Explainer | What does a 50-50 Senate get Joe Biden as president?

Name: Democrats gain majority in US Senate as Ossoff and Warnock win run-off in state of Georgia
Uploaded: 2021-01-18T09:28:22.000Z
Duration: 1 min 51 s
Description: Democrats gain majority in US Senate as Ossoff and Warnock win run-off in state of Georgia

New balance of power in Senate gives Democrats barest control of Congress - but has big consequences for Joe Biden

Reading Time:3 minutes

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Control of Congress hands power to the Democrats to advance Joe Biden’s policy goals. Photo: Reuters

Associated Press

Published: 5:28pm, 18 Jan 2021Updated: 5:28pm, 18 Jan 2021

Washington has barely had time to process the implications of Democratic control after two Georgia run-off elections that are delivering the Senate to Democrats. Hours after the races were decided, a mob of zealots ransacked the US Capitol and reshaped the national and political landscape.

The unexpected new balance of power giving Democrats only the barest control of Congress has big consequences for next president - easy confirmation of his Cabinet most importantly - but the road ahead for the next US president’s ambitious legislative agenda remains complicated and murky.

Republicans remain poised to block most of Joe Biden’s proposals, just as they thwarted much of President Barack Obama’s efforts on Capitol Hill. But 50/50 control permits action on special legislation that can’t be filibustered, and momentum for the popular parts of Covid-19 relief could easily propel an early aid bill into law.

What 50-50 really gets - and doesn’t get - Biden as he takes office:

01:51

Democrats gain majority in US Senate as Ossoff and Warnock win run-off in state of Georgia

What Biden does get

.css-1mniedq{color:inherit;font-weight:inherit;font-size:inherit;font-family:inherit;line-height:inherit;} New balance of power in Senate gives Democrats barest control of Congress - but has big consequences for Joe Biden

New balance of power in Senate gives Democrats barest control of Congress - but has big consequences for Joe Biden