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WASHINGTON — It felt like the first day of school on Capitol Hill Friday. Lawmakers catching up and taking pictures as the 119th Congress got under way.
Over in the House, nine hard-right Republicans initially failed to support retaining Congressman Mike Johnson as speaker. But eight of them eventually dropped their opposition, enabling Johnson to keep the gavel without having to endure multiple rounds of voting.
Rep. Tom Tiffany, R-Minocqua, supported Johnson from the get go.
“I’m hopeful that he will carry through with President Trump’s agenda,” Tiffany told Spectrum News.
Tiffany, who represents northwestern Wisconsin, said his number one goal for this year is to secure the southern border. He supports Trump’s promise to deport illegal immigrants and wants to see the return of “Remain in Mexico,” the policy from Trump’s first term that required migrants to wait in Mexico while their claims for asylum were processed.
“I mean, all people have to do is go back to HR 2, the bill that we passed through the House this past session, and you can see what a secure the border bill looks like,” Tiffany said.
Congressman Mark Pocan, D-Madison, supported Democratic Leader Hakeem Jeffries of New York for speaker. Jeffries fell to Johnson by just a few votes, as expected, since Republicans hold a slim majority in the House.
Pocan said his goal for the new Congress will be to play defense against a trifecta of GOP control, in both chambers of Congress and the White House.
“So, whether it be expanding health care, whether it be ensuring child care for people, whether it be trying to make sure that working people have enough rights and protections that may be taken away under this new administration, I’m just going to continue to advocate for good things in addition to fighting the bad,” Pocan said.
Over in the Senate, Democrat Tammy Baldwin was sworn in by Vice President Kamala Harris to her third term. Baldwin, who narrowly won re-election in November, said she will work to bring down health care costs and restore reproductive rights, two of the Democrats’ top priorities. She also is expressing a willingness to work with Republicans to improve security at the southern border, a top GOP priority.
“We have serious work to do to secure our border and get our communities the tools they need to combat this crisis,” she said.
On Monday, lawmakers will certify the electoral college vote for Presidential-elect Donald Trump.
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