Tough times for the new Congress

Members of the 117th Congress were sworn into office on Sunday in ceremonies overshadowed by the coronavirus outbreak and unprecedented assaults on the electoral process by President Trump and some of his Republican allies.

“To say the new Congress convenes at a challenging time would be an understatement,” said Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.).

Sunday might mark the last time McConnell opens his chamber — Georgia runoff elections set for this week could shift control of the Senate to Democrats.

Dems sought to close ranks as Trump continued to fight the inevitable — the Jan. 20 inauguration of President-elect Joe Biden — with some Republican senators going so far as to say they won’t certify election results Wednesday. Their last-ditch effort is viewed as a symbolic gesture.

“Our country needs stability right now and it’s really important for the Democratic Party to come together and figure out not just how to govern for the 117th, but going forward for the country,” Rep. Jamaal Bowman (D-N.Y.) said as he voted for Rep. Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) to remain speaker of the House of Representatives.

Bowman, who toppled former Rep. Eliot Engel to rep part of the Bronx and Westchester, is one of many new faces in the House, which Democrats will control with just 11 more seats than the Republicans.

Meanwhile, the U.S. death toll from COVID passed 350,000, a number that health officials expect to increase as a post-holiday surge continues.

Rep. Hakeem Jeffries (D-N.Y.) of Brooklyn, seen as a possible successor to Pelosi, tried to put a positive spin on the year to come.

“This has been a moment of great challenge in the United States of America filled with trials and tribulations, but help is on the way,” he said.

While a number of Republicans remained in the same alternate reality as Trump, some voiced regret over the unhinged commander-in-chief’s ongoing refusal to accept the November election results.

“What’s good for America is the main question here, but this is bad for the country and bad for the party,” said Rep. Ben Sasse (R-Neb.).