President, Senate & House
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2016 Post-Election Report: President, Senate & House President Republican Donald J. Trump surpassed the 270 Electoral College vote threshold to be elected the 45th president of the United States. Garnering all of the electoral votes (102) from the 13 traditional “red states”—those that have voted for the Republican nominee in every election since 1992—Mr. Trump added several important battleground states, such as Florida, Michigan, North Carolina, Pennsylvania, Ohio, and Wisconsin, to reach a total of 306 Electoral College votes. With Mr. Trump’s win, Democrat Hillary Clinton becomes only the fifth presidential candidate to win the popular vote but lose the Electoral College vote. Mr. Trump, along with his running mate, Indiana Governor Mike Pence, will be inaugurated on January 20, 2017. In his acceptance speech, President-elect Trump spoke of his vision of bringing the country together and “rebuilding our nation and renewing the American dream.” He stated his desire to “embark upon a project of national growth” and specifically mentioned the need to “rebuild our highways, bridges, tunnels, airports, schools, and hospitals.” The Trump-Pence victory—coupled with Republicans maintaining control of the Senate and House—will allow President-elect Trump to move forward on a legislative agenda that addresses a wide range of issues, including infrastructure, tax reform, and the Affordable Care Act. The incoming Trump Administration will immediately begin the transition process in preparation for taking office in January, and will start the process of vetting candidates to fill Cabinet positions, subcabinet positions, regulatory agencies, and the current US Supreme Court vacancy. President-elect Trump has begun the process of formulating his new administration with the establishment of the Presidential Transition Team. He has named Vice-President-elect Pence as chair of the Transition Team; Republican National Committee Chairman Reince Priebus as his White House Chief of Staff; and Stephen Bannon as chief strategist and senior counselor to the president. The Transition Team website is www.greatagain.gov Senate With control of the Senate at stake and 11 hotly contested races to determine that control, Republicans maintained their majority for the 115th Congress by the thin margin of 51-48 (Louisiana has a run-off election scheduled for December 10 for the seat of retiring Senator David Vitter). Going into the elections, Republicans held a 54–46 majority in the Senate but were defending 25 seats while the Democrats were only defending 10. Republican Senatorial candidates won eight of the 11 contested races and lost only two incumbents, Senator Mark Kirk (IL) and Senator Kelly Ayotte (NH). One notable election result was in Nevada, where Democratic candidate Catherine Cortez Masto won the seat of retiring Senate Minority Leader Harry Reid. In the coming weeks, Senate Republicans and Democrats will be electing their leadership teams. On the Republican side, barring any last minute rebellions, Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (KY) and Majority 1 www.morganlewis.com Whip John Cornyn (TX) will likely keep their positions in the 115th Congress. On the Democratic side, the retirement of Mr. Reid opens up the Minority Leader position and Senator Chuck Schumer (NY) will move into that position. Democratic Senator Richard Durbin (IL) is the current Minority Whip. House of Representatives Republicans went into the November 8 elections holding a 247–188 advantage in the House of Representatives, and Democrats needed a net gain of 30 seats to retake control. As expected, Republicans were able to maintain their majority status but appear to have lost seven seats (with two California races still too close to call and two Louisiana races headed to run-off elections). Democrats had targeted 20 Republican incumbents but fell well short of that goal. They did, however, knock-off several veteran GOP lawmakers, including 12-term Representative John Mica (FL), a former chairman of the House Transportation Committee, and seven-term Representative Scott Garrett (NJ), the current chairman of the Capital Markets and Government Sponsored Enterprises Subcommittee of the House Financial Services Committee. When Congress returns next week for the lame-duck session, House Republicans and Democrats will select their leadership teams for the 115th Congress. House Speaker Paul Ryan (WI) has announced he will run to continue as speaker but it’s possible he could face a challenge from the conservative Freedom Caucus. If that challenge does not materialize, the remainder of the Republican leadership team will likely continue into the 115th Congress. That would include Representative Kevin McCarthy (CA) as Majority Leader and Steve Scalise (LA) as Majority Whip. For the Democrats, Representative Nancy Pelosi (CA) and Representative Steny Hoyer (MD) will likely continue as Minority Leader and Minority Whip, respectively. Upcoming Dates November 14: Congress returns for the post-election lame-duck session Week of November 21: Congress not in session for the Thanksgiving recess November 28: Congress returns for continuation of lame-duck session December 9: Funding for the federal government expires under the Continuing Resolution (CR) December 10: Louisiana Senate and House Run-Off Elections December 19: Electoral College convenes January 3, 2017: First session of the 115th Congress convenes January 20: Inauguration of Donald J. Trump as president and Mike Pence as vice president 2 www.morganlewis.com Likely Committee Leadership Changes Senate Appropriations Committee The Appropriations Committee has jurisdiction over the funding of the federal government. Working through its 12 subcommittees—each dedicated to specific departments and agencies—the committee approves the annual appropriations bills or the larger omnibus appropriations bill for each fiscal year. Increasingly, the Appropriations Committee is also the scene of partisan battles over policy “riders” that attempt to counter Administration initiatives by withholding funding to finalize rules or enforce compliance. The current chairman of the Appropriations Committee is Senator Thad Cochran (MS), and he will continue in that capacity next year. With the retirement of Senator Barbara Mikulski (MD), the position of ranking Democrat will be open and while Senator Patrick Leahy (VT) is next in line, he may opt to take the top Democrat spot on the Judiciary Committee. If he elects to do so, the next Senator with seniority is Patty Murray (WA). Banking Committee The Banking Committee has jurisdiction over the banking industry, the financial services industry, the Federal Reserve, Dodd-Frank, and the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau. With both presidential campaigns’ focus on the banking and financial services industries, the Banking Committee will likely be the battleground for a number of partisan policy debates. The committee also reviews the nomination of the Secretary of the Department of Housing and Urban Development. Due to term limits, Senator Richard Shelby (AL) will step aside and be replaced as chairman by Senator Mike Crapo (ID), who has served as ranking member of the committee in the past. Senator Sherrod Brown (OH) will continue as the top Democrat on the committee in the 115th Congress. Budget Committee The Budget Committee oversees the process by which Congress annually establishes the appropriate levels of budget authority, outlays, revenues, deficits, and public debt. With the debt ceiling expected to be reached early in 2017, this will be one of the more controversial issues the committee will deal with. The Budget Committee, along with Homeland Security, also reviews the nomination of the director of the Office of Management and Budget. The current chairman of the Budget Committee is Senator Mike Enzi (WY), and he will continue in that capacity in the 115th Congress. The ranking Democrat is Senator Bernie Sanders (VT) but he potentially is in line to be the ranking Democrat on the Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions Committee. In the event he takes that position, Senator Debbie Stabenow (MI) is likely to take over the Budget slot. Commerce, Science, and Transportation Committee The Commerce, Science, and Transportation Committee has jurisdiction over virtually all forms of transportation, interstate commerce, consumer protection, space science, and communications. It is traditionally one of the more bipartisan committees of Congress. The committee reviews the nominations of the Secretaries of Commerce and Transportation. 3 www.morganlewis.com The current chairman and ranking Democrat of the committee are Senator John Thune (SD) and Senator Bill Nelson (FL), respectively, and they will continue in those positions in the 115th Congress. Energy and Natural Resources Committee The Energy and Natural Resources Committee has jurisdiction over the nation’s energy policy, nuclear waste policy, and federal lands. The committee, which will likely take up a comprehensive national energy policy proposal early in 2017, reviews the nominations of the secretaries of the departments Energy and Interior. Senator Lisa Murkowski (AK) and Senator Maria Cantwell (WA) will remain the chairman and ranking member, respectively, in the 115th Congress. Environment and Public Works (EPW) Committee The EPW Committee has jurisdiction over environmental policy, construction, and maintenance of the highway program, regulation of the nuclear energy, and air/water pollution. In recent years, the committee has been ground