Republicans and Democrats to hold Senate leadership elections Tuesday
A pair of Georgia runoff elections that won’t take place until January are on track to determine whether Republicans or Democrats wield the Senate majority next year, but Republicans and Democrats will still press ahead with elections for top leadership posts for the next session of Congress.
Mitch McConnell is poised to continue on in his role as the Senate Republican leader and Chuck Schumer is positioned to continue on as the Senate Democratic leader.
It’s still not certain, however, who — McConnell or Schumer — will become Senate majority leader and who will be minority leader, a question that won’t be answered until it is clear which party ultimately wins the majority.
Senate Republican leadership elections will take place Tuesday morning in a closed-door meeting. Elections will be determined by majority vote and secret ballot.
The full slate of current GOP leadership is expected to remain on with the exception of the chair of the Senate Republican campaign arm.
Republican Sen. Rick Scott of Florida has announced a bid to become the National Republican Senatorial Committee chair for the upcoming election cycle, a position currently held by Indiana Sen. Todd Young. It’s typical for there to be a new chair in a new election cycle and Scott’s bid is expected to be uncontested.
Leadership elections for the Senate Democratic caucus will take place during a special caucus meeting.
The current leadership team led by Schumer has a total of 10 members, including progressives like Massachusetts Sen. Elizabeth Warren and Vermont independent Sen. Bernie Sanders, as well as moderates like Sen. Joe Manchin of West Virginia.
Tuesday’s voting process in the Democrat leadership elections will not include any determinations on committee assignments, committee leadership roles or the chairmanship of the Democratic Senate campaign arm, all of which will happen at a later date as is typical for the Democratic caucus.
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Author:Clare Foran and Ted Barrett, CNN
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