Friday, November 4, 2022

Marking Time

Between now and Tuesday night those of us who follow politics are likely to be marking time, or maybe killing time. It is unlikely that anything critical to the outcome will happen between now and then. So we wait. What does happen tomorrow night is the switch back to standard time, aka the "fall back."

The omens are looking good for Republicans, most prognosticators call GOP control of the House a given. Some are still fence-sitting about the Senate, although the braver souls will allow it's likely the GOP will prevail there too.

Assuming Joe Biden will wield his veto pen with considerable abandon, the Congress will tend to put emphasis on those things which do not require presidential approval. These mostly involve oversight or investigations into executive branch malfeasance, but also include confirming presidential appointments to certain offices. 

Without a majority in both houses of Congress, it is likely the President will emphasize foreign policy, which our system makes mostly a presidential function. Expect the Vice Presidency to go back to being a sinecure, assuming we will no longer have a 50-50 Senate whose ties the VP breaks.