Vermont’s congressional leadership is here to stay following this election cycle, but they say they have their work cut out for them.”I am coming off two years in which the Republicans were in charge of the House, and it was just chaos,” said Vermont Rep. Becca Balint. “It’s not the outcome I wanted.”The Democrat is still processing the results of Tuesday’s election, as is New York Republican Rep. Elise Stefanik.”We are very optimistic that we will not only hold the House but that we will pick up the seats,” said Stefanik.The Republican chairwoman says with majority in the Senate and the House, she and her fellow representatives will be able to get things moving.”We think we’re going to pick up seats, obviously, having unified Republican government to allow us to secure the border and focus on America first. That is a top priority,” said Stefanik.For the first time in four years, the Republican Party has control over the U.S. Senate, a change that gives the GOP a major power center in Washington. It is something Vermont Sen. Peter Welch says is a concern for Vermont’s delegation.”If you are in the majority, whether it be the Senate or the House, then you control the agenda. So being it the minority creates a real impediment,” said Welch.The majority party holds leadership positions on committees, which means senators like Bernie Sanders are losing their platform.”Even in a 53 to 47 Senate that favors the Republicans on a lot of issues, Bernie Sanders is still going to be a player here. We don’t want to overstate his loss of influence. It’s real, certainly, rhetorically, he’s not going to be dominating agendas, but he is still a player,” said Matthew Dickinson, a professor of political science at Middlebury College.Vermont’s delegation says that no matter how it pans out, they will always put Vermonters first and give them a voice in Washington.
Vermont’s congressional leadership is here to stay following this election cycle, but they say they have their work cut out for them.
“I am coming off two years in which the Republicans were in charge of the House, and it was just chaos,” said Vermont Rep. Becca Balint. “It’s not the outcome I wanted.”
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The Democrat is still processing the results of Tuesday’s election, as is New York Republican Rep. Elise Stefanik.
“We are very optimistic that we will not only hold the House but that we will pick up the seats,” said Stefanik.
The Republican chairwoman says with majority in the Senate and the House, she and her fellow representatives will be able to get things moving.
“We think we’re going to pick up seats, obviously, having unified Republican government to allow us to secure the border and focus on America first. That is a top priority,” said Stefanik.
For the first time in four years, the Republican Party has control over the U.S. Senate, a change that gives the GOP a major power center in Washington. It is something Vermont Sen. Peter Welch says is a concern for Vermont’s delegation.
“If you are in the majority, whether it be the Senate or the House, then you control the agenda. So being it the minority creates a real impediment,” said Welch.
The majority party holds leadership positions on committees, which means senators like Bernie Sanders are losing their platform.
“Even in a 53 to 47 Senate that favors the Republicans on a lot of issues, Bernie Sanders is still going to be a player here. We don’t want to overstate his loss of influence. It’s real, certainly, rhetorically, he’s not going to be dominating agendas, but he is still a player,” said Matthew Dickinson, a professor of political science at Middlebury College.
Vermont’s delegation says that no matter how it pans out, they will always put Vermonters first and give them a voice in Washington.
