What's On Tap This Week

Monday, February 8

Sen. Richard Shelby announces he’s not seeking re-election in 2022

• Sen. Richard Shelby (R-Ala.) announced on Feb. 8 that he will not seek re-election in 2022. Shelby was first elected to the Senate in 1986. He switched his party affiliation from Democrat to Republican in 1994. 
• Shelby is the fourth senator to announce he won’t seek re-election in 2022, joining Republicans Richard Burr (N.C.), Rob Portman (Ohio), and Pat Toomey (Penn.). During the 2020 election cycle, four senators did not seek re-election.
• Thirty-four seats will be up for election next year. Republicans currently hold 20 of those seats and Democrats hold 14. 
• The Senate is split 50-50, with 50 Republicans, 48 Democrats, and two independents who caucus with Democrats. Vice President Kamala Harris (D) has the tie-breaking vote, giving Democrats effective control of the chamber.  

Tenney wins last undecided congressional race in New York’s 22nd District

• Following months-long legal challenges from Claudia Tenney (R) and Anthony Brindisi (D) over the validity of certain absentee and affidavit ballots cast in New York’s 22nd Congressional District election, Brindisi conceded the race on Feb. 8. His concession came as a departure from an earlier statement released on Feb. 5, where Brindisi said he would seek a recount in the race.
• He announced his concession hours after the New York Board of Elections voted to certify Tenney as the winner. She defeated Brindisi by 109 votes in the final count. On Feb. 11, Tenney was sworn in to the House of Representatives.

Senate confirms Denis McDonough as head of U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs

• The U.S. Senate confirmed President Biden’s (D) nomination of Denis McDonough as U.S. Secretary of Veterans Affairs by an 87-7 vote on Feb. 8.
• All 50 members of the Democratic caucus and 37 Republicans voted in favor of confirming McDonough. Seven Republicans voted against his confirmation and six did not vote.
• McDonough worked as a staffer with the U.S. House Committee on International Relations and in the office of Sen. Tom Daschle (D-S.D.) before joining Barack Obama’s (D) 2008 presidential campaign as a foreign policy advisor. McDonough was on the staff of the National Security Council during President Obama’s first term and was White House chief of staff during his second.
• McDonough’s confirmation comes 19 days into President Biden’s term. President Trump’s (R) nominee for the post, David Shulkin, was confirmed on the 24th day of Trump’s term. So far, Veterans Affairs is among three of the main 15 Cabinet posts where President Biden’s nominee was confirmed earlier in his term than President Trump’s, alongside the secretaries of State and the Treasury. 
• In all, as of Feb. 8, seven of Biden’s Cabinet nominees had been confirmed, 10 had had confirmation hearings, and six had yet to have confirmation hearings.

Tuesday, February 9

President Trump’s impeachment trial begins

• President Trump’s (R) impeachment trial on a charge of incitement to insurrection began before the full Senate on Feb. 9.
• The U.S. House voted 232-197 in favor of impeaching President Trump on Jan. 13, 2021. All 222 Democrats and 10 Republicans voted yes, 197 Republicans voted no, and four did not vote.
• Impeachment of a federal official is a two-stage process. After a majority of the House votes in favor of one or more articles of impeachment, the Senate meets in full session to hold a trial for the official. A two-thirds majority of senators is required to secure a conviction.
• On Feb. 9, a vote was held regarding the constitutionality of the proceedings. Although President Trump was a federal official at the time of his impeachment, he had left office by the time of his trial. The question of whether a Senate impeachment trial can be held for a former president remains unsettled. All 50 members of the Democratic caucus and six Republicans voted that the trial was constitutional. A Jan. 26 motion challenging the constitutionality of the trial also failed, with all 50 members of the Democratic caucus and five Republicans voting against.
• Nine House Democrats appointed as impeachment managers (the equivalent to a prosecutor in a courtroom trial) delivered their case against Trump on Feb. 10-11. A team of private attorneys defending Trump presented their arguments on Feb. 12.