Congress faces leaders in flux, big to-do list post-election

WASHINGTON — Congress is returning to an extremely volatile post-election landscape, with control of the House still undecided, party leadership in flux and a potentially consequential lame-duck session with legislation on gay marriage, Ukraine and government funding. Newly elected members of Congress arrived for Monday’s orientation amid jarring disappointments for Republicans, setting up rocky internal party leadership elections for GOP leader Kevin McCarthy and Senate Republican leader Mitch McConnell. “Speaker has awesome power, but I will always have influence.” It’s a changed place on Capitol Hill in the aftermath of the first election since the Jan. 6, 2021, insurrection, with the Republican Party split over its ties to former President Donald Trump, Democrats eyeing generational leadership changes, and Biden with just weeks to accomplish goals with guaranteed Democratic control of Washington. Among the newly elected lawmakers, Republican Cory Mills, an Army combat veteran who won an open seat in Florida, said: “You’ve got actual races that haven’t been called yet and you want to go out and have leadership votes?” But Mike Lawler, who delivered a stunning defeat in New York to Rep. Sean Patrick Maloney, the chair of the Democrats’ campaign committee, said McCarthy has “my full support.” The tumult playing out on Capitol Hill comes as Trump is poised to announce his 2024 bid for the White House on Tuesday. “I say to the Republican senators and to Leader McConnell, we are willing to work with you to get things done for the American people.” Funding to keep the government running past a Dec. 16 funding deadline, aid for Ukraine and bipartisan legislation that would safeguard same-sex marriages from potential Supreme Court challenges in states where they have been legal are all top priorities in the final weeks of the year.