华盛顿-国会周日召集新一届会议的开始，在动荡的时期向国会议员宣誓，越来越多的共和党人努力推翻乔·拜登击败唐纳德·特朗普总统和冠状病毒激增。
民主党人南希·佩洛西被她的政党，它保留了大部分房子，但在十一月意外强劲表现GOP经过20年来的最薄的保证金再次当选为众议院议长选举。
参议院开幕可能是米奇·麦康奈尔（Mitch McConnell）作为多数党领袖的最后行动之一。共和党的控制权一直存在争议，直到周二举行的乔治亚州参议院两个席位的大选。结果将确定哪一方持有会议厅。
根据法律规定，众议院和参议院必须在周日召开会议，并实施严格的COVID-19协议。参议员宣誓就职时，肘部颠簸代替了握手。参加国会大厦议员的家庭成员比平时少。专为COVID-19隔离区的立法者设计了一个特殊的封闭式座位区，但对病毒呈阴性。
但是到了最后，众议院议员在拥挤的房间宣誓就职后互相拥抱并互相祝贺，这是大流行期间令人震惊的一幕。
麦康奈尔在商会开幕时说：“要说新国会在一个充满挑战的时刻召开会议将是一种轻描淡写。”
麦康奈尔仍然表示，随着新的一年的开始，我们仍然有乐观的理由，“让美国人民感到自豪。”
佩洛西说，最重要的是战胜冠状病毒。她说：“我们一定会击败它。”
人们常说分裂的政府可能是立法妥协的时候，但是立法者正在向第117届国会提出指控，使该国比以往任何时候都更加支离破碎，甚至还争论包括拜登赢得总统大选在内的一些基本事实。
欺诈并未破坏2020年总统大选，全国选举官员证实了这一事实。特朗普任命的共和党总检察长威廉·巴尔（William Barr）在上个月辞职之前说，没有任何欺诈行为影响选举结果的证据。亚利桑那州和佐治亚州的共和党州长对拜登的胜利至关重要，他们的州也表示他们的选举结果是准确的。
尽管如此，在参议员乔什·霍利和特德·克鲁兹的领导下，有十二名共和党人率领新参议院，而且众议院的更多人已承诺成为抵抗拜登白宫的抵抗力量，首先是努力颠覆美国选民的意愿。这些共和党议员计划在国会周三举行会议以汇总他的306-232选举团对特朗普的胜利时反对选举结果。
担任参议院议长的副总统迈克·彭斯主持会议并宣布获胜者，面对特朗普在这一仪式性角色上的盟友面临越来越大的压力。
彭斯的幕僚长马克·肖特（Marc Short）周六在一份声明中说，彭斯“欢迎众议院和参议院议员利用法律赋予的权力提出异议。”
与此同时，民主党人正在向前迈进，渴望与拜登在共同的优先事项上合作，从努力遏制大流行和经济危机开始。他们计划重新审视未能将大多数人的大流行援助提高到2,000美元的努力。
众议院民主党核心小组众议院众议员DN.Y.哈基姆·杰弗里斯（Hakeem Jeffries）表示：“在充满试炼和磨难的美利坚合众国，这是一个充满挑战的时刻，”面试
他说：“美国是一个充满复原力的国家，充满了复原力的人民。” “我们将继续崛起，摆脱这种流行病，并继续向我们更完美的联盟迈进。”
在众议院共和党新人中，有佐治亚州特朗普总统一致的马乔里·泰勒·格林（Marjorie Taylor Greene）对阴谋Q-Anon理论表示赞同，科罗拉多州的枪支权利拥护者劳伦·博伯特（Lauren Boebert）散发了一封支持信，以保留立法者携带枪支的权利。在国会大厦。
格林是阿拉巴马州众议员莫·布鲁克斯（Mo Brooks）领导的众议院共和党人之一，他们在假期期间与特朗普在白宫进行了访问，以讨论他们为撤销选举所做的努力。
“Jan。6挑战已经来临，”泰勒·格林（Taylor Greene）在固定在其社交媒体帐户顶部的推文中说。博伯特还发布推文支持那些挑战拜登胜利的人。
众议院共和党人在11月的选举中提高了自己的地位，比以往任何时候都选举了少数妇女和少数族裔。一些新的共和党议员被称为“自由军”，是对“小队”的反击—来自纽约的众议员亚历山大·奥卡西奥·科尔特斯和其他自由民主党妇女在上届会议上上任。
加利福尼亚州少数党领袖，民主党众议员凯文·麦卡锡（Kevin McCarthy）在一份声明中说，新的共和党成员“很好地代表了美国是谁，我们来自哪里。”
进步的民主党人通过与更宽松的优先事项保持一致的新移民来巩固自己的地位。
国会大厦本身是在冠状病毒限制下发生变化的地方。议员从美国各地到达华盛顿，他们在旅途中可能接触到这种病毒。
几位议员已被病毒感染，有些议员将在周日缺席。此外，周六还为路易斯安那州新任共和党议员，41岁的卢克·勒特洛（Luke Letlow）举行了追悼会，他在宣誓就职前因COVID-19的并发症而死。
主治医师办公室已经发布了几篇冗长的备忘录，警告议员们不要分组开会或举行传统招待会，以防止病毒传播。面罩一直被要求始终佩戴，佩洛西要求在房屋室内使用它们。要求成员进行冠状病毒测试并获得疫苗。
医生办公室在一份备忘录中警告说：“请勿在家庭单位以外进行任何亲身社交活动，招待会，庆祝活动或约会，并且要始终在家里外面戴上脸罩。”
即使是传统的宣誓仪式，众议院也将受到限制。新的立法者宣誓就职，不再有大型全家福。取而代之的是，每个代表选举人都可以让一位客人符合社交疏远协议。当天的会议持续到晚上，因此议员可以按组分开投票。
副总统通常会像他一样在参议员和彭斯肘部参议员中发誓。
佩洛西（Pelosi）将重返演说界，是第一位担任这份工作的妇女，她面临一场激烈的比赛，众议院以222-211分拆，而莱特洛（Letlow）死后，一场比赛仍未定，空缺一席。
加州民主党赢得了出席会议并投票保留发言人木槌的大多数人。
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美联社作家Alan Fram，Andrew Taylor和Mary Clare Jalonick为本报告做出了贡献。
Democrat Nancy Pelosi was reelected as House speaker by her party, which retains the majority in the House but with the slimmest margin in 20 years after a surprisingly strong GOP performance in the November election.
Opening the Senate could be among Mitch McConnell’s final acts as majority leader. Republican control is in question until Tuesday’s runoff elections for two Senate seats in Georgia. The outcome will determine which party holds the chamber.
The House and Senate were required to convene Sunday, by law, and imposed strict COVID-19 protocols. Elbow bumps replaced handshakes as senators took the oath of office. Fewer family members than usual joined lawmakers at the Capitol. A special enclosed seating section was designed for lawmakers in COVID-19 quarantine, but testing negative for the virus.
But by day's end, House lawmakers were hugging and congratulating one another after taking the oath of office in the crowded chamber, an alarming scene during the pandemic.
“To say the new Congress convenes at a challenging time would be an understatement,” McConnell said as the chamber opened.
Still, McConnell said with the start of a new year there are reasons for optimism, “let’s make the American people proud.”
Pelosi said the top priority is defeating the coronvirus. And “defeat it we will,” she said to applause.
It’s often said that divided government can be a time for legislative compromises, but lawmakers are charging into the 117th Congress with the nation more torn than ever, disputing even basic facts including that Biden won the presidential election.
Fraud did not spoil the 2020 presidential election, a fact confirmed by election officials across the country. Before stepping down last month, Attorney General William Barr, a Republican appointed by Trump, said there was no evidence of fraud that affected the election’s outcome. Arizona’s and Georgia’s Republican governors, whose states were crucial to Biden’s victory, have also stated that their election results were accurate.
Nevertheless, a dozen Republicans bound for the new Senate, led by Sens. Josh Hawley and Ted Cruz, and even more in the House have pledged to become a resistance force to Biden’s White House, starting with efforts to subvert the will of American voters. These GOP lawmakers plan to object to the election results when Congress meets on Wednesday to tally his 306-232 Electoral College victory over Trump.
Vice President Mike Pence, who as president of the Senate, presides over the session and declares the winner, is facing growing pressure from Trump’s allies over that ceremonial role.
Pence's chief of staff, Marc Short, said in a statement Saturday that Pence “welcomes the efforts of members of the House and Senate to use the authority they have under the law to raise objections.”
Democrats, meanwhile, are pushing ahead, eager to partner with Biden on shared priorities, starting with efforts to stem the pandemic and economic crisis. They plan to revisit the failed effort to boost pandemic aid to $2,000 for most people.
“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,” Rep. Hakeem Jeffries, D-N.Y., the chairman of the House Democratic caucus, said in an interview.
“America is a resilient nation, filled with resilient people,” he said. “We will continue to rise to the occasion, emerge from this pandemic and continue to march toward our more perfect union.”
Among the House Republican newcomers are Trump-aligned Marjorie Taylor Greene of Georgia, who has given nod to conspiracy Q-Anon theories, and gun rights advocate Lauren Boebert of Colorado, who circulated a letter of support to retain the right of lawmakers to carry firearms in the Capitol.
Greene was among a group of House Republicans led by Rep. Mo Brooks of Alabama who visited with Trump at the White House during the holiday season about their effort to undo the election.
The “Jan. 6 challenge is on,” Taylor Greene said in a tweet pinned to the top of her social media account. Boebert also tweeted support for those challenging Biden's victory.
House Republicans boosted their ranks in the November election, electing a handful of women and minorities, more than ever. Some of the new GOP lawmakers are being called the “Freedom Force,” and a counter to the “squad” — Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez of New York and other liberal Democratic women who swept to office in the last session.
In a statement Rep. Kevin McCarthy, R-Calif., the minority leader, said the new Republican members “are a strong representation of who America is and where we come from.”
Progressive Democrats bolstered their ranks with newcomers aligned with more liberal priorities.
The Capitol itself is a changed place under coronavirus restrictions. Lawmakers are arriving in Washington from all parts of the country potentially exposed to the virus during their travel.
Several lawmakers have been sickened by the virus and some will be absent Sunday. Also, a memorial was held Saturday for newly elected Republican lawmaker Luke Letlow, 41, of Louisiana, who died of complications from COVID-19 days before the swearing in.
The Office of the Attending Physician has issued several lengthy memos warning lawmakers off meeting in groups or holding traditional receptions to prevent the spread of the virus. Masks have been ordered worn at all times and Pelosi has required them to be used in the House chamber. Members are required to have coronavirus tests and have access to vaccines.
“Do not engage any in-person social events, receptions, celebrations, or appointments, outside your family unit, and always wear a face covering outside your home,” the physician’s office warned in one memo.
Even the traditional swearing in ceremonies will be limited in the House. No more big family portraits with new lawmakers taking the oath of office. Instead, each representative-elect can bring one guest in line with social distancing protocols. The day's session lasted into evening so lawmakers could vote spaced out in groupings.
The vice president typically swears in the senators and Pence elbow-bumped senators as he did.
Pelosi, who is returning as speaker, the first woman to hold the job, faced a tight race, with the House split 222-211, with one race still undecided and one vacancy after Letlow's death.
The California Democrat won a majority of those present and voting to retain the speaker’s gavel.
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Associated Press writers Alan Fram, Andrew Taylor and Mary Clare Jalonick contributed to this report.
