WASHINGTON _ Democrats took control of the House on Thursday with a show of unity and confrontation against President Donald Trump, electing Rep. Nancy Pelosi as their speaker and preparing to pass two bills to reopen all government agencies despite White House opposition.
It marked the first day of a new divided government that is likely to define the reminder of Trump's term, putting the brakes on many Republican legislative priorities and launching House probes into several administration officials.
Shortly after the 116th Congress convened, Pelosi, D-Calif., was elected speaker for the second time, the first lawmaker to wield the gavel twice since Sam Rayburn in 1955.
"Two months ago, the American people spoke and demanded a new dawn," Pelosi said after taking the gavel, referring to the midterm election that flipped the House to Democratic control.
"I am particularly proud to be the woman speaker of the House of this Congress, which marks 100 years of women having the right to vote, as we have the honor and the ability to serve with more than 100 women in the House of Representatives _ the highest number in history."
Pelosi claimed the speaker's gavel with 220 votes, just two more than she needed. Fifteen Democrats defected, voting "present" or for other Democrats. But it was far fewer than the number who once promised to oppose her. Most Republicans voted for House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy, R-Calif.
An energetic "first day of school" vibe overtook the House side of the Capitol. Newly elected lawmakers were still trying to find their way in the underground maze of hallways between their offices and the Capitol building. They took selfies on the floor and shared bipartisan congratulations and hugs.
Members brought onto the House floor their children and grandchildren, who alternatively ran around or slumped on their parents' shoulders. In a lighter moment, one restless young future Democrat loudly declared Pelosi's speech "Boring!"
Pelosi's fellow Californian, McCarthy, congratulated her as he handed her the gavel, symbolizing the transfer of House control from Republicans to Democrats. It marked the first time that the leaders of both parties in the House have come from the same state.
But the celebratory and bipartisan mood is unlikely to last. A quarter of the government has been shut down since Dec. 22 over Trump's refusal to sign a spending bill that doesn't include $5 billion in taxpayer money to fund a wall along the southern border.
Negotiations are set to resume Friday at the White House, but there were few signs that the shutdown would end any time soon.
"Right now, there are talks but not a real meaningful dialogue that I know about," said Sen. Richard Shelby, R-Ala., who leads the Senate Appropriations Committee. "At what point do the people quit blaming each other?"
The new Democratic majority in the House is expected to pass bills late Thursday to fund most of the shuttered portion of the government through Sept. 30. Funding for the Department of Homeland Security, which controls border security, would be paid for through February, giving lawmakers an opportunity to negotiate while reopening government. It would not fund the border wall.
The bill is similar to a plan the Senate approved unanimously last month. But Trump later said that he did not support it because it didn't fund the wall. And Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., now says he won't allow the measures to come to a vote unless Trump supports them.
With no end in sight, the shutdown entered its 13th day on Thursday and is on its way to setting a record: The longest government shutdown in history lasted 21 days in the mid-1990s.
