The last time the Senate split 50-50, the closest thing to smartphones were Blackberry devices, considered cutting edge on Capitol Hill. And congressional offices still routinely conducted business by fax machines.
Much in Congress has changed since the five-month period during the first half of 2001, when the Senate was split evenly between Democrats and Republicans. But 20 years on, the Senate looks to be back to an even split, with Vice President-elect Kamala Harris set to break ties in favor of Democrats.
While Democrats and Republicans entered a kind of power-sharing agreement two decades ago, partisanship has grown deeper, and the quest for total control is much stronger. Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, a New York Democrat, declared himself the new majority leader in a statement Wednesday, even as one of the Georgia races remained too close to call. Schumer made no mention of sharing power with the GOP.
“For the first time in six years, Democrats will operate a majority in the United States Senate — and that will be very good for the American people,” Schumer said, promising to usher in “bold changes” in the coming Congress.
An evenly split Senate is no sure thing now. Democrat Raphael Warnock beat appointed Republican Sen. Kelly Loeffler for the final two years of the term won in 2016 by GOP Sen. Johnny Isakson, who resigned early due to health reasons. But in the other Senate race on the ballot Tuesday, Democrat Jon Ossoff holds a narrow lead over Republican David Perdue, elected in 2014 and seeking a second, six-year term.
Ossoff claimed victory Wednesday morning, hours after he reclaimed the lead in his razor-thin runoff against Perdue. News organizations have not called the race yet.
However, if a 50-50 Senate does come to pass, it will be up to party leaders to negotiate over budgets, staff levels, and other issues usually dictated by who is in the majority. Of current senators, 18 were members in early 2001, including current Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, a Kentucky Republican, and Schumer.
That split resulted from the 2000 election cycle, when Senate Democrats defeated a series of Republican senators, bringing in Democratic senators who are still in office — Sens. Maria Cantwell of Washington, Tom Carper of Delaware, and Debbie Stabenow of Michigan. The 2000 cycle also saw a nail-biter of a presidential race, with Republican Texas Gov. George W. Bush emerging in the White House over Democratic Vice President Al Gore only after a bitter and protracted 36-day recount fight in Florida.
With Vice President Dick Cheney set to break ties, Republicans kept the majority.
By that point, Senate Republicans had been in the majority for six years. Senate Majority Leader Trent Lott of Mississippi had to negotiate a power-sharing arrangement with his counterpart as Senate minority leader, Tom Daschle of South Dakota. The pair, while both fierce partisans, also deemed themselves institutionalists and respectful of Senate traditions.
“It took a while, but in the end, they reached a pretty equitable agreement,” said Jim Manley, a veteran Democratic Senate aide who worked at the time for the late Sen. Edward M. Kennedy of Massachusetts.
According to the painstakingly negotiated agreement, the chamber’s committees were split evenly among Democrats and Republicans. Chairmanships remained in Republican hands, but staffing and resources were evenly divided.
Democrats and Republicans agreed to split staff budgets and, more importantly, committee assignments evenly. It was an arrangement former Senate Parliamentarian Robert Dove described as “a mess” because neither party had the majority needed to pass anything out of committee.
And in the case of a tie vote in a committee, the Senate majority leader could bring the measure to the Senate floor for a full vote. This included tie votes on any Bush administration officials up for confirmation. Additionally, in the case of a tie vote on a subcommittee, the issue was sent to the full committee.
This time, though, Democrats, should they emerge with the narrow majority in a 50-50 Senate, might not be so accommodating. The activist hard-Left Democratic base is likely to pressure Schumer to cut out Republicans from the legislative process as much as possible, particularly after the Trump years. And a potential Democratic chairman of the Senate Budget Committee, such as Sen. Bernie Sanders of Vermont, might not be particularly interested in ceding any power to Republicans.
And most legislation must win 60 votes, not 51, so the GOP will maintain some power over which bills make it to incoming President Joe Biden’s desk. That is, unless Democrats decide to eliminate the filibuster with their own 51 votes. At least one senator, Sen. Joe Manchin, of West Virginia, said he won’t agree to rid of the filibuster. But pressure and the desire to pass key legislation in the next two years could win over Manchin and others who want to preserve the 60-vote threshold.
In negotiation of a 50-50 agreement, Manley said, “There would have to be accommodation at some point. But I assume negotiations are going to be a lot tougher.”
