Daily Political Wire 1-5-2011

George Wenschhof

112th Congress Set To Begin - at noon today Vice President Joe Biden will swear in the incoming Senators and preside over the opening session. The House will also convene about the same time and by 2:00 PM, the incoming members will be sworn in by new House Speaker John Boehner.

The composition of the Senate will be 51 Democrats and 2 Independents (Sanders and Lieberman) who caucus with Democrats. 46 Republicans and 1 Independent (Murkowski) who will caucus with Republicans.

The make up of the House will be 242 Republicans and 193 Democrats.

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Incoming House Majority Leader Promises to Offer Weekly Cuts in Spending - Eric Cantor (R-Va.) wants to keep campaign promises by cutting spending by 100 billion this year.

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Will White House Press Secretary be the Next to Go? - Rumors are strong that Robert Gibbs will be leaving to go work on the reelect campaign for President Obama or enter the private sector. The Washington Post has more here.

10:05 AM Update - White House confirms Gibbs is leaving after the State of the Union address later this month. Gibbs will be working as a consultant to the reelection campaign for the president.

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Private Sector Adds 297,000 Jobs in December - as job creation becomes the focus of the incoming congress. The job increase marks the 11th consecutive month of gains. Some of these gains, however, could have been fueled by the service industry which ramped up over the holiday season. CNN.com has more here.

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