed]) are the general trial courts of the United States federal courts. The U.S. Court of International Trade is an Article III federal court that only hears cases involving particular international trade and customs law questions.
* The U.S. Senate has confirmed 227 of President Trump’s Article III judicial nominees—three Supreme Court justices, 53 appellate court judges, 168 district court judges, and three U.S. Court of International Trade judges—since January 2017.

* The nominees are:

* Benjamin Beaton ([link removed]) , confirmed to the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Kentucky by a 52-44 vote. After he receives his federal judicial commission and takes his judicial oath, the five-member court will have two Democrat-appointed judges, three Republican-appointed judges, and no vacancies. Beaton will join two other judges appointed by President Trump.
* Toby Crouse ([link removed]) , confirmed to the U.S. District Court for the District of Kansas by a 50-43 vote. After he receives his federal judicial commission and takes his judicial oath, the six-member court will have one Democrat-appointed judge, five Republican-appointed judges, and no vacancies. Crouse will join two other judges appointed by President Trump.
* Kristi Haskins Johnson ([link removed]) , confirmed to the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Mississippi by a 53-43 vote. After she receives her federal judicial commission and takes her judicial oath, the six-member court will have one Democrat-appointed judge, four Republican-appointed judges, and one vacancy. Johnson will be the first judge appointed by President Trump to join the court.
* Kathryn Kimball Mizelle ([link removed]) , confirmed to the U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Florida by a 49-41 vote. After she receives her federal judicial commission and takes her judicial oath, the 15-member court will have six Democrat-appointed judges, nine Republican-appointed judges, and no vacancies. Mizelle will join four other judges appointed by President Trump.
* Stephen Vaden ([link removed]) , confirmed to the U.S. Court of International Trade by a 49-43 vote. After he receives his federal judicial commission and takes his judicial oath, the nine-member court will have four Democrat-appointed judges, four Republican-appointed judges, and one vacancy. Vaden will join two other judges appointed by President Trump.

U.S. House of Representatives elects leaders for 117th Congress

* Democratic and Republican members of the U.S. House of Representatives held elections ([link removed]) for leadership positions in the 117th Congress ([link removed]) , which convenes on January 3, 2021. The speaker of the House ([link removed]) , who presides over sessions of the chamber and is second in the line of presidential succession, is elected on the first day the new Congress convenes. Other leadership positions are elected in meetings prior to the start of a new Congress.
* House Democrats held their leadership elections remotely on November 18. Current Speaker Nancy Pelosi ([link removed]) (D-Calif.) was selected as the Democratic nominee for speaker of the House. She was unopposed. Pelosi was elected speaker of the House on January 3, 2019. She previously served as House speaker from 2007 to 2010 and became House minority leader after Democrats lost control of the House in the 2010 elections.  
* Rep. Steny Hoyer ([link removed]) (D-Md.) was re-elected as majority leader, Rep. Jim Clyburn ([link removed]) (D-S.C.) was re-elected as majority whip, and Rep. Hakeem Jeffries ([link removed]) (D-N.Y.) was re-elected as Democratic Caucus chairman. All three were unopposed. Rep. Katherine Clark ([link removed]) (D-Mass.) defeated Rep. David Cicilline ([link removed]) (D-R.I.) 135-92 for the role of assistant speaker, the fourth-ranking position in the House. In the 116th Congress, the position was held by Rep. Ben Ray Luján ([link removed]) (D-N.M.), who was elected to the U.S. Senate.
* House Republicans held leadership elections on November 17. Rep. Kevin McCarthy ([link removed])) (R-Calif.) was re-elected as minority leader, Rep. Steve Scalise ([link removed]) (R-La.) was re-elected as minority whip, Rep. Liz Cheney ([link removed]) (R-Wyo.) was re-elected as Republican Conference chairman, and Rep. Gary Palmer ([link removed]) (R-Ala.) was re-elected as Republican Policy Committee chairman. All were unopposed. 
* Rep. Tom Emmer ([link removed]) (R-Minn.) was re-elected as National Republican Congressional Committee ([link removed]) (NRCC) chair. The election for Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee ([link removed]) (DCCC) chair will be held the week of November 30. Reps. Tony Cárdenas ([link removed]) (D-Calif.) and Sean Patrick Maloney ([link removed]) (D-N.Y.) announced they would run for the position after Rep. Cheri Bustos ([link removed]) (D-Ill.) said she would not run again.

Thursday, November 19

GEORGIA HAND-COUNT AUDIT CONFIRMS BIDEN'S VICTORY IN STATE

* Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger ([link removed]) (R) announced the results Nov. 19 of the state's hand-count audit ([link removed]) , which confirmed former Vice President Joe Biden ([link removed]) 's (D) victory over Donald Trump ([link removed]) (R). The audit revealed a 0.1053 percent discrepancy in the statewide vote total, and a 0.0099 percent variation in the margin of victory, between the hand count and the initial machine count. The audit uncovered approximately 5,000 ballots that were not tallied during the initial machine count, which election officials attributed to human error. This resulted in a net gain of 1,272 votes for Trump, reducing Biden's margin of victory to 12,284 votes.

* Because the margin of victory is less than 0.5 percent, the Trump campaign could request a machine recount. The deadline for requesting a machine recount is Nov. 24.
* Also, on Nov. 19, the Trump campaign's requested recount in Wisconsin's Dane and Milwaukee counties got underway ([link removed]) . The recount must be completed by Dec. 1.
* To date, Ballotpedia has tracked 17 lawsuits across five states that dispute election outcomes and directly involve the Trump campaign. For more information, click here ([link removed]) .  

Friday, November 20

BIDEN PROJECTED TO WIN 306 ELECTORAL COLLEGE VOTES, TRUMP 232

* Calls were made in the presidential election ([link removed]) this week in the last two states where the outcome had not yet been determined as of Nov. 13—Georgia and North Carolina. President Donald Trump ([link removed]) (R) was projected as the winner of North Carolina’s 15 electoral votes Nov. 14 and Joe Biden ([link removed]) (D) was projected to win Georgia’s 16 electoral votes Nov. 19. Biden’s total puts him over the threshold of 270 electoral votes needed to win the presidency. Should these results remain as they currently stand, Biden will win 306 electoral votes to Trump’s 232.

* A consensus of five media outlets determined Nov. 17 that both U.S. Senate races in Georgia will require runoff elections on Jan. 5, 2021. Incumbent David Perdue ([link removed]) (R) and Jon Ossoff ([link removed]) (D) are the two candidates in the runoff in the state's regular Senate election ([link removed]) for a full six-year term. Incumbent Kelly Loeffler ([link removed]) (R) and Raphael Warnock ([link removed]) are running in the runoff election for the remaining two years of the six-year term that Johnny Isakson ([link removed]) (R) was elected to in 2016 ([link removed]) . Gov. Brian Kemp ([link removed]) (R) appointed Loeffler in January.

* Control of the Senate will be determined by these runoffs. Based on results called so far, the 117th Congress ([link removed]) will have 50 Republican senators, 46 Democratic senators, and two independent senators that caucus with the Democrats. 

* Three of the 15 U.S. House races ([link removed]) that were too close to call in our last update had winners projected this week. Among those races was the election ([link removed]) for Utah’s 4th Congressional District, in which Burgess Owens ([link removed]) (R) defeated incumbent Ben McAdams ([link removed]) (D) by a margin of 0.57 percentage points, the narrowest margin of victory ([link removed]) among any callable U.S. House race. McAdams was elected in 2018 when he defeated then-incumbent Mia Love ([link removed]) (R) by a margin of 0.26 percentage points. 
* As of Nov. 20, Democrats have won at least 219 seats and Republicans have won at least 203 seats. Heading into the election, Democrats had 232 seats to Republicans’ 197. Two hundred and eighteen seats are required for a majority in the House.

 
 

 
** CONGRESS IS IN SESSION
------------------------------------------------------------

 
** SCOTUS IS OUT OF SESSION
------------------------------------------------------------

The House and Senate are out of session next week. Click here ([link removed]) to see the full calendar for the second session of the 116th Congress.

The Supreme Court will not hear oral arguments this week. To learn about the 2020-2021 term, click here ([link removed]) .

 
 

[link removed]
 

 

 

 
** WHAT'S ON TAP NEXT WEEK
------------------------------------------------------------

------------------------------------------------------------

Election certification, canvassing deadlines for the week beginning Nov. 23

* Between Nov. 23 and 27, 13 states and the District of Columbia will observe election certification and/or canvassing deadlines:

* Nov. 23: Kentucky, Maine, Michigan, Pennsylvania, and Utah
* Nov. 24: District of Columbia, Indiana, Minnesota, Nevada, New Mexico, North Carolina, and Ohio
* Nov. 25: Alabama and Alaska

* Through Nov. 20, election certification and/or canvassing dates have passed in 15 states:

* Nov. 5: Delaware
* Nov. 10: Louisiana, Oklahoma, South Dakota, and Vermont
* Nov. 11: South Carolina and Wyoming
* Nov. 13: Mississippi
* Nov. 16: Virginia (actual certification took place on Nov. 18)
* Nov. 17: Florida
* Nov. 18: Arkansas, Idaho, and Massachusetts
* Nov. 20: Georgia and North Dakota

* Certification and/or canvassing deadlines will have passed in 28 states and the District of Columbia by Nov. 27. 

 
 

 
** WHERE WAS THE PRESIDENT LAST WEEK?
------------------------------------------------------------

 
** FEDERAL JUDICIARY
------------------------------------------------------------

President Trump remained in Washington, D.C. 

* 61 federal judicial vacancies
* 38 pending nominations
* 3 future federal judicial vacancies

 
 

 
** EVERYTHING ON BALLOTPEDIA IS FREE TO READ
------------------------------------------------------------

------------------------------------------------------------

But it isn't free to produce. We depend on people like you to ensure that access to neutral and accurate information about American politics stays available to all. Donations to Ballotpedia are tax deductible and go directly toward producing great content like this newsletter.

Please consider donating today!
 
>   DONATE TO BALLOTPEDIA ([link removed])

BALLOTPEDIA NEWS ([link removed])

 

STAY CONNECTED
[link removed] [link removed] [link removed] [link removed] [link removed]
------------------------------------------------------------

GET OUR APP
[link removed]
 
BALLOTPEDIA

8383 Greenway Blvd | Suite 600 | Middleton, WI 53562
 
Decide which emails you would like to get from Ballotpedia

Update your preferences [link removed] | Unsubscribe [link removed]
 
COPYRIGHT © 2020. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.