Tag: Jon Ossoff

Chuck Schumer is now majority leader as 3 new Democratic senators are sworn in

Axios logo

Sen. Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) is officially Senate majority leader after the inauguration of Vice President Kamala Harris and the swearing-in of new Sens. Alex Padilla (D-Calif.), Jon Ossoff (D-Ga.) and Raphael Warnock (D-Ga.).

Why it matters: With a 50-50 Senate, Schumer will control a narrow majority with Harris as the tie-breaking vote. Democratic control of the Senate is crucial to President Biden’s agenda, from getting his coronavirus relief proposal passed to forgiving student debt. 

The big picture: After more than 20 years in the Senate, Schumer will be taking the position from Sen. Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.), who became majority leader in 2015. Continue reading.

Democrats win control of Senate after Warnock, Ossoff victories

The Hill logo

Democrats have won control of the Senate after securing victories in two runoff races in Georgia, a historic shift that will effectively give the party full control of the government under President-elect Joe Biden.

Democrat Raphael Warnock defeated Sen. Kelly Loeffler (R-Ga.), while Democrat Jon Ossoff defeated Sen. David Perdue, in hotly contested runoff races, giving each party 50 seats in the Senate. Vice President-elect Kamala Harris will cast the tie-breaking votes, giving Democrats control of the Senate for the first time since 2014.

Warnock’s victory over Loeffler was called early Wednesday morning. The race between Ossoff and Perdue was closer and was not called until the afternoon, as police clashed with a right-wing mob that stormed Capitol Hill to disrupt the Electoral College vote count. Continue reading.

Ossoff defeats Perdue in Georgia Senate runoff

The Hill logo

Jon Ossoff notched a critical victory in Georgia on Wednesday, with a projected defeat of Republican David Perdue in a Senate runoff election that will give Democrats control of the upper chamber.

The Associated Press called the race for Ossoff shortly after 4 p.m. EST. Ossoff currently leads Perdue by less than 0.6 percentage points, a slim margin but just over the 0.5-percentage-point threshold that would trigger an automatic recount of the vote.

The runoff was one of two in the Peach State that determines which party will control the Senate – and how effectively President-elect Joe Biden will be able to advance his legislative agenda – beginning Jan. 20. Continue reading.