Congressional Election Results Pending; Key Changes in Education Assignments Certain

Inside Washington, DC, all eyes are on the pending results for the midterm Congressional elections and what the implications will be for the 118th Congress, set to begin in January. 

With incredibly close margins in tens of races, the final results will not be determined until at least early December, when a runoff election for the Georgia Senate election is set to take place. Depending on the outcome of other races, control of the House of Representatives and potentially the Senate could be determined sooner. 

Nevertheless, there is certainty that the committees that oversee education policy and funding will experience a shakeup. 

In the Senate, Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions Committee Chair Patty Murray (D-WA) and Ranking Member Richard Burr (R-NC) will both be leaving the helm, with Murray seeing the Chair position on the Appropriations Committee and Burr retiring. The Senate Appropriations panel that funds education will also see a change in leadership as Ranking Member Roy Blunt (R-MO) will also be retiring at the end of the Congress. 

House Committee leadership positions in the education space are less likely to change hands, although there is a strong possibility that control of the House will go to Republicans. This will mean that, for example, Education and Labor Committee Chair Bobby Scott (D-VA) will become the ranking member, and current Ranking Member Virginia Foxx (R-NC) will take the Chair. Down dais membership will also shift, with at least five Members on the Education and Labor Committee leaving Congress, and additional changes anticipated.

To learn more about how the 2022 midterm elections will impact education policy in the new Congress, please join Senior Policy and Advocacy Advisor Kuna Tavalin. Register here.