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


House passes bill to boost stimulus checks to $2,000, fate uncertain in Senate

The House narrowly passed a bill that would increase the amount of money Americans receive in a second round of pandemic relief stimulus payments to $2,000, up from $600.

The final vote tally was 275-134, receiving the two-thirds majority it required under the expedited vote. There were 44 Republicans who voted with Democrats.

Even though Trump supports the measure, a number of Republicans voted against the bill. Its fate remains uncertain in the Senate.

The House vote comes one day after Trump signed the $2.3 trillion spending and COVID-19 relief bill, which included $600 stimulus checks for Americans who make $75,000 or less. Trump initially threatened to hold up the bill last week and said it was a "disgrace." He spent the next several days calling on Congress to pass a bill that included $2,000 stimulus checks instead.

Democrats took up Trump's offer last week and attempted to pass a bill that would send Americans $2,000 checks via unanimous consent but that attempt failed over Republican objections. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi vowed to bring the bill to the floor for a full recorded vote on Monday.

Even though the bill has now cleared the House, at this point it's unclear if the Republican-led Senate will bring the bill to the floor for a vote. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell made no promises in his statement Sunday when he commended the president for finally signing the COVID-19 relief bill into law.

Pelosi called on Trump to put more pressure on his party to back the payments.

"Every Republican vote against this bill is a vote to deny the financial hardship that families face and to deny the American people the relief they need," she said in a statement released Sunday.

Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer said Sunday that he would try to pass the legislation in the Senate.

"No Democrats will object. Will Senate Republicans?" he tweeted.

-ABC News' Mariam Khan