When Congress returns to Capitol Hill on November 12, 2024, much of the focus will be on the remaining business of the 118th Congress. However, preparations are already underway for the new 119th Congress, which will convene for the first time at noon on January 3, 2025. The first order of business will be to elect a Speaker of the House.
Before that can happen, each party conference in the House will need to elect their leadership. This will happen during November and December of this year. House Republicans will hold their leadership elections on November 13, 2024. Democrats are expected to hold their elections in early December.
Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA) is expected to remain in the top post. However, Representatives Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-GA) and Thomas Massie (R-KY) have vowed not to support a future speakership bid from Johnson and may seek to shake things up. House Democrats have not yet announced their leadership elections; however, no major developments are expected in their leadership structure.
To become Speaker of the House, a member of Congress must receive a majority of the votes cast. In the past, this has meant the majority party elects their top leader to the position of Speaker. Once a Speaker has been selected, members are sworn in for the new Congress. The next order of business will be passing a rules package, submitted by the majority, to guide the operations of the U.S. House of Representatives.
The U.S. Senate is presided over by the Vice President of the United States who also serves as President of the Senate. The Vice President swears in the newly elected Senators, who then sign the Oath Book.
Senate Republicans will also hold their leadership elections on November 13, 2024. Republican Senators will be electing a new party conference leader for the first time since 2007. Current Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) is stepping down as the GOP’s Senate leader but will finish his term as a Senator. Candidates seeking to replace him include Senate Minority Whip John Thune (R-SD), former Whip John Cornyn (R-TX) and Rick Scott (R-FL). The Senate leadership race is a secret ballot, unlike the speakership battle, which means there’s a lot more wiggle room for Senators to elect a leader of their choosing.
Senate Democrats are expected to hold their leadership elections in early December. Current Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) and Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL) are expected to retain their positions in the Democratic Conference, but as Minority Leader and Whip, respectively.
Meanwhile, in the Executive Branch, preparations are ongoing for a new administration and have been going on for some time. Under federal law, both major-party presidential candidates begin receiving classified national security briefings after their nomination is formalized by their party. They are also eligible to receive presidential transition services and facilities provided by the General Services Administration, including office space, equipment, and the payment of certain related expenses.
The President appoints about 4,000 positions throughout the Executive Branch and more than 1,200 of those require Senate confirmation, which will move fairly swiftly given that Republicans will control both the Senate and the White House in the 119th Congress. Transition teams must identify, recruit and guide enough candidates through the complex hiring process to ensure that their new administration is prepared to take office on Inauguration Day. The teams must also create a clear policy agenda with plans of action for the first day, for the first 10 days and the first 100 days.
Federal Election Results in the Centralina Region:
U.S. Senators Thom Tillis and Ted Budd did not face re-election in this cycle and will be returning to Capitol Hill in January 2025 along with incumbent U.S. Representative Alma Adams. The Centralina region has three new Members of Congress:
Representative-Elect Mark Harris (R) – Eighth Congressional District
Representative-elect Mark Harris succeeds Representative Dan Bishop (R). Harris is a Southern Baptist pastor born and raised in Winston-Salem. He graduated from Appalachian State University with a degree in political science and received his Master of Divinity and Doctor of Ministry degrees from Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary.
Harris has an extensive background in ministry, currently serving as the lead pastor at Trinity Baptist Church in Mooresville. Previously, he was the senior pastor at First Baptist Church in Charlotte and president of the Baptist State Convention of North Carolina. His political career includes a run for the U.S. Senate in 2014 and two campaigns for the U.S. House of Representatives in 2016 and 2018.
Representative-Elect Pat Harrigan (R) – Tenth Congressional District
Representative-elect Pat Harrigan succeeds Representative Patrick McHenry (R). Harrigan was born on the West Coast and grew up splitting his time between San Diego and Wyoming. He earned a degree in Nuclear Engineering from United States Military Academy West Point. Harrigan was commissioned into the Infantry, completed Ranger School, and served as an Infantry Platoon Leader at Fort Wainwright, Alaska. At age 23, he deployed to Afghanistan, where he led a combat outpost in the Arghandab Valley.
After returning to the U.S., Harrigan volunteered for Special Forces and completed his training in North Carolina. He led his unit through challenging conditions in Afghanistan. During his active duty, he and his wife Rocky founded a firearms business that expanded from their home to a manufacturing operation in Western North Carolina.
Representative-Elect Tim Moore (R) – Fourteenth Congressional District
Representative-elect Tim Moore succeeds Representative Jeff Jackson (D). Moore represented the 111th State House District from 2002-2023. He served as the Speaker of the North Carolina House of Representatives from 2015-2023. Throughout his legislative career, Moore held various leadership roles, including chairman of the Rules Committee and Assistant Speaker.
Moore was born in Kings Mountain, NC. He graduated from the University of North Carolina with a Bachelor of Arts degree and earned his Juris Doctor from Oklahoma City University. Moore worked at a law firm before opening his own practice in 2009. He also served as the attorney for the Cleveland County Commission.
