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The 119th Congress began on January 3, 2024, and it wasn’t without entertainment value. In the House, the focus was on the speaker vote, while in the Senate, Vice President Kamala Harris’s presence offered its own spectacle. Though most of the attention was drawn to the House drama, Kamala managed to win the prize of the most embarrassing moment with a gaffe that truly symbolized her political decline.
And that’s saying something. In the House, the speaker vote was far from smooth sailing. Speaker Mike Johnson faced what initially seemed to be an uphill battle when three Republicans broke ranks to vote for alternative candidates. However, after some apparent negotiations or last-minute changes of heart, two of the defectors switched their votes, handing Johnson a first-round victory.
While the speaker vote drama was embarrasing for the GOP, the intra-party squabble paled in comparison to the moment Kamala took center stage in the Senate.
Related: Mike Johnson Wins Reelection As House Speaker
