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Democrats officially took control of the Senate as Georgia's two new Democratic senators-elect were sworn in Wednesday afternoon, cementing a 50-50 split, with Vice President Kamala Harris serving as the tie-breaking vote in her new role as president of the the Senate. 

in the Jan. 5 Senate runoff elections gave the party control of both the White House and Congress, with the thinnest of majorities in the upper chamber. 

Biden intelligence chief confirmed

Harris also swore in Democrat Alex Padilla, the former California secretary of state, to fill Harris's own Senate seat. He was appointed by Democratic California Gov. Gavin Newsom.

With their swearing in complete, Sen. Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y. becomes the Senate Majority Leader and Sen. Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., the Minority Leader. Sen. Patrick Leahy, D-Vt. , became the new president pro-tempore of the Senate, placing him third in the line of succession to the presidency. He previously held this position from 2012-2015.

A Democratic majority, however narrow, will enable the party to set the chamber's legislative agenda and make it easier to confirm President Joe Biden's Cabinet picks. 

 of the runoff elections the day before Biden's inauguration. 

the first Democrat to win Georgia since 1992 and Ossoff and Warnock's wins were also history-making. Ossoff is the state's first Jewish senator and Warnock is Georgia's first Black senator and the first Black Democratic senator from the South.  

Padilla's appointment is also historic: He is the first Latino to represent California in the U.S. Senate. 

Politics and Government News

Election 2020

Barbara Sprunt

Author

A Democratic majority, even a thin one, allows the party to set the chamber's legislative agenda and makes it easier to confirm Biden's Cabinet picks. 

New Georgia senators sworn in, Democrats now officially control the Senate

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