The 119th Congress begins tomorrow. Here’s what to know for the 2025 session.
Washington — The 119th Congress begins Friday with Republicans in full control of the House and Senate for the first time since 2019.
Still, there’s the potential for sparks to fly in the House if Republicans revolt against Speaker Mike Johnson during the leadership vote, which is expected to take place shortly after 12 p.m.
In the Senate, Republicans will officially take the reins after flipping the majority in the November elections.
Here’s what to know as the new Congress convenes in Washington:
When do the new members of Congress get sworn in?
The new term of Congress, which lasts two years, begins Friday, when House members are expected to be sworn in. But first, they’ll have to elect a speaker, which has not come easy for a divided Republican Party in the last two elections to pick their leader.
It took former House Speaker Kevin McCarthy, a California Republican, 15 rounds to win the gavel in 2023, delaying the swearing-in of new members by several days. McCarthy was ousted months later, and it took Republicans three weeks to coalesce behind Johnson. The Louisiana Republican is hoping to continue as speaker, but is facing some opposition within his own party after another messy fight last month over government funding.
The Senate swears in members when it convenes Friday and then moves on to other business.
How does the speaker’s election work?
Typically, a member from each party will nominate a candidate for speaker ahead of a vote of all incoming members on the House floor. Those candidates were determined in November, when both parties separately decided who they would support for leadership.
Johnson won the backing of Republicans for another term. Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, a New York Democrat, will be nominated by his party. Members are not required to vote for those candidates and could choose to support someone else or no one.
During the roll call vote, members will state aloud who they favor for speaker. The candidate with the majority of votes cast wins the speakership. If no candidate wins on the first round, the vote is repeated until someone secures the majority.
What is the new balance of power in the House and the Senate?
Republicans flipped control of the Senate in the November elections and will have 53 seats. Democrats, including independents who caucus with them, will control 47.
In the House, Republicans held on to their majority, winning 220 seats. Democrats won 215. But President-elect Donald Trump tapped three Republican members for positions in his administration, cutting into the party’s already narrow margins until special elections are held in the coming months. Rep. Matt Gaetz of Florida also said he would not take his seat, giving Republicans a 219 to 215 edge.
Johnson will need 218 votes to win the speaker’s election if all members are present and voting.
What do Republicans want to accomplish first?
Republicans’ top priorities include immigration and border security, energy policy and extending tax cuts from Trump’s first term. But whether Republicans can quickly accomplish their goals depends on how unified the party is. They plan to use a process called budget reconciliation, which would give them the ability to pass large portions of their agenda with a simple majority, avoiding the 60-vote threshold needed for most legislation in the Senate.
“It’s going to take a lot of work to build a consensus among all the Republicans to get it done,” Johnson told Fox News on Monday.
Trump has also called for the debt ceiling to be increased, which limits how much the government can borrow to pay its bills. Without an increase, it’s likely to complicate Republicans’ legislative priorities.
Who are the new House members joining Congress in 2025?
More than 60 new members are joining the House this week. They are:
- Yassamin Ansari, a Democrat from Arizona
- Tom Barrett, a Republican from Michigan
- Michael Baumgartner, a Republican from Washington
- Nick Begich, a Republican from Alaska
- Wesley Bell, a Democrat from Missouri
- Sheri Biggs, a Republican from South Carolina
- Rob Bresnahan, a Republican from Pennsylvania
- Janelle Bynum, a Democrat from Oregon
- Gil Cisneros Jr., a Democrat from California
- Herb Conaway, a Democrat from New Jersey
- Jeff Crank, a Republican from Colorado
- Maxine Dexter, a Democrat from Oregon
- Troy Downing, a Republican from Montana
- Sarah Elfreth, a Democrat from Maryland
- Gabe Evans, a Republican from Colorado
- Julie Fedorchak, a Republican from North Dakota
- Cleo Fields, a Democrat from Louisiana
- Shomari Figures, a Democrat from Alabama
- Laura Friedman, a Democrat from California
- Brandon Gill, a Republican from Texas
- Laura Gillen, a Democrat from New York
- Craig Goldman, a Republican from Texas
- Maggie Goodlander, a Democrat from New Hampshire
- Adam Gray, a Democrat from California
- Abe Hamadeh, a Republican from Arizona
- Mike Haridopolos, a Republican from Florida
- Pat Harrigan, a Republican from North Carolina
- Mark Harris, a Republican from North Carolina
- Jeff Hurd, a Republican from Colorado
- Brian Jack, a Republican from Georgia
- Julie Johnson, a Democrat from Texas
- Mike Kennedy, a Republican from Utah
- Kimberlyn King-Hinds, a Republican from the Northern Mariana Islands (non-voting member)
- Brad Knott, a Republican from North Carolina
- George Latimer, a Democrat from New York
- Sam Liccardo, a Democrat from California
- Ryan Mackenzie, a Republican from Pennsylvania
- John Mannion, a Democrat from New York
- Sarah McBride, a Democrat from Delaware
- April McClain-Delaney, a Democrat from Maryland
- Kristen McDonald Rivet, a Democrat from Michigan
- Addison McDowell, a Republican from North Carolina
- John McGuire, a Republican from Virginia
- Mark Messmer, a Republican from Indiana
- Dave Min, a Democrat from California
- Tim Moore, a Republican from North Carolina
- Riley Moore, a Republican from West Virginia
- Kelly Morrison, a Democrat from Minnesota
- Johnny Olszewski, a Democrat from Maryland
- Bob Onder Jr., a Republican from Missouri
- Nellie Pou, a Democrat from New Jersey
- Emily Randall, a Democrat from Washington
- Josh Riley, a Democrat from New York
- Luz Rivas, a Democrat from California
- Pablo Hernandez Rivera, a Democrat from Puerto Rico (non-voting member)
- Derek Schmidt, a Republican from Kansas
- Jefferson Shreve, a Republican from Indiana
- Lateefah Simon, a Democrat from California
- Marlin Stutzman, a Republican from Indiana
- Suhas Subramanyam, a Democrat from Virginia
- David Taylor, a Republican from Ohio
- Derek Tran, a Democrat from California
- Sylvester Turner, a Democrat from Texas
- Eugene Vindman, a Democrat from Virginia
- George Whitesides, a Democrat from California
Who are the new senators joining Congress in 2025?
Ten new senators are joining the upper chamber this year. They include four Democrats and six Republicans.
- Angela Alsobrooks, a Democrat from Maryland
- Jim Banks, a Republican from Indiana
- Lisa Blunt Rochester, a Democrat from Delaware
- John Curtis, a Republican from Utah
- Ruben Gallego, a Democrat from Arizona
- Jim Justice, a Republican from West Virginia
- David McCormick, a Republican from Pennsylvania
- Bernie Moreno, a Republican from Ohio
- Tim Sheehy, a Republican from Montana
- Elissa Slotkin, a Democrat from Michigan
Two other new senators, Democrats Adam Schiff of California and Andy Kim of New Jersey, replaced their outgoing predecessors early, and were sworn in in December to have an edge on seniority.