Pelosi elected to 4th term as House speaker

She’s the third speaker in the last 25 years to win with less than 218 votes.

President Donald Trump is slated to hand over control of the White House to President-elect Joe Biden in 17 days.


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McConnell welcomes new Senate

With all new senators having been sworn in, Majority Leader Mitch McConnell welcomed the new members on the Senate floor.

"To say the 117th congress convenes at a challenging time would indeed be an understatement. From political divisions to a deadly pandemic to adversaries around the world the hurdles before us are many and they are serious, but there are also plenty of reasons for hope," McConnell said.

The Senate also passed a series of administrative resolutions and standing orders for the new Congress -- including an agreement to Wednesday as a the date to count electoral votes. It's a date already set, but this formalizes it.

In his welcoming remarks, McConnell urged members to remember their oath to the Constitution.

"We gavel in today like 116 prior Senates have gaveled in before us with plenty of disagreements and policy differences among our ranks but all -- all swearing the same oath to support and defend the same Constitution," McConnell said. "All loving the same country and all of us committed to do what we can to leave behind an even stronger nation than the one we've been blessed to inherit."

The Senate stands adjourned until Wednesday.

-ABC News' Allison Pecorin


Rep. Gwen Moore participating in opening day just 6 days after testing positive for COVID-19

Wisconsin Democrat Rep. Gwen Moore will participate in Sunday’s opening day events –- including the House speaker’s vote, according to her office, after testing positive for COVID-19 just six days ago.

Republicans complained that her presence “certainly seems to be in violation of the (Office of the Attending Physician) quarantine guidance,” and wonder how it was safe for her to travel to Washington after her diagnosis.

A senior Democratic aide did not immediately respond to an inquiry questioning whether special accommodations were being made for Moore, whose office also has not yet answered inquiries regarding how she traveled to Washington following her infection.

One Democratic member, who said he received his first dose of the COVID-19 vaccine last Tuesday, told ABC News that he is “staying clear of everyone,” pivoting to observe that some Republicans are at the Capitol and not wearing masks.

Speaker Nancy Pelosi, whose path to the speakership is narrow with such a slim majority in the new Congress, will depend on Moore’s support to keep her position.

After opening the 117th Congress with the prayer and pledge, the House has initiated a quorum call to establish sufficient attendance ahead of the vote for speaker later in the afternoon. Lawmakers are appearing in groups of 72, arranged by alphabetical order of their last names.

-ABC News' John Parkinson and Benjamin Siegel


Senators being sworn in by vice president

The Senate floor is open and Vice President Mike Pence is presiding over the swearing in of the new Senate.

Senators are presenting themselves in pairs -- in alphabetical order and accompanied by the other senator who represents their state -- where a masked Pence is administering the oath to each pair. The first pair of senators sworn in, Sen. Cory Booker, D-N.J., and Shelly Moore-Capito, R-W.Va., each elbow bumped Pence after taking the oath.

The chamber appears almost entirely full and members are applauding after each administered oath.

The Senate will welcome six new members: Cynthia Lummis, R-Wyo., Ben Ray Lujan, D-N.M., John Hickenlooper, D-Colo,, Roger Marshall, R-Kan., and Bill Hagerty, R-Tenn. Sen. Mark Kelly, D-Ariz., was sworn in late last year.

Two Senate seats remain outstanding pending the Georgia runoff elections on Tuesday. Sen. Kelly Loeffler will maintain her seat because it was an appointment, but Sen. David Perdue's term expires as soon as the new members are sworn in.

-ABC News' Allison Pecorin


New Congress to meet at noon

The 117th session of Congress will begin with both chambers meeting at noon, as required by the Constitution.

New members of the House and Senate will be sworn in under unusual circumstances given the pandemic, with social distancing and fewer family members and supporters in attendance.

Because control of the Senate hinges on the Georgia Senate runoffs, Republicans will begin the new Congress with control of the chamber and a 51-seat majority. The seat of Sen. David Perdue, R-Ga., will be vacant until a winner is formally certified in Tuesday's runoff election.

Sunday afternoon, the House will elect a speaker.

Nancy Pelosi is expected to win with the narrowest of margins, given Democrats’ historically slim majority, but the vote is expected to take longer than last year because of the coronavirus precautions that require lawmakers to enter the chamber in waves.

-ABC News' Mariam Khan and Benjamin Siegel


Harris receives COVID-19 vaccine, urges McConnell to put her bill on $2K checks to floor vote

Vice President-elect Kamala Harris publicly received her first dose of the Moderna COVID-19 vaccine on Tuesday morning at United Medical Center in Southeast D.C., a predominantly African American community that has been hard hit by the coronavirus pandemic, with Harris telling the public, "this is about saving lives."

"There is a big difference between the vaccines and vaccinations," Harris said after getting the shot, a frequent saying from the president-elect who is expected to take aim at the Trump administration in afternoon remarks on the pace of vaccinations.

"I trust the scientists, and it is the scientists who created and approved this vaccine. So I urge everyone, when it is your turn, get vaccinated. It’s about saving your life, the life of your family members and the life of your community," Harris added.

Asked to respond to the chances of Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell bringing the House-passed measure to raise stimulus checks to $2,000 to a vote, Harris promoted her own legislation that's been sitting in the Senate.

"Well, I actually have a bill for that," Harris said with a smile. "Awhile back, I recommended that folks receive a $2,000 check. And so, I would urge Mitch McConnell  to put my bill on the floor for a vote."

Harris' husband, Doug Emhoff, is also receiving the first dose of the Moderna vaccine on Tuesday. Biden and his wife, Jill Biden, publicly received their first doses of the Pfizer vaccine last week. Vice President Mike Pence and the nation's top expert on infectious diseases, Dr. Anthony Fauci, were also vaccinated on camera -- but the Biden transition team is arguing not enough Americans are seeing the same treatment.

More than 2 million Americans have gotten the first doses of a coronavirus vaccine, though officials from Operation Warp Speed said they planned to have 20 million doses of the vaccine distributed to the public by Friday.

-ABC News' Beatrice Peterson, Sarah Kolinovsky and Molly Nagle