Name: Sen.-elect Mark Kelly's transition to the US Senate will happen quickly
Brand: azcentral.com
SKU: azcentral-com-298
Availability: OnlineOnly

critic

Sen.-elect Mark Kelly's transition to the US Senate will happen quickly

preview

Arizona Republic Sen.-elect Mark Kelly’s transition to the U.S. Senate will move quickly with his victory over Sen. Martha McSally because he could be seated later this month, weeks ahead of other senators elected Tuesday.Because the Arizona race is a special election, Kelly, D-Ariz., is expected to be sworn in as soon as Nov. 30, after the state certifies its election results. New senators are typically sworn into office on Jan. 3.Kelly steps in to fill the remainder of the term won in 2016 by then-Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., whose death in 2018 created a vacancy. McSally, R-Ariz., was appointed to the seat by Republican Gov. Doug Ducey after she lost her 2018 race for the state’s other Senate seat that year to Democrat Kyrsten Sinema.&nbsp;The Associated Press called Arizona's Senate race for Kelly early Wednesday morning; McSally has not conceded.Kelly will join the Senate when it returns from recess for its post-election, lame-duck session and would help to narrow Republicans’ 53-47 majority in the chamber. He would have a vote on any potential legislation, which could include another coronavirus stimulus package, judicial nominees and action on government funding.&nbsp;Don Ritchie, the Senate’s former historian, said congressional staffers would work quickly to move McSally out of her office in the Russell Senate Office Building, which Kelly would likely occupy, at least for a time.“They're out of there right away. I mean, they're vacated almost immediately,” he said. “Between the Election Day and the day in which the new senator was sworn in, they would have to clear everything out as well as her staff. …&nbsp;There are people who work at the Senate who do a lot of work redoing offices and office space” to reconfigure how the new senator wants the space used.&nbsp;Ritchie said senators-elect typically select their chief of staff right away. Other members of the team follow.SEE THE WINNERS:&nbsp;Jacob Peters, Kelly’s campaign spokesman,&nbsp;did not detail how Kelly and his team are preparing for a potential transition to the Senate.&nbsp;Political analysts in Arizona anticipate he will draw from the tight-knit team of advisers who have worked with his campaign and his wife’s campaigns and congressional office.&nbsp;Kelly, a retired NASA astronaut and gun-safety activist, is married to former Rep. Gabrielle Giffords, D-Ariz., who represented the Tucson area in Congress from January 2007 until January 2012, when she resigned to recover from a gunshot to the head from a mass shooting near Tucson that killed six people&nbsp;and wounded 13.&nbsp;“He’s got a pretty D.C.-heavy team already in terms of people who have experience there,” said Democratic consultant Andy Barr. “For Arizona, he’s going to be looking for folks who have strong relationships more in the city of Phoenix than Tucson, which they’re really well-wired in, I would suspect. They probably could tap into Gabby’s old infrastructure to transition over — they have a strong team.”Max Fose, a Republican Kelly supporter, agreed.“In times like this, you surround yourself with people you trust and people that have experience in Washington, D.C.,” he said.&nbsp;“Clearly, that would be, likely, people that worked for Congresswoman Giffords. I also think he would surround himself with people that made up his campaign.” Kelly’s core and auxiliary campaign operation includes several people who worked for Giffords, and are experienced Arizona hands but also well known in Washington, D.C. They include his campaign manager, Jen Cox, and his media consultant, Pia Carusone, who was Giffords' chief of staff.Others on his campaign include well-known Democratic staffers&nbsp;such as Peters, who previously has worked for the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee.The halls of Congress are familiar to Kelly, who spent time there with his wife advocating for stricter gun laws and appeared alongside her during momentous events, such as then-President Barack Obama’s State of the Union speech.&nbsp;His return to Capitol Hill will be viewed through new eyes, said Ritchie, whose job often included giving senators-elect their first glimpse of the intimate legislative chamber.&nbsp;“They would get to the door and, you know, you could tell that they would just hold their breath for a minute (because) they had never come in,” he said. “Even some people who served in the House had never come over to the Senate chamber. And suddenly it's that moment.”Ritchie recalled one new member’s reaction when the sergeant at&nbsp;arms handed him his new Senate identification card. Ritchie said he looked at the card&nbsp;“and said, ‘You don’t know how much this card has cost me.’”Like all new members, Kelly will attend freshman orientation, which typically takes place some time in December. There, members hear from the minority and majority leaders, learn about parliamentary practice, the disbursement of office funds, human resources, and ethics rules.&nbsp;Beyond orientation, Kelly’s seniority ahead of the new class of senators will give him an advantage when it comes to committee assignments. Ritchie said leadership will look seriously at Kelly’s expertise and what areas they can count on him for support.“They walk in with their wish list of what they want, and a part of it is what's my expertise,” Ritchie said.&nbsp;He added: “Most people get off with at least one committee that they've been trying to get on at, especially if they can make the argument that it will be very good for their state, that it will help their reelection races.”Have news to share about Arizona's U.S. senators or national politics?&nbsp;Reach the reporter on and . Contact her at and 602-444-4712.Support local journalism.&nbsp;.Subscribe for free to The Gaggle&nbsp;political podcast on , , or wherever you listen to audio content.

Arizona Republic Sen.-elect Mark Kelly’s transition to the U.S. Senate will move quickly with his victory over Sen. Martha McSally because he could be seated later this month, weeks ahead of other senators elected Tuesday.Because the Arizona race is a special election, Kelly, D-Ariz., is expected to be sworn in as soon as Nov. 30, after the state certifies its election results. New senators are typically sworn into office on Jan. 3.Kelly steps in to fill the remainder of the term won in 2016 by then-Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., whose death in 2018 created a vacancy. McSally, R-Ariz., was...

public

Yvonne Wingett Sanchez

Award-winning local news from Arizona and metro Phoenix | The Arizona Republic in the streets 🗞️,  @azcentral  in the tweets (and online) | Instagram: azcentral

Sen.-elect Mark Kelly's transition to the US Senate will happen quickly

No article scores yet.

CRITIC REVIEWS

PUBLIC REVIEWS