Here’s what Congress’s first day will look like

The 119th Congress kicks off Friday as lawmakers return to Washington with a long January to-do list and a packed first day.

Confirmation hearings for President-elect Trump’s Cabinet nominees are set to get rolling in the coming weeks, and Trump himself will be inaugurated in less than three weeks.

But first, House Republicans have some business to attend to: picking a Speaker.

Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) is in line to lead the House once again, but the path to get there is tricky as hard-line conservatives have thrown up roadblocks and he has almost no room for error.

Here’s a quick look at what to expect on Congress’s first day of work in 2025.

Electing a Speaker

Speaker of the House Mike Johnson (R-La.) talks briefly to reporters just before a vote on an interim spending bill to prevent a government shutdown after President-elect Trump abruptly rejected a bipartisan plan at the Capitol in Washington, Dec. 19, 2024. The vote failed to pass. (Greg Nash)

The first vote of the year in either chamber will take place in the House, and that will be to select a new Speaker. It is scheduled to take place at noon EST.

Put simply, no business in the House can take place without selecting a Speaker. Members can’t be sworn in, and they can’t be paid. A rules package can’t be adopted, nor can committees be seated.

This became all the more evident after the multiple battles surrounding the Speakership over the past two years. It took 15 ballots over five days for Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) to win the gavel — a period during which no business was conducted.

Similarly, the House came to a standstill for about three weeks after McCarthy was removed from the top spot, with the chamber unable to consider legislation, among other things, during that stretch until Republicans elected Johnson.

At this point, it is unclear whether Johnson can get the requisite 218 votes needed to hold the gavel. Rep. Thomas Massie (R-Ky.) has insisted he will vote for someone other than Johnson, meaning the Speaker cannot lose any other votes from Republicans. There are expected to be 219 Republicans and 215 Democrats, with one vacancy.

Trump has thrown his weight behind the Speaker and said that he will lobby conservatives individually “if necessary.”

Notably, it is in Trump’s interest to get the Speaker race over and done with.

Why? Because come Monday, a joint session of Congress will convene to certify the results of the presidential election, and without a Speaker that cannot take place.

Swearing in members, adopting a rules package

Speaker-elect Mike Johnson (R-La.) — Rep. Mike Johnson (R-La.) gives a speech following his election to Speaker in the House Chamber on Oct. 25, 2023. (Greg Nash)

House members will be sworn in en masse on the House floor, but that can’t take place until after the Speaker is elected.

All told, there will be 65 new members being sworn into office.

After that, lawmakers will need to pass a package of rules that would govern the operations of the House. This would allow the formation of committees and for bills to be debated and considered on the floor, among other things.

There are also some notable changes included in the 119th Congress’s rules package. The headliner is that the threshold to trigger a motion to vacate the Speaker is increased from a single member to nine members, giving Johnson more breathing room if he is able to secure the gavel.

Additionally, there are a pair of name alterations for committees and language that would greenlight panels to create electronic voting rules.

What’s the Senate schedule look like?

Sen. John Thune (R-S.D.) addresses reporters after the weekly policy luncheon, July 9, 2024. (Greg Nash)

The Senate will also kick off the 119th Congress, though without much of the fanfare happening in the House.

The upper chamber will officially adjourn the 118th Congress sine die in the morning, before quickly turning around at noon and opening the new Congress.

Headlining the day is the swearing in of members. That will officially take place with Vice President Harris on the Senate floor and be done as a group.

That will be followed by individual swearing-in ceremonies for members alongside their families inside the Old Senate Chamber. The vice president will also conduct those.

The Senate could adopt an organizing resolution as early as Friday that will lay out committee allocations and establish other procedures for the chamber in the next two years.

Unlike in the House, Senate leadership elections are handled away from the floor; those are all settled, with Sen. John Thune (R-S.D.) set to take on the role of majority leader.

The one change that will go into effect on the floor, however, is for Senate pro tempore, which is commonly held by the senior-most member of the majority party. That will happen via a simple resolution.

Sen. Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa) will once again helm that role, having done so from 2019 until 2021. He has been in the Senate since 1981.

When will confirmation hearings start for Trump’s Cabinet selections?

Pete Hegseth, President-elect Trump's nominee to be Defense secretary, is seen at the Capitol in Washington, Dec. 5, 2024. (J. Scott Applewhite, Associated Press file)

The bigger question on the Senate side is when Trump’s selections to fill out his Cabinet will appear at hearings as the chamber tries to tee up confirmation votes shortly after the president-elect takes the oath of office Jan. 20.

Those are expected to start the week of Jan. 13, with hearings to be notified a week in advance.

Pete Hegseth, Trump’s choice to lead the Pentagon, is expected to appear before the Senate Armed Services Committee starting Jan. 14.