Two new federal congressmen were sworn into office on Tuesday (November 12) in the U.S. House of Representatives, succeeding former congressmen Sheila Jackson Lee and Mike Gallagher in this current Congressional term.
The newly sworn-in congresswoman Erica Lee Carter is the daughter of the late Sheila Jackson Lee, who passed away in July due to pancreatic cancer. She is filling the vacancy left by her mother in the House of Representatives, representing the 18th District of Texas. Her term will end in January next year. Former Mayor of Houston and Democrat Sylvester Turner won the seat for this district in the November 5 U.S. elections with 40% of the votes.
Another congressman who took the oath of office on Tuesday is Tony Wied, a rookie Republican who will replace former U.S. Representative Mike Gallagher to represent Wisconsin’s 8th Congressional District for the remainder of this Congressional term.
Unlike Carter, Wied will continue his tenure in the next Congress, as he won this district with 60% of the votes in the election. During his campaign, Wied received an endorsement from the Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump (Trump).
Gallagher left Congress on April 19 this year. According to Wisconsin state law, vacancies occurring after the second Tuesday in April of an election year are filled in the following U.S. elections. Hence, his successor could only be determined in November. However, his vacant seat remained within the hands of the Republicans.
With the swearing-in of these two congressmen, the House of Representatives now consists of 434 members, including 221 Republicans and 213 Democrats. The last remaining vacancy is the seat of former New Jersey Democratic Congressman Bill Pascrell, who passed away in August.
Congress is preparing to pass some critical government funding bills, with Democrats aiming to pass legislation they support before the Republicans fully control Congress next year.