What will the Georgia special election results mean for the Biden agenda?

Digital panel discussion with our team of experts to discuss the outcomes of the Georgia special elections and the outlook for the Biden administration. 

Our conversation highlighted the key developments just a day after Democrats picked up both Senate seats in Georgia with three main takeaways: 

• The outcome of the runoff election has substantially changed the outlook for the incoming Biden administration, who will no longer have to grapple with a GOP majority in the Senate. Republicans, on the other hand, now find themselves in the minority in both the House and Senate, and the blame game has already begun.
   
• Democrats will look to use the budget reconciliation process, which has been used to pass the Bush tax cuts in 2001 and 2003 and in 2010 to help Obama pass the Affordable Care Act, to achieve aspects of their agenda with their slim majority in the Senate. Although budget reconciliations have limits, some areas where the process could be used are in extending the tax breaks on zero-emission vehicles, renewable energy, the creation of new tax incentives and for rolling back the Trump tax cuts – particularly on corporates or wealthy individuals as a way to finance new spending.
   
• The victories in Georgia have already been translated into action, as Biden has nominated Merrick Garland to be his Attorney General, a pick that would not have likely made it through a Republican-controlled Senate. We expect Biden’s pick for Labor Secretary to be a progressive and someone who also would have not been confirmed had the GOP maintained the majority.

We also discussed a range of other interesting topics, including:

• The outlook for another covid-19 stimulus bill, and where we expect Biden and Democrats to first focus their legislative efforts.
   
• How Biden and Democrats will still have to govern from the center, and moderate Democratic senators such as Joe Manchin of West Virginia and Kyrsten Sinema of Arizona will play a large role in dictating where legislation goes.
   
• The growing divide within the Republican Party and the fight over which direction the party will take in the future.
   
• The outlook for Democrats in 2022, who will look to bolster their Senate majority in key swing states such as Pennsylvania and Wisconsin, where a number of Republican senators are retiring.