The 115th Congress Assembles

Today, the 115^th meeting of the United States Congress will begin. All 435 members of the House, along with the thirty-four Senators newly elected or re-elected in November, will be sworn in. Presiding officers will officially be determined. Rules governing the conduct of business in the new Congress will be voted on. No legislation will pass today, but it will be a busy and important day all the same.

From a purely historical, nonpartisan perspective, it is incredible. The Congress has been meeting in a similar fashion (if not on the same day) since the 18^th century, from the birth of our nation, through wars and economic catastrophes and political turmoil, to today, uninterrupted. Looking at the other countries of the world, how many can say the same?

This Congress has the potential to be one of the most consequential in a very long time. If it is successful in dismantling Obamacare, it would represent the first time in American history that a major piece of welfare legislation was undone. It already represents the first time in over a decade that the GOP has held both Congress and the White House, and the first time since the 1920’s that it has enjoyed such large majorities in Congress while also holding the Presidency. All this while dozens of states are also under total Republican control.

The opportunities for rolling back government overreach and enacting conservative reforms are immense. The question is now whether congressional Republicans, as well as the incoming Trump administration, will seize those opportunities. The whole country will be watching.