Help me out. Why is Mitch still running the Senate?

[Fla Dem]

There is now a 50/50 Senate. Kamala’s Replacement has been appointed. The 2 Ga Dem Senators should have been sworn in immediately. Is it because Kamala is still a Senator until she gets sworn in as VP?

Someone help me understand why McConnell is STILL calling the shots.

[hlthe2b]

1. Two GA Senators have not yet been seated nor certified.

[tritsofme]

2. Pence breaks the tie for the GOP until Harris is sworn in as VP

[maxsolomon]

3. I think the GA Senators aren't sworn in until 1/23.

I could be wrong.

[The Velveteen Ocelot]

4. The two Georgia senators don't take office until GA certifies their election,

which will be sometime between 1/15 and 1/22. Until then, McConnell is still the majority leader.

[AntiFascist]

5. I've been told by a DUer that Georgia senators may not be sworn in until the 23rd...

sad if true.

[Hassin Bin Sober]

17. I'm happy it's that soon

I expected Purdue or Loeffler to file some phony baloney lawsuits so Turtle could say he “has to wait for the legal process to play out”

[mwooldri]

6. Pence is VP.

It is 50/50 in the Senate. Pence breaks the tie. I don't know when Harris will resign and her replacement be sworn in but assuming this happens Jan 19th, come Jan 20 VP Harris will break the tie.

Edit to add - the GA senators haven't been sworn in yet. So Pence being VP in a 50/50 Senate isn't true. It's presently 52/48.

[Ace Rothstein]

14. It is actually 51/48 currently.

The seat Ossoff won is currently vacant and has been since the Senate was sworn in on the 3rd.

[Klaralven]

15. It's presently 51/48. Perdue's term ended and he hasn't been replaced.

[Fla Dem]

7. Thank you everyone. Don't understand the delay in sitting the Ga Senator.

Also what I didn’t take into consideration was even with a 50/50 Senate, Pence breaks the tie. Duh

[The Velveteen Ocelot]

8. It's not a delay; it has to do with GA counting and certifying votes,

including military mail-in votes, at both the county and state levels. This is the schedule:

Jan. 8: Deadline for military and overseas ballots to come in, as well as for voters who had to use provisional ballots to fix their issue (a process known as "curing" their ballot).
Jan. 15: Deadline for counties to certify their results.
Jan. 22: Deadline for state to certify its results.
There's some important notes to go over here, though: Counties can basically start certifying once the deadline passes on Friday, Jan. 8 for the military/overseas/provisional ballots. So while the deadline Jan. 15, it could be done by Monday or Tuesday, for all we know. Similarly, once the counties are done, the state will likely only take another day or two (perhaps even less) to certify.

https://www.11alive.com/article/news/politics/when-will-warnock-ossoff-be-sworn-in/85-a6075050-fa52-4479-82f0-680ce153d37f

[Bleacher Creature]

12. It's not a delay. It's the process.

State law has a process for finalizing and certifying the result. When major news organizations call a race, it just means that they've determined that there is no way one candidate can beat the other. There still needs to be a final tally and then a certification. That timing is all spelled out in the state's laws.

[AntiFascist]

16. It could be expedited though, certification could happen on the 15th at the earliest...

then if Murkowski switched parties...

[Liberty Belle]

9. Georgia counties have until the 15th to certify results and the state has until later than that,

Just after Biden's inauguration.

Now I am unclear what happens if the Sec. of State certifies sooner, say the 16th or 17th. That would make it a tie, but with Pence still the tiebreaker until the 20th I can't see any way to move impeachment forward sooner as long as McConelll refuses.

[dutch777]

10. I like Mitch on the hook still...Trump is impeached...if he does something crazy...

...and the Senate was left in recess by Mitch, and they didn't act, its on Mitch and the Repubs. Nancy did the right thing...gave Pence a nudge for political cover and a chance to insert a spine and invoke the 25th and failing that, now Mitch's turn to be responsible. Donnie nukes Iran, and no one can say the Dems didn't do all they legally could.

[magicarpet]

11. Soon McConnell goes bye bye....

The elections of the two senators down in Georgia need to be certified by the sec of state. Then they can be sworn in in Washington DC. Once done then we have a 50/50 senate, needing the Dem VP to break any tie. But VP Harris has not been sworn in yet. After 1/20/2021 McConnell goes bye bye back to minority leader and Schumer is advanced to majority leader of the senate.

Have a little patience Ke mo sah bee.

[jcgoldie]

13. Republicans have a 50-48 majority...

...until Georgia SOS certifies runoff elections.