untitled design

Biden took over the Senate. The United States is now under complete control of the Democratic Party

 

In the United States, a by-election to the Senate was held, which was won by candidates from the Democratic Party. The battle for the upper house of Congress was decisive, as it put all power in the country at the federal level into the hands of the Democrats and greatly facilitated the future tenure of the US President-elect Joe Biden. Trump told the supporters to “go to the Capitol”, after which they took it by storm – on the day of summing up the election results (verification of the electoral votes). Because of this, the meeting fell through, and a curfew was imposed in Washington and the National Guard was mobilized. Four people were killed in the riots. Four hours later, the police restored order and the meeting continued.

What happened in the USA, why it is important and what’s next – tells LIGA.net.

WHAT HAPPENED. On January 5, Georgia held by-elections to the Senate in two districts. Both mandates were taken by Democratic candidates: John Ossoff and Rafael Warnock. The gap between them and their rivals is small: Ossoff outperformed his Republican rival David Purdue by 0.6%, and Warnock overtook Kelly Lofler by 1.2%. Now in the upper house of Congress, the forces are divided equally: Republicans and Democrats will each have 50 mandates, and the vote of the elected vice-president Kamala Harris (as the chairman of the Senate) will be decisive.

Ossoff is a documentary film producer and journalist, his father is a migrant from the USSR, and Warnock is the pastor of one of the Baptist churches where Martin Luther King Jr. once led services. Both senators will become historical figures: Warnock will be the first black Democratic senator from the southern states (and the 11th black senator in the entire US history), and Ossoff will become one of the youngest senators at only 33 years old.

One of the possible factors behind the victory of Democrats in traditionally conservative Georgia was the baseless accusations of US President Donald Trump of electoral fraud, because they could demoralize Republican voters. Trump’s claims likely undermined voters’ confidence in the electoral system, according to the BBC. A poll of voters leaving the polling stations showed that 70% of them are confident that their votes will be accurately counted. This is 15% less than in the November presidential elections.

Also, a couple of days before the US elections, a scandal erupted: during an hour-long telephone conversation, Trump threatened the Secretary of State of Georgia, demanding to find votes in his favor, that is, to cancel Biden’s victory, while clarifying that “inaction on Tuesday (on the day of the by-election, January 5 – ed.) would jeopardize the political fate of “the two Republican senators.

On January 6, Congress began to take stock of the election. Several Republicans tried to challenge the electoral votes for Biden, but they were not supported. During the debate, US Vice President Michael Pence, who plays a symbolic role, refused to interfere with the counting process, ignoring Trump’s early demands. The leader of the Senate majority, Republican Mitch McConnell, also went against the US president, saying that the falsifications that Trump had claimed had not been found in the courts.

Trump supporters who rallied near the Capitol went to storm the buildings. Part of the rebels managed to break through, and inside there were clashes with the police, shots sounded. One woman was shot and wounded. Law enforcers had to evacuate Pence and other politicians from the building, and the mayor of Washington imposed a curfew in the city. The meeting was adjourned. Trump addressed the protesters, urging them to behave peacefully and go home. At the same time, he could not resist repeating the fake about election fraud.

One of the Republicans called the incident “a coup attempt.” Biden also made a live statement, calling on Trump to “back down” and recalling his supporters. In the District of Columbia, the National Guard had to be mobilized. Later, the rebels were still driven out of the Capitol. All high-ranking US officials in unison declared that the rioters would be held responsible for what happened.

WHY IS IT IMPORTANT. The Democratic Party actually took full house: not only the White House, but also Congress – the Senate and the House of Representatives (222 Democratic mandates – 211 Republicans) were under their control. This victory will give Democrats control of Congress and the White House simultaneously for the first time since 2011.

Biden will have control over personnel policy, he will not have to bargain with the Republicans for each nomination, – says Ilya Kusa

Controlling Congress will be critical to Biden, who will be able to move his policies forward almost unhindered. Especially on issues traditionally contentious with Republicans: health and environmental protection, which are among the key topics in Biden’s election program. Also, in addition to legislative functions, the Senate is responsible for approving presidential candidates for positions in the government and the judiciary.

“Since the main function of the Senate is to approve candidates for key positions in the administration, Biden will have control over personnel policy, he will not have to bargain with Republicans for each candidacy,” says LIGA.net international expert at the Ukrainian Institute of the Future Iliya Kusa.

Democrats need to have absolute party discipline in order to get all their decisions through both houses. Because if suddenly someone speaks out against, then everything – the majority is gone, – says the director of the Center for International Studies Vladimir Dubovik

However, even this victory has an important nuance – it is shaky, the expert says. Among the Democrats, he said, there are senators with different opinions, the Democrats are divided into several groups depending on their electoral orientation – “It will not be easy for Biden.” “But it’s easier than fighting the Republicans,” he added.

A similar opinion is shared by the director of the Center for International Studies, Vladimir Dubovik, who says LIGA.netthat a victory in the Senate “will improve the prospects for Biden’s presidency,” but only if there is “absolute party discipline”: “Because if suddenly someone speaks out against or takes some special position, then that’s it – the majority is gone.”

WHAT’S NEXT. In two weeks, on January 20, Biden will take over as President of the United States and begin to implement his agenda without hindrance. Trump, on the other hand, suffered a fiasco, since he not only lost the fight for the White House and Congress, but also allowed the storming of the Capitol and bloodshed.

The reluctance of Republicans in Congress to support Trump can be explained – he bears a significant part of the blame for their defeat, as he spent time discussing his defeat, according to BBC journalist Anthony Zurcher. Because of this, he says, their electorate did not show up in the right numbers: “The party that loses the White House usually does better in subsequent congressional elections.”

Dubovik has a similar opinion, saying that the Republicans will want to get rid of Trump and make him a “scapegoat.” At the same time, he explains, the Republicans still have leverage over US policy: they can disrupt votes, they have many local mandates, and the conservatives dominate the Supreme Court.

The Democratic victory is good news for Ukraine as well, as the upper house of Congress is responsible for negotiating treaties with other countries and is solely responsible for approving presidential appointments, in particular ambassadors. At the same time, one should not expect significant changes, experts say.

“This simplifies the situation somewhat, but there will be no radical changes, since Congress has supported Ukraine before. Biden will also support it. It will be a more balanced and less impulsive policy, depending not on the will of one person, but more on the party line. there will definitely not be any changes, “Dubovik says.

Republicans will take advantage of the atmosphere of political toxicity created by Trump, gamble on the split over the elections to seize the initiative in the midterm elections to Congress in two years, says Kusa.

Kusa believes that now the Republicans will use the split in American society, which will become the main field of their activity: “They will use the atmosphere of political toxicity created by Trump, play on the split due to elections, so that they will seize the initiative in the midterm elections to Congress in two years “.

The victory in the Senate will ease the work of the Biden administration, but will not directly affect the status quo of relations with Kiev. “The policy on Ukraine will be formed in the White House,” he said.

You may also like

Get the latest

Stay Informed: Get the Latest Updates and Insights

 

Most popular