There’s another really good reason to elect a majority Democratic House.
They may screw up in some other ways; but they’re pretty unlikely to screw up in that one.
It might have the ramification that it wouldn’t be Harris certifying the election on the 6th. There might not even be a vice president at that point to do so.
Legally, of course, that shouldn’t make a difference. In practice, in these times, who knows?
There’s precedents for it. Prior to the 25th Amendment, when the Veep succeeded to the presidency, the vp office remained vacant, and the president pro tem of the Senate presided.
The last time it happened was in 1965, after the 1964 election. Johnson had succeeded Kennedy and there was no VP.
I had totally forgotten about that situation. Johnson assumed the office on 11/22/63, so there was no VP for 14 months.
The longest period without a veep was President Tyler’s administration, who served pretty much the entire term of President Harrison, who died shortly after his inauguration.
Truman’s first term was probably the second-longest, but I’ve not researched it.
Speaking of VPs, no VP potentially leaves the Senate tie-break function in the air with a razor thin margin.
Does anybody really want to give Kyrsten Sinema or Joe Manchin (both formally Independents that caucus with the Dems because…well yeah) that sort of attention or power at the moment?
Thanks to Quora, I learned that the second-longest such stretch was the time following Lincoln’s death until the 1869 inauguration. That was 1419 days; the Tyler administration was 1430 days. Truman’s first term was 1379 days, which was the 4th-longest stretch.
If, in fact, Biden would resign after the election in early November, would there be any bills upon which the Senate would vote between then and 1/20/25? Somehow I doubt if Schumer would allow any such votes.
There’s bound to be some budget stuff that needs doing around then. No need to rock that boat until/unless Biden is incapable of doing the job.
And since the new Senate gets seated on the 3rd of January, it would be until then. The map does not look favorable to the Democrats, either, so it’s very possible or even likely that it won’t be Schumer as majority leader after the 3rd, which is yet another reason to hope to pick up as many down ballot votes as possible. Maybe even pick up a surprise seat or two if it can be done.
ETA: And, you never know. If there’s a SCOTUS vacancy around then, better to have all hands on board.
I’m not sure that the VP has a tie-breaking vote for VP elections.
The 12th Amendment suggests you need a majority of real senators:
… a quorum for the purpose shall consist of two-thirds of the whole number of Senators, and a majority of the whole number shall be necessary to a choice.
The only time the VP election went to the Senate was in 1836, when Van Buren was elected prez, but his running mate, Richard Mentor Johnson, got fewer electoral votes and was one short of a majority.
It went to the Senate. 27 senators were needed; Johnson got 33 and became VP.
I’d go beyond saying it suggests – under the cited terms of the 12th Amendment, it’s clear the VP does not have a tiebreaker as an actual majority of all Senators (not half + VP) is required to make a choice.
I think y’all are missing my point here.
If Biden resigns, Harris can no longer cast a tie breaker vote for any Senate business after assuming the office of President. While I appreciate the importance of political maneuvering sometimes, it’s actually kind of important for the Senate to be functional for the duration.
This is especially important because the Dems have a high likelihood of losing control of the chamber on Jan 3 because this cycle does not favor them on the maps. So, if there are any last minute things that might need doing in November or December, it’s a good idea to leave the VP in place to preside over that chamber.
None of this is about the actual election mechanics, which, again, the Republicans have a high likelihood of holding the chamber by the time the POTUS certification (which occurs after Jan 3) comes around anyway.
ETA: I mean…do people not realize that there are also House (every member) and Senate elections (Class 1 - roughly 1/3 of the members) and it’s not the current Congress but the new Congress that will be handling that business?
Biden is not an idiot, he wont do this.