
GOP majority begins 119th Congress with lengthy list of legislative priorities
CBSN
Washington — A new Congress is kicking off on Friday as Republicans take control of the House and Senate ahead of President-elect Donald Trump's return to the White House later this month. And with their newfound control of both chambers, Republican leaders are touting a list of priorities that they aim to quickly address, notably immigration and taxes.
How exactly Republicans will proceed remains to be seen. Earlier this week, House Speaker Mike Johnson outlined plans to move the GOP agenda through the budget reconciliation process, which allows them to fast-track certain types of legislation and avoid the 60-vote threshold typically required in the Senate. But reconciliation is a complicated maneuver that comes with its own limitations on what can be included.
Johnson, who faces his own dicey speaker's election on Friday, said a reconciliation package will be "the key of the first 100 days," but he noted that it will require "a lot of coordination, planning and executing those plans with precision."

Powerful storms repeatedly struck parts of the South and Midwest late last week and over the weekend, killing dozens of people across multiple states and giving way to disastrous flooding in a number of regions. Some Kentucky cities and towns have seen inundation reach historic levels, as heavy rainfall caused major rivers to swell and spill over onto the land.