With the results of the two run-off elections in Georgia, the framework of Washington during the early stages of Joe Biden’s presidency have been set: with Democrats in charge of the White House, the House of Representatives, and (just about) the Senate. Peter Finn cautions that, though the Democrats may well achieve some significant policy goals, they should also expect discord, with Trumpism continuing to be a factor

Finn, Peter

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What	Happened?:	The	narrow	parameters	of	Biden’sWashington	are	now	set,	but	Trump	looms	large		With	the	results	of	the	two	run-off	elections	in	Georgia,	the	framework	of	Washington	during	the	earlystages	of	Joe	Biden’s	presidency	have	been	set:	with	Democrats	in	charge	of	the	White	House,	theHouse	of	Representatives,	and	(just	about)	the	Senate.	Peter	Finn	cautions	that,	though	theDemocrats	may	well	achieve	some	significant	policy	goals,	they	should	also	expect	discord,	withTrumpism	continuing	to	be	a	factor.Following	the	2020	US	General	Election,	our	mini-series, ‘What	Happened?’,	explores	aspects	of	elections	atthe	presidential,	Senate,	House	of	Representative	and	state	levels,	and	also	reflects	on	what	the	electionresults	will	mean	for	US	politics	moving	forward.	If	you	are	interested	in	contributing,	please	contact	RobLedger	(ledger@em.uni-frankfurt.de)	or	Peter	Finn	(finn@kingston.ac.uk).Georgia	on	my	MindControl	of	the	US	Senate,	and	with	it	the	chance	of	unified	control	of	the	White	House	and	both	houses	of	Congressfor	Democrats,	came	down	to	two	runoff	elections	held	in	Georgia	on	January	5th.	These	elections	were	heldbecause	no	candidates	were	able	to	get	more	than	50	percent	of	the	vote	in	either	of	the	Senate	races	held	inGeorgia	in	November	2020.	In	one	run-off	Republican	incumbent	Kelly	Loeffler,	a	Trump	loyalist	who	was	appointedto	a	Senate	seat	in	2019	by	Georgia	Governor	Brian	Kemp	after	her	predecessor	stood	down	for	health	reasons,ran	against	Raphael	Warnock,	a	pastor	of	Ebenezer	Baptist	Church	in	Atlanta	who	was	running	for	the	Democrats.In	the	second	run-off,	Republican	David	Perdue,	who	was	first	elected	as	a	US	Senator	for	Georgia	in	2015,	ranagainst	Democrat	Jon	Ossoff.	Both	races	became	nationalised,	with	both	Biden	and	Trump	campaigning,	andhundreds	of	millions	of	dollars	spent	on	advertising.As	was	the	case	in	the	November	General	Election,	early	voting,	both	in-person	and	by	mail,	played	an	importantrole	in	the	race,	with	40	percent	of	registered	voters	having	already	cast	their	vote	on	the	eve	of	the	election.Warnock	was	called	as	the	winner	against	Loeffler	early	on	January	6th	2021,	with	Warnock	having	secured	victoryover	Loeffler	by	almost	90,000	votes.	Ossoff	beat	Perdue	by	a	smaller	margin.With	the	addition	of	Vice-President	Elect	Kamala	Harris,	these	victories	have	given	Democrats	unified	control	of	theFederal	Government	by	the	slenderest	of	margins.President	Biden	Joe	Biden	won	the	largest	popular	vote	mandate	in	US	history,	garnering	more	than	80	million	votes.	He	won	theElectoral	College	306	to	232,	with	his	slow	burn	victory	declared	on	November	7th,	half	a	week	on	from	the	electionon	November	3rd.	In	reality,	though	it	took	a	few	days	to	be	confirmed,	Biden’s	victory	was	largely	settled	by	thetens	of	millions	who	voted	early	in	person	and	via	mail	in	the	weeks	leading	up	to	the	election.The	challenges	now	faced	by	Biden	are	gargantuan.	Most	obviously	they	include	dealing	with	coronavirus,	re-engaging	the	US	Federal	Government	on	climate	change,	and	addressing	inequalities	within	US	society.	Hisadministration	now	has	a	tenuous	route	through	which	such	challenges	can	be	approached.Speaker	Pelosi’s	HouseOn	January	3rd	Democrat	Nancy	Pelosi	was	re-elected	as	Speaker	of	the	House	of	Representatives.	She	waselected	by	216	votes	to	209	over	Republican	House	Minority	Leader	Kevin	McCarthy.		Pelosi,	who	has	been	theleader	of	the	Democrats	in	the	chamber	since	2003	and	House	Speaker	for	six	of	those	years,	said	her	caucusaccepted	‘a	responsibility	as	daunting	and	demanding	as	any	that	previous	generations	of	leadership	have	faced’,claiming	‘[o]ur	most	urgent	priority	will	continue	to	be	defeating	the	coronavirus.	And	defeat	it,	we	will.’USApp – American Politics and Policy Blog: What Happened?: The narrow parameters of Biden’s Washington are now set, but Trump looms large  Page 1 of 3		Date originally posted: 2021-01-14Permalink: https://blogs.lse.ac.uk/usappblog/2021/01/14/what-happened-the-narrow-parameters-of-bidens-washington-are-now-set-but-trump-looms-large/Blog homepage: https://blogs.lse.ac.uk/usappblog/“2021.01.02	DC	Street,	Washington,	DC	USA	002	02201-Edit”	by	Ted	Eytan	is	licensed	under	CC	BY	SA	2.0Providing	a	snapshot	of	ongoing	partisan	tensions,	meanwhile,	McCarthy,	whose	party	cut	the	Democrat	majority	inthe	chamber	in	the	November	elections	by	nine	over	the	previous	congress,	said	the	smaller	majority	held	by	theDemocrats	this	term	was	a	‘wake-up	call’,	and	asked	of	the	Democrats	‘were	you	listening?’Trump	and	TrumpismA	continual	background	noise	to	the	assembling	of	the	Washington	of	the	first	half	of	Biden’s	first	term	as	presidenthas	been	continual	unsuccessful	attempts	by	Trump	and	his	associates	and	supporters	to	challenge	the	2020election	result.	Courts,	including	the	US	Supreme	Court,	have	consistently	dismissed	legal	challenges	to	Biden’svictory,	with	Pennsylvanian	Judge	Matthew	Brann	calling	one	lawsuit	a	‘Frankenstein’s	Monster’.In	a	leaked	taping	of	a	January	2nd	phone	call	Trump	can	be	heard	imploring	Republican	Secretary	of	State	BradRaffensperger	of	Georgia	to	commit	fraud,	or	face	legal	consequences,	in	order	to	‘find	11,780	votes’	needed	tooverturn	Biden’s	victory	in	the	state.	Trump	told	Raffensperger	‘there’s	nothing	wrong	with	saying,	you	know,	thatyou’ve	recalculated’,	with	Raffensperger	telling	Trump	‘Mr.	President,	the	challenge	that	you	have	is,	the	data	youhave	is	wrong.’Finally,	Trump	urged	his	supporters	to	disrupt	proceedings	with	incendiary	language	while	the	US	Congress	wasattempting	to	certify	Biden’s	victory	on	January	6th:	an	urging	his	supporters	took	up	with	violent	gusto,	stormingthe	Capitol	Building.	Trump	attacked	his	own	Vice-President	Mike	Pence,	who	was	overseeing	the	certificationproceedings,	Tweeting:	‘Mike	Pence	didn’t	have	the	courage	to	do	what	should	have	been	done	to	protect	our	Country	and	ourConstitution,	giving	States	a	chance	to	certify	a	corrected	set	of	facts,	not	the	fraudulent	or	inaccurateones	which	they	were	asked	to	previously	certify.	USA	demands	the	truth!’One	presumes	that	for	many	Republicans	Biden’s	inauguration	on	January	20th	(or	sooner	if	Trump	resigns,	isremoved	via	impeachment	or	the	25th	Amendment),	and	a	chance	to	work	towards	the	2022	midterms	withoutTrump	at	the	helm	of	the	party,	cannot	come	soon	enough.	Yet,	the	outgoing	president	still	has	significant	powerwithin	the	Republican	Party	and	base	and	will	likely	continue	to	try	to	influence	events	from	the	side-lines,	greasinghis	base	by	teasing	a	2024	presidential	run	(though	impeachment	could	lead	to	this	possibility	being	precluded	viaArticle	1	Section	3	if	Congress	decided	to	bar	him	from	holding	any	future	Federal	office).—USApp – American Politics and Policy Blog: What Happened?: The narrow parameters of Biden’s Washington are now set, but Trump looms large  Page 2 of 3		Date originally posted: 2021-01-14Permalink: https://blogs.lse.ac.uk/usappblog/2021/01/14/what-happened-the-narrow-parameters-of-bidens-washington-are-now-set-but-trump-looms-large/Blog homepage: https://blogs.lse.ac.uk/usappblog/The	next	two	years	in	US	politics	promise	to	be	tumultuous	(in	reality	more	like	a	year	and	a	half,	as	the	fall	of	2022will	be	dominated	by	the	lead	up	to	midterms).	The	Democrats	have	unified	control	in	Washington	D.C.	by	thesmallest	of	margins,	whilst	Trump	appears	poised	to	leverage	his	popularity	to	cause	problems	for	Republicans	andDemocrats	alike.Biden	has	a	narrow	route	to	big	policy	achievements.	Navigating	this	route	will	require	the	sustained	application	ofpolitical	savvy,	appeasing	various	wings	of	his	own	party	and	potentially	working	with	some	Republicans	if	he	isunable	to	bring	all	Democrats	with	him.Please	read	our	comments	policy	before	commenting.		Note:	This	article	gives	the	views	of	the	author,	and	not	the	position	of	USApp–	American	Politics	and	Policy,	nor	ofthe	London	School	of	Economics.Shortened	URL	for	this	post:	https://bit.ly/39yH6tQAbout	the	authorPeter	Finn	–	Kingston	UniversityDr	Peter	Finn	is	a	multi-award-winning	Senior	Lecturer	in	Politics	at	Kingston	University.	His	researchis	focused	on	conceptualising	the	ways	that	the	US	and	the	UK	attempt	to	embed	impunity	forviolations	of	international	law	into	their	national	security	operations.	He	is	also	interested	in	US	politicsmore	generally,	with	a	particular	focus	on	presidential	power	and	elections.	He	has,	among	otherplaces,	been	featured	in	The	Guardian,	The	Conversation,	Open	Democracy	and	Critical	MilitaryStudies.USApp – American Politics and Policy Blog: What Happened?: The narrow parameters of Biden’s Washington are now set, but Trump looms large  Page 3 of 3		Date originally posted: 2021-01-14Permalink: https://blogs.lse.ac.uk/usappblog/2021/01/14/what-happened-the-narrow-parameters-of-bidens-washington-are-now-set-but-trump-looms-large/Blog homepage: https://blogs.lse.ac.uk/usappblog/

What happened?: The narrow parameters of Biden’s Washington are now set, but Trump looms large

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What happened?: The narrow parameters of Biden’s Washington are now set, but Trump looms large

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