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Senate organizes committees for the 118th Congress

Committees had previously been able to meet in a limited capacity

"Just for the notice of the members of the Senate, and the country, we have now constituted the membership of the committees," Majority Leader Charles E. Schumer said Thursday.
"Just for the notice of the members of the Senate, and the country, we have now constituted the membership of the committees," Majority Leader Charles E. Schumer said Thursday. (Tom Williams/CQ Roll Call file photo)

Senate committees will be able to get to work next week after the Senate adopted resolutions constituting their membership for the 118th Congress before departing Thursday afternoon.

Two resolutions comprise the agreed-upon membership of Democrats and Republicans on each committee. The final step in the process before floor action was the internal GOP elections of ranking members, which were completed Thursday.

“Just for the notice of the members of the Senate, and the country, we have now constituted the membership of the committees, and they will be able to proceed to meet as in regular order,” Majority Leader Charles E. Schumer, D-N.Y., said after the resolutions were adopted by unanimous consent. The text wasn’t immediately available.

Committees have been able to meet in a limited capacity with holdover membership since the Senate convened on Jan. 3, with some complications.

Panels have held hearings, and the Judiciary Committee did manage to meet Thursday morning for a markup to report out 15 of President Joe Biden’s judicial nominations, but much of the Senate’s other business has been at a standstill for the first two weeks of legislative session for 2023.

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