Harris could win the presidency but lose the Senate, giving Republicans a veto over her agenda and judges
If Kamala Harris defeats Donald Trump and wins the presidency, she may still face a Republican Senate that could block her nominees and agenda.
The prospect of a President Kamala Harris facing down a Republican-controlled Senate is coming into focus as she rises in the 2024 contest, even as GOP hopes of capturing the Senate grow because of improving polling in a pivotal Montana race.
A Republican-controlled chamber could thwart Harris’ nominees to fill out her administration and the courts, along with her legislative agenda. Top Senate Republicans told NBC News she would need their sign-off to secure votes on any judicial nominees, including for the Supreme Court. And some Harris supporters worry that without a united Congress, she would struggle to get much done legislatively.
“I honestly believe she has to have both the House and the Senate in order for her to be able to get anything done. Anything at all,” said Frankie Veltri, a retired 77-year-old voter in Goodyear, Arizona. “And if she doesn’t have one or the other, putting more emphasis on the Senate ... she will never be able to do anything that she said she would do, and then it will be the same old grind. You know, ‘She made all these promises and she didn’t do them.’ I mean, that’s evident with Biden.”
Sen. John Cornyn, R-Texas, a Judiciary Committee member who is running to be Senate GOP leader when Mitch McConnell retires after this year, said Harris would “absolutely” have to negotiate judicial and Supreme Court nominees with his party if Republicans control the Senate — and not assume they would get votes.
“They’re not going to be able to nominate the most radical people like they would under their current scenario. So if they want them to get any floor time, they would have to enter into a negotiation with us,” Cornyn told NBC News in an interview.
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