Both the House of Representatives and the Senate have finalized their leadership elections (except for the Speaker of the House who is elected by the full House on January 3rd). Overall, much of the leadership from the 118th Congress will remain in place, with some noted changes. In the Senate, those changes include Senator Thune (R-ND) becoming the Majority Leader in the Senate, Senator Barrasso (R-WY) becoming the Republican Whip in the Senate, and Senator Klobuchar (D-MN) becoming the Chair of the Democratic Policy and Communications Committee. In the House, most of the top leadership remained in place and Rep. McClain (R-MI) will be the new Republican Conference Chair.
Leadership positions in Congress are sought-after jobs given their control over the policy, politics, and messaging for Republicans and Democrats in the House and Senate. Recent years have highlighted just how difficult these positions are and just how quick policymakers are to blame leadership for any legislative hurdles. Here are four areas leaders will focus on in the 119th Congress:
Keeping the Team Together: Leaders on both sides of the aisle will face some challenges in ensuring their members remain united and it may be virtually impossible to do so with such narrow majorities and a consequential 2026 election on the horizon. That being said, there is nothing more important (and more difficult) than staying united and making sure factions do not emerge that can dislodge the agenda and ultimately undermine the strategy. This is much easier when majorities are large; when they are small, they open the doors to disruption.
Maintaining Message Discipline: No party wants hundreds of different messages being pushed out that may conflict with each other. For Republicans, this will also be complicated by the need to align with White House messaging. Message discipline helps elevate the core messaging and reduces the risk of internal division emerging. This is easier said than done, but messaging is a leadership responsibility and if they are not providing strong messaging, individual policymakers will fill the gap on their own.
Outlining and Advancing a Policy Agenda: Leadership will ultimately be judged on what they can accomplish (which largely depends on reducing the potential for factions to emerge and maintaining message discipline, as noted above). For those in the majority, they will need to pass key bills and get them signed into law, not just advance messaging bills that are unable to reach the President's desk. They will also need to make sure the basics get done -- avoiding a government shutdown, giving committees latitude to legislate, etc. The minority will need to show a sophisticated strategy that inserts their priorities into the legislative process, where possible, and provides a united front against legislation that conflicts with their agenda.
Re-Focusing on the 2026 Election: While we have not yet even reached the 119th Congress, the 2026 election is just around the corner. Leadership will need to focus quickly on how to push their policymakers toward meaningful policy and political goals and not wait too long before focusing on 2026. With narrow majorities, these elections present enormous risks to those in control of Congress and an enormous opportunity to those hoping to win control of Congress.
Congressional leadership is tougher now than it has ever been. Early in the 119th Congress, leaders will begin to see just how tough these next two years will be and where opportunities may emerge that they will take advantage of.
Comments