What Georgia's Runoff Senate Elections Mean for Joe Biden's Cabinet Picks

The fate of President-elect Joe Biden's cabinet picks could be in the hands of two Senate seats in Georgia.

As of Monday morning, Democrats, including the two Senators who caucus with them, and Republicans each will have 48 seats in the new Congress. One seat each in North Carolina and Alaska are expected to go to the Republican side, giving them 50 seats, so the two seats in Georgia that will be decided in a January runoff election will be the difference between Democrats or Republicans having control of the Senate.

If Democrats are able to pick up both Georgia seats, they'll have half the seats in the Senate and Republicans will have half. In the event of a 50-50 split, Kamala Harris as vice president will cast the tie-breaking vote, making it easier for Democrats to confirm Biden's cabinet appointments.

The president is tasked with nominating people to fill various cabinet positions, but before taking office, they must be confirmed by the Senate by a majority vote. While it's rare for the Senate to not approve a nominee, it has happened on nine occasions, the most recent being in 1989.

In 1989, Democrats had control of the Senate when President George H.W. Bush nominated Senator John Tower to the job of Secretary of Defense. After confirmation hearings that delved into Tower's alleged excessive drinking and an FBI investigation, the final vote was 53-47 against his nomination. Bush then nominated Dick Cheney, who was quickly confirmed.

Biden committed to having a cabinet filled with people that "actually look like America," and said in his first speech after the race was called in his favor that he wants his administration to represent America.

Republicans are likely to take Biden's nominees to task during hearings, as was the case with many of President Donald Trump's nominees. And, if they pick up seats in North Carolina and Alaska as expected, taking just one of the seats in Georgia would give them enough votes to block a confirmation. However, as it's such a rare occurrence, it's unlikely Republicans would use their majority control to keep Biden from having the cabinet of his choice.

Newsweek reached out to the Biden campaign for comment but did not receive a response in time for publication.

Control of the Senate won't be determined until after the January 5 runoff elections, when incumbent Republican Senators David Perdue and Kelly Loeffler are at risk of losing their seats. Perdue received 49.7 percent of the vote, putting him ahead of Democratic challenger Jon Ossoff at 47.9 percent. Loeffler, who was appointed to her seat in 2019, received 25.9 percent of the vote in a special election, putting her behind Democratic challenger Raphael Warnock, who received 32.9 percent.

So, why haven't Democrats picked up one seat and Republicans another? In Georgia, a candidate must receive at least 50 percent of the vote or the top two candidates go to a runoff election.

Given the impact Georgia's Senate races could have on the Senate, both parties are deploying their resources to the Peach State.

"This is going to be the determining factor of [whether] we have access to health care and access to justice in the United States—those are two issues that will make certain that people turn out," Stacey Abrams, who is credited with being a driving force of turning out the Democratic vote in Georgia, said Sunday on CNN's State of the Union. "We know this is going to be a hard fight. It's going to be a competitive fight."