Presidential Election

The nation’s attention is, of course, very focused on the results of the 2020 Election. The Presidential race awaits the outcome of a number of states, including key states like Pennsylvania (where Former Vice President Biden has recently taken a lead), North Carolina (where President Trump leads), Georgia (where Former Vice President Biden has recently taken a lead) and Nevada and Arizona (former Vice President Biden is in the lead in both, though that lead has shrunk some in Arizona), and Alaska (where President Trump leads). Final results will likely take weeks.

Senate & House Races

In Senate races, it is widely believed that the chamber will be 50 Republicans and 48 Democrats, after two “flips” from Republican to Democrat (in CO and AZ) and one “flip” from Democrat to Republican (in AL). The two remaining seats are the two Senate races in Georgia, which appear headed for run-off elections on January 5. Georgia law requires a run-off election if no candidate receives 50 percent of the vote on Election Day, a scenario that seems to be the case for both races. If this scenario holds true as the Georgia vote counting is finalized, that would mean control of the Senate would not be known until January.

The House of Representatives is likely to stay in Democratic control, despite five seats (so far) “flipping” from Democrat to Republican.

COVID Relief Package

Current Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY)—who won his re-election race—said on Wednesday that Congress should approve a coronavirus relief package before the end of the year. Also a needed in Lame Duck session of Congress (a session of Congress held by the outgoing Congress after an Election) is action on Fiscal Year 2021 funding bills. Current federal government funding runs out on December 11. Congress will need to pass final fiscal year (FY) 2021 funding or an additional continuing resolution by that time to keep the government open. There is a desire to complete work on FY21 funding before the new Congress takes office in January.