WASHINGTON—The 119th Congress of the United States will take office on Jan. 3, 2025, and last for two years, until Jan. 3, 2027. Republicans will hold a slim majority in both the Senate and House of Representatives.
With a Republican administration leading the Executive Branch, it is expected that Congress will attempt to enact conservative policies into law.
These efforts will not be unfettered. There is the Senate’s cloture vote requirement—where the support of 60 senators is necessary to overcome a filibuster—as well as divisions in the House Republican Conference amid its single-digit majority.
Key reforms are likely to be enacted using the “budget reconciliation” process, whereby a limited number of bills affecting spending, taxes, and debt can avoid a 60-vote cloture threshold in the Senate, though their effects must be limited to 10 years....
