Jon Ossoff (D-GA), Rev. Raphael Warnock Jr. (D-GA) and Alex Padilla (D-CA) on Wednesday were officially sworn in as Senators, bringing the balance of power in the chamber to an even 50-50.
Vice President Kamala Harris, in her constitutional role as President of the Senate, can cast tiebreaking votes in the event of a party line split.
Senators Ossoff and Warnock replace outgoing Georgia Republicans David Perdue and Kelly Loeffler, respectively. Ossoff is the first Jewish senator to represent Georgia and Warnock is the first African-American Georgia senator. Georgia has not elected a Democrat senator since Max Cleland in 1996.
Senator Padilla replaces Harris, who assumed the vice presidency. He is the first Latino to represent California in the Senate.
The shift in the balance of power means Senator Chuck Schumer (D-NY) became the majority leader, while Senator Mitch McConnell (R-KY) becomes the minority leader.
Wednesday is the first day in six years that Democrats have controlled the Senate and the first since early 2011 that Democrats controlled both chambers of Congress and the presidency.
The most recent 50-50 split occured in early 2001. Senators Trent Lott (R-MS) and Tom Daschle (D-SD) agreed on a power sharing arrangement where the party that occupies the White House retained committee chairmanships, evenly split committee memberships, and special rules were passed that allowed the majority leader to advance legislation or nominations directly to the floor if it was tied at the subcommittee or committee level. The terms of the arrangement passed the Senate by a voice vote.
Once such an arrangement is reached in the 117th Congress, Senators Schumer and McConnell can give new senators committee assignments and rotate any chairs/ranking members should they want to do so.
