In the midst of chaos in Washington, the takeover of the US Senate by the Democrats is confirmed!
President-elect Joe Biden should therefore have a free hand to push his priority reforms and make appointments without hindrance.
In Georgia's two Senate by-elections on Tuesday, Democratic candidate Raphael Warnock defeated Republican Senator Kelly Loeffler.
The other Democrat in the running, Jon Ossoff, is also in a position to surprise Republican David Perdue.
Democrats therefore have 50 seats in the Senate, like Republicans.
But as the constitution provides, future vice-president Kamala Harris has the power to decide the votes, and therefore tip the scales on the Democratic side.
Among the powers of the United States Senate is the examination and confirmation by vote, first in committee, then of all senators, the highest officials of the administration, ministers, their deputies, but also ambassadors, military officials and directors of the multiple federal agencies that make up the US government.
The Senate has the power to confirm Supreme Court judges
The Senate also confirms the judges, in particular those of the Supreme Court, the highest court of the country whose decisions have important repercussions on subjects of society, such as abortion or same-sex marriage.
The entourage of the president-elect also made known on Wednesday the choice of Mr. Biden for the post of Minister of Justice: Merrick Garland, 68, who had been Barack Obama's candidate for the Supreme Court in 2016 but whose nomination had been blocked by the Republicans.
Morning essentials newsletter
A tour of the news to start the day
Subscribe to the newsletterAll newsletters
According to U.S. media reports, Biden was reluctant to choose Garland because he feared he could not get a progressive judge approved to replace him as head of a major Washington appeals tribunal.