Minnesota's newest member of congress takes the oath of office today in Washington as the 119th U.S. Congress gets underway.
Democrat Kelly Morrison is the new representative of Minnesota's Third Congressional District. Morrison is the state's only new representative following the 2024 Election.
Morrison spoke to KSTP-TV's Tom Hauser on the WCCO Morning News Friday and talked about her first day on the job.
"Oh, it's just a tremendous honor," say Morrison. "I'm deeply humbled and excited to get to work on behalf of the people in the Third District and our state."
Morrison defeated Republican Tad Jude to win the seat that was held by Democrat Dean Phillips, who decided not to run again after an unsuccessful challenge of President Joe Biden for the Democratic nomination.
Morrison was in the Minnesota State Senate for two years, and now finds herself in Washington. At the top of the agenda Friday is swearing in new members and a new administration as President-elect Donald Trump gets set to re-enter the White House later this month.
"D.C. is abuzz with anticipation of a new Congress and a new administration," Morrison explained. "It's a very exciting time to be here and I'm just tremendously honored to be part of it."
Speaker of the House Drama
As the new Congress convenes Friday, the other major task at hand is the election of the House speaker.
Current Speaker Mike Johnson's grip on the gavel appears to be weak, and threatens not only his own survival but President-elect Donald Trump’s ambitious agenda of tax cuts and mass deportations as Republicans sweep to power in Washington.
With opposition from his own GOP colleagues, Johnson was holed up in the Capitol on the eve of the vote, working to sway the hardline holdouts. A flop by Johnson could throw Monday’s congressional certification of Trump’s 2024 election victory into turmoil without a House speaker. Even backing from Trump himself, usually a sure bet for Republicans, is no guarantee Johnson will stay in power.
“I think he’s banking a lot on people liking him,” said Sarah Binder, a professor of political science at George Washington University.
“But you know I think we’re still down to: What does he need to give away in order to get the speakership? And then how long can he keep it?”
What was once a ceremonial day with newly-elected lawmakers arriving to be sworn into office, often with family and friends in tow, has evolved into a high-stakes vote for the office of House speaker, among the most powerful elected positions in Washington.
While the Senate is able to convene on its own and has already elected party leaders — Sen. John Thune as the Republican majority leader and Sen. Chuck Schumer for the Democratic minority — the House must first elect its speaker, a role required by the Constitution, second in the line of succession to the president.
Congress has been here before, when it took Republicans nearly a week and 15 rounds of voting to elect Kevin McCarthy as speaker in 2023, a spectacle unseen in modern times. McCarthy was then dumped by his party, a historic first, but he was also part of a long list of GOP speakers chased to early exits.
The Associated Press contributed to this story.