New Congress is sworn in

By Melissa Macaya and Mike Hayes, CNN

Updated 8:31 p.m. ET, January 3, 2021
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12:20 p.m. ET, January 3, 2021

The 117th Congress will be sworn in today. Here's what you need to know.

From CNN's Clare Foran, Kristin Wilson, Ted Barrett, Alex Rogers and Lauren Fox

Joshua Roberts/Getty Images
Joshua Roberts/Getty Images

The House and Senate chambers are convening right now. The 117th Congress will officially be sworn in later today.

The Constitution calls for Congress to convene on January 3 at noon ET — the reason for the rare Sunday session.

Newly elected and returning members will take the oath of office and the full House of Representatives will vote to elect a new Speaker. Nancy Pelosi, who has served as House speaker in the 116th Congress, is on track to remain in the role.

Pelosi has a slim margin for error on Sunday. After serving 17 years as the House Democratic leader, Pelosi is running unopposed. But she will have to count votes carefully to ensure that she can avoid any embarrassment on the House floor, facing the Democrats' smallest majority in decades, a pandemic that could hinder attendance and some in her caucus agitating for new leadership, as well as unified Republican resistance.

In order to win the speakership, a member must receive a majority of votes. In 2018, 15 Democrats defected from Pelosi but she can only afford to lose a few in 2021. After losing a dozen seats in 2020, House Democrats are likely to control around 222 seats next term.

Michigan Rep. Elissa Slotkin and Maine Rep. Jared Golden have already said they do not plan on voting for her. And a handful of moderate and progressive Democrats, including Virginia Rep. Abigail Spanberger and Reps.-elect Cori Bush of Missouri and Jamaal Bowman of New York, have declined to say how they would vote.

House Democrats kept control of the House in the November elections, but will now have a narrower majority after suffering a string of losses, despite projections that they would win more seats. House Republicans, meanwhile, outperformed expectations and are now poised to add a significant number of GOP women to their ranks in the new Congress.

In the Senate, the balance of power still has yet to be decided with all eyes on a pair of Senate runoff elections taking place in Georgia on January 5 that will determine which party controls the chamber.

12:09 p.m. ET, January 3, 2021

Pelosi sends "Dear Colleague" letter ahead of swearing-in of 117th Congress

From CNN's Lauren Fox and Alex Rogers

Jacquelyn Martin/AP
Jacquelyn Martin/AP

Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi sent a "Dear Colleague" letter ahead of the election for speaker later today.

"As we go into session today, I do so full of pride to be nominated by our Democratic Caucus to be Speaker of the House. I am enormously grateful for the trust that Members have placed in me. I am confident that the Speaker’s election today will show a united Democratic Caucus ready to meet the challenges ahead, and that we are prepared to set our country on a new course, starting with the Electoral College meeting on Wednesday," Pelosi wrote in the letter.

Some context: After serving 17 years as Democrats' leader, Pelosi is running unopposed. But the looming threat of coronavirus paired with the Democrats' smallest majority in decades means Pelosi and her deputies are carefully counting votes to ensure she can avoid any embarrassment on the House floor.

11:53 a.m. ET, January 3, 2021

A look at some of the high-profile Democrats and Republicans that will make up the incoming class

From CNN's Clare Foran, Kristin Wilson and Ted Barrett

The 117th Congress will officially be sworn in on Sunday, bringing an influx of new lawmakers to Capitol Hill in the midst of the ongoing pandemic.

The incoming class of freshmen includes high-profile Democrats and Republicans who have already gained national attention even before setting foot in Congress.

In the House, a slate of progressive Democrats who took down incumbents in primary challenges will be part of the new Congress, including Cori Bush of Missouri, who ousted congressman Lacy Clay in a major upset and Jamaal Bowman of New York, who defeated the chairman of the House Foreign Affairs Committee Eliot Engel.

Other incoming members who already have a national profile include Republicans Marjorie Taylor Greene of Georgia, who became widely known for a track record of incendiary rhetoric and ties to the baseless QAnon conspiracy theory, and Ronny Jackson of Texas, President Donald Trump's former chief physician.

In the Senate, former Colorado governor John Hickenlooper will serve as a new Democratic senator from Colorado and former Auburn University football coach Tommy Tuberville will become a new Republican senator from Alabama.

Alex Padilla will be another new senator in the new Congress after California Gov. Gavin Newsom appointed him to fill Vice President-elect Kamala Harris' Senate seat. Harris and President-elect Joe Biden will be sworn in on January 20 during the presidential inauguration.

Mark Kelly, a retired Navy captain and NASA astronaut, a new Democratic senator from Arizona, was sworn in during the month of December after winning a special election.

11:36 a.m. ET, January 3, 2021

Today's congressional swearing-in ceremony will look a bit different due to coronavirus

From CNN's Clare Foran, Kristin Wilson and Ted Barrett

The first day of the new Congress will look a bit different this year with safety precautions in place to respond to the coronavirus pandemic.

The number of senators sworn in at a time will be smaller to minimize crowding and senators are expected to take their oaths of office in groups of two to allow for social distancing.

Representatives will also be sworn in by groups, though the size will be far larger given how many more House members there are, with members-elect to be sworn in first.

Newly elected lawmakers often bring multiple family members to witness their swearing in and be part of photos commemorating the occasion. This year, though, members-elect will be permitted to have only one family member in the House gallery to watch the proceedings.

After the vote to elect a House speaker takes place, the new Speaker will administer the oath to members.

11:27 a.m. ET, January 3, 2021

Pelosi faces a narrow path to speakership. Here are key things to know about today's House speaker election.

From CNN's Lauren Fox and Alex Rogers

Tasos Katopodis/Getty Images
Tasos Katopodis/Getty Images

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi's margin for error is slim today, when lawmakers return to Washington to officially usher in a new session of Congress and elect their new speaker.

After serving 17 years as Democrats' leader, Pelosi is running unopposed. But the looming threat of coronavirus paired with the Democrats' smallest majority in decades means Pelosi and her deputies are carefully counting votes to ensure she can avoid any embarrassment on the House floor.

"She's very aware. If Nancy can do anything, it is that she knows how to count. She is counting every vote," said Rep. Gerry Connolly, a Democrat from Virginia. "She is very aware of the fact that with a slim majority — with some members who voted against her two years ago — there is gonna have to be an effort to persuade them that that was then and this is now. We cannot afford to have uncertainty about the speakership."

On Monday, Pelosi's office sent requests to chiefs of staff in Democratic offices across the Hill, inquiring whether their bosses would be physically present for the vote.

In order to win the speakership, a member must receive at least 50% of the vote plus one. All members who vote must be in DC in person because the vote for speaker will occur before the House passes its rules package containing the provisions that have allowed Democrats to vote by proxy for months.

Aides estimate Pelosi will have a roughly a 10-vote margin, depending on if an outstanding congressional race in New York is called by Sunday. That means she can afford to lose just a handful of members from across the ideological spectrum. In 2018, there were 15 Democrats who did not vote for her as speaker. Ten of them are returning.