Jon Ossoff, Raphael Warnock set to join Senate on Biden’s Inauguration Day
Incoming Senate Democrats Raphael Warnock and Jon Ossoff will likely be sworn in Wednesday afternoon following President-elect Joe Biden’s inauguration, Ossoff’s office told the Columbus Ledger-Enquirer and Macon Telegraph Tuesday afternoon.
The Georgia Secretary of State’s office on Tuesday certified Georgia’s Jan. 5 election results. Warnock defeated Republican Sen. Kelly Loeffler by 93,272 votes. Ossoff defeated former Republican Sen. David Perdue by 54,944. The final tally was confirmed after elections officials in Fulton County resolved an issue.
County election officials had not uploaded results from two of their precincts. The results were added Tuesday morning, and the county recertified its results, Georgia’s voting system implementation manager Gabriel Sterling said in a tweet.
What happens after Georgia certifies?
Certificates of election with signatures from Gov. Brian Kemp and Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger must be presented to the Secretary of the U.S. Senate proving that Warnock and Ossoff won the January runoffs.
Democrats will effectively hold the majority once Ossoff and Warnock are sworn-in. Vice President-elect Kamala Harris will cast tie-breaking votes if members vote along party lines. Harris, who served as one of California’s senators, resigned from the chamber Monday. NBC News reports that her appointed replacement, Alex Padilla, will be sworn in on the Senate floor after the inauguration.
Donald Trump’s impeachment trial
Donald Trump’s impeachment trial is expected to start after Joe Biden takes office, and ABC News reports the trial is expected to begin later this week.
Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi must send the article of impeachment to the Senate before the trial can begin. Once Harris and the three new senators are sworn in, Senate Democratic leader Chuck Schumer will determine how the trial proceeds.
A two-thirds majority is needed to convict Trump, meaning all Democrats would need 17 Republicans to support. If convicted, lawmakers could take a second vote on whether to bar Trump from holding future office. That vote would require a simple majority, AP reports.
This story was originally published January 18, 2021 at 7:00 AM.