Victories by Raphael Warnock and Jon Ossoff in Georgia’s Senate runoffs Tuesday mean Democrats will control a 50-50 U.S. Senate with Vice President-elect Kamala Harris casting the tie-breaking vote. Democratic control of the Senate could enable Biden to more easily reverse Trump administration actions to weaken environmental protections and opens a path to use a procedure known as budget reconciliation to enact climate-friendly measures through spending and the tax code. The 60-vote requirement to overcome the filibuster is likely to remain. Democratic control of the Senate will also ease confirmation of political appointees who favor aggressive action on climate change, a key component to implementing the all-of-government approach Biden has pledged to take to confront the climate crisis. (Washington Post $, Politico Pro $, New York Times $, S&P Global, The Real News, E&E $, Utility Dive, E&E $, New York Times $, Washington Post $)
