New Georgia Senators Sworn In, Democrats Now Officially Control The Senate

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Rev. Raphael Warnock and Jon Ossoff, seen here during a campaign event in Georgia on Jan. 4, were sworn in as U.S. Senators by Vice President Kamala Harris Wednesday afternoon.

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Harris also swore in Democrat Alex Padilla, the former California secretary of state, to fill Harris’s own Senate seat. He was appointed by Democratic California Governor Gavin Newsom.

«The chair lays before the Senate…a certificate of appointment to fill the vacancy created by the resignation of former senator Kamala D. Harris of California,» she said, laughing, before adding, «Yeah, that was very weird.»

With their swearing in complete, Sen. Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y. becomes the Senate Majority Leader and Sen. Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., the Minority Leader. Sen. Patrick Leahy, D-Vt. , became the new president pro-tempore of the Senate, placing him third in the line of succession to the presidency. He previously held this position from 2012-2015.

Details of a power sharing agreement are still being developed by Schumer and McConnell to lay out practical issues about the chamber’s operations going forward.

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A Democratic majority, however narrow, will enable the party to set the chamber’s legislative agenda and make it easier to confirm President Biden’s Cabinet picks.

Georgia’s Secretary of State’s office certified the results of the runoff elections the day before Biden’s inauguration.

Biden was the first Democrat to win Georgia since 1992 and Ossoff and Warnock’s wins were also history-making. Ossoff is the state’s first Jewish senator and Warnock is Georgia’s first Black senator and the first Black Democratic senator from the South.

Padilla’s appointment is also historic: He is the first Latino to represent California in the U.S. Senate.