Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell is shifting tactics, saying Tuesday he is willing to allow a vote on a “clean” bill funding the Department of Homeland Security that would prevent a shutdown. 
 
 The Kentucky Republican said the legislation would be stripped of language attacking President Obama’s 2014 executive actions on immigration. That move has set up a fight with House Republicans, with fewer than 80 hours to the DHS shutdown deadline. 
 
 “I’ve indicated to [Senate Minority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.)] that I’d be happy to have his cooperation to advance the consideration of a clean DHS bill, which would carry us through until Sept. 30,” McConnell told reporters after a GOP conference meeting. “With Democratic cooperation on a position they have been advocating for the last two months, we could have that vote very quickly.” 
 
 McConnell said he would be willing to vote on the clean measure before considering a separate bill that would prohibit the administration from implementing Obama’s executive actions shielding the immediate family members of citizens and permanent legal residents from deportation. 
 
 The new strategy from McConnell raises pressure on Speaker John Boehner (R-Ohio), and sets in motion a legislative chess game with Reid. 
 
 Even though McConnell’s plan would appear to give Senate Democrats exactly what they want, Reid said he first wanted assurances from Boehner that the bill would pass the House. 
 
 “Unless the Speaker is in on the proposal — of course we have to make sure that we can get a bill to the president, not that we send a hot potato to Boehner,” Reid said. 
 
 “That doesn’t do the trick,” he said of McConnell’s proposal. 
 
 It is far from clear that Boehner can win a majority of House Republican votes for a clean Homeland Security funding bill. The Speaker is scheduled to hold a crucial meeting of his conference Wednesday morning. 
 
 “The Speaker has been clear: The House has acted, and now Senate Democrats need to stop hiding. Will they continue to block funding for the Department of Homeland Security or not?” said Michael Steel, Boehner’s spokesman. 
 
 Asked whether his boss warned Boehner of the new tack, McConnell spokesman Don Stewart said, “I don’t have any readouts about their meetings. They update each other all the time.” 
 
 The GOP leaders have different considerations. McConnell has his eye on November 2016 and retaining his new majority in the upper chamber against a tough map. Boehner isn’t worried about losing the House, which would require Democrats to win 30 seats; what he has to worry about is igniting another Tea Party revolt that has previously threatened his Speakership. 
 
 Reid’s statement sparked exasperation among Republicans. 
 
 “Apparently inspired by President Obama’s own over-reach, Sen. Reid is now shamelessly threatening to filibuster a clean Homeland Security funding bill,” said a senior GOP House aide. 
 
 “Sen. Reid said, ‘Pass a clean funding bill.’ Sen. [Dick] Durbin [D-Ill.] said, ‘Pass a clean funding bill.’ You guys all went to a press conference today where they said, ‘Pass a clean funding bill,’ ” Stewart told reporters. 
 
 By withholding their support, Democrats can extend the fight in an issue where the clock is now firmly on their side. McConnell’s move suggests he fears his party would take the bigger political hit from a shutdown. 
 
 He conceded Tuesday that he did not know how the GOP-led House would react. 
 
 “I don’t know what the House will do but I do think we have a responsibility to act here,” McConnell said. 
 
 McConnell hopes House Republicans will be placated by his strategy to force Senate Democrats to vote on the 2014 immigration order. It would need 60 votes to pass the Senate, and seven Democrats are on record questioning Obama’s decision to circumvent Congress to protect millions of illegal immigrants. 
 
 It appears unlikely that most of those Democrats would back the Republican bill, but it could be a tough vote. 
 
 One of the Democratic centrists, Sen. Mark Warner (Va.), said he would oppose the immigration measure, dismissing it as Republican “gamesmanship.” 
 
 Another Democrat, Sen. Joe Manchin (W.Va.) signaled support. 
 
 Sen. Claire McCaskill's (Mo.) office said that she would vote for cloture on the bill, but wants DHS to be cleanly funded first. 
 
 Conservative groups pushed Boehner on Tuesday to reject McConnell’s plan, with Heritage Action for America announcing it would count any vote for a clean bill as a negative mark on its legislative scorecard. 
 
 House conservatives and Sen. Jeff Sessions (R-Ala.) urged the Speaker to hold his ground. 
 
 “The House of Representatives acted wisely, properly, funding Homeland Security and not allowing activities to be carried out that are unlawful and that Congress has rejected,” Sessions said. “Now, there are some even on the Republican side that say, ‘Oh, gosh, you know the president will blame us even if it’s not our fault and we might as well cave in and give him what he wants.’ ” 
 
 Other Senate Republicans, however, urged Boehner to embrace McConnell’s plan. 
 
 “I think it’s a good solution to the problem — you have a debate on whether or not the executive action is good policy, lawful, and you don’t put at risk the funding of DHS at a time when we need all of our defenses up and running,” said Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.). “I just hope our House colleagues understand that the growing threats against our nation are real. 
 
 He added, a “shutdown goes badly for us.” 
 
 Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas), the Tea Party firebrand and a leading proponent of reversing Obama’s executive orders with the funding bill, initially declined to comment, telling reporters to contact his office. 
 
 In a statement later released by his office, he called the new strategy a “mistake.” 
 
 “Leadership’s current plan — to pass clean DHS funding and separate legislation barring executive amnesty — is a mistake. Congress is obliged to use every constitutional check and balance we have to rein in President Obama’s lawlessness, and that includes both our confirmation authority over nominees and the power of the purse.” 
 
 This story was updated at 10:58 p.m. 
 
 — By Alexander Bolton and Rebecca Shabad, Scott Wong contributed. ||||| “No Congress before this one has ever, ever, in history been irresponsible enough to threaten default, to threaten an economic shutdown, to suggest America not pay its bills, just to try to blackmail a president into giving them some concessions on issues that have nothing to do with a budget,” Mr. Obama said before a friendly audience in suburban Washington. 
 
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 The bitter back and forth in the absence of any high-level discussions between Republicans and Democrats was seen as increasing the possibility of a shutdown or default. It was a marked contrast from past showdowns when talks were taking place behind the scenes even as the parties traded public partisan shots. 
 
 The Senate faces a critical vote on Friday to cut off debate on legislation to keep the government open. If Democrats muster 60 votes, Senator Harry Reid of Nevada, the majority leader, will move to strip out House language that guts the health care law and pass a stopgap spending bill that finances the government through Nov. 15, without Republican policy prescriptions. 
 
 At that point, no one is sure how the House will react. 
 
 “There is no secret room where everyone is sitting down and hashing this out,” said Senator Patty Murray, the Washington Democrat who is chairwoman of the Senate Budget Committee. 
 
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 Representative Eric Cantor of Virginia, the House majority leader, encouraged Democrats to come to the table. 
 
 “We call on the president to sit down with us, Harry Reid to sit down with us, and let’s resolve this problem,” he said. 
 
 But in their efforts to unify restive Republicans, House leaders were only widening the partisan divisions. Behind closed doors on Thursday, they laid out their demands for a debt ceiling increase that include the health law delay, fast-track authority to overhaul the tax code, construction of the Keystone XL oil pipeline, offshore oil and gas production and more permitting of energy exploration on federal lands. 
 
 The legislation would also roll back regulations on coal ash, block new Environmental Protection Agency regulations on greenhouse gas production, eliminate a $23 billion fund to ensure the orderly dissolution of failed major banks, eliminate mandatory contributions to the new Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, limit medical malpractice lawsuits and increase means testing for Medicare, among other provisions. 
 
 Even with that legislative Christmas tree, many Republican backbenchers balked. After introducing the measure to his divided troops, a sheepish speaker of the House faced the press with a grimace. “Oh, this ought to be a blast,” Mr. Boehner sighed as he opened a news conference for questions. 
 
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 Senator Charles E. Schumer of New York, the No. 2 Democrat, derided the proposal. “The House is attaching the Republican Party platform to the debt ceiling,” he said. “In a week full of absurdities, this one takes the cake.” 
 
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 Republican divisions in the Senate burst into full public view on Thursday. Incensed that hard-liners in his party were slowing final votes on legislation to keep the government open, Senator Bob Corker, Republican of Tennessee, went to the Senate floor to accuse two fellow Republican senators, Ted Cruz of Texas and Mike Lee of Utah, of grandstanding for the benefit of their conservative-activist followers. 
 
 “Y’all have sent out releases and e-mails, and you want everybody to be able to watch,” he charged. 
 
 Economists of all political persuasions have warned that a failure to raise the debt ceiling by the Treasury’s deadline of Oct. 17 could be catastrophic. The world economy’s faith in the safety of Treasury debt would be shaken for years. Interest rates could shoot up, and stock prices worldwide would most likely plummet. 
 
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 “Defaulting on any obligation of the U.S. government would be a dangerous gamble,” Doug Elmendorf, the director of the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office, told the House Budget Committee on Thursday. “In a very uncertain world, the one thing everyone has been able to count on is that the U.S. government will pay its bills on time.” 
 
 But many House Republicans put little stock in such pronouncements. 
 
 “Economists, what have they been doing? They make all sorts of predictions,” said Representative John Fleming, Republican of Louisiana. “Many times they’re wrong, so I don’t think we should run government based on economists’ predictions.” 
 
 Those who do believe in the dangers said that they provide precisely the leverage they need to win passage of their priorities. 
 
 “People have to recognize there’s never any compromise until the stakes are high,” said Representative Dana Rohrabacher, Republican of California. “In our society, that’s the nature of democratic government.” 
 
 With the twin clocks ticking, Democratic leaders seem paralyzed by rage, claiming Republicans are relying on Democrats to be “the responsible adult in the room” and cave to their hostage-taking. 
 
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 “They have a responsibility to the country. They have a responsibility to their constituents and their children,” said Representative Steny H. Hoyer of Maryland, the House’s No. 2 Democrat. “They are damaging the country, and the public ought to make them pay a price.” 
 
 Democrats — and some Republicans — worried that the shift to the debt-ceiling fight is leaving the government heading to a shutdown on Tuesday with no resolution in sight. 
 
 “I’d like to see us keep that focus there,” said Representative Tom Graves, Republican of Georgia, who led the fight to link further government funding to gutting the Affordable Care Act. “We’ve got a responsibility to finish this up and let it play out.” 
 
 Ms. Murray said the shift in focus from a short-term stopgap spending bill that keeps the government open to the debt ceiling is coming because “Republicans realize fighting a small battle over a small bill is a waste of time.” 
 
 She called the House debt ceiling “Christmas list” unserious. 
 
 “This is not the time to throw in your 50 favorite flavors,” she said. “You can’t just throw everything against the wall and see what happens.” ||||| Photo Advertisement Continue reading the main story 
 
 WASHINGTON — Senator Mitch McConnell of Kentucky, the majority leader, on Tuesday offered a path to avert a partial shutdown of the Department of Homeland Security, saying he would allow a vote on a bill solely to fund the agency, followed by a second vote on legislation that would halt President Obama’s 2014 executive actions on immigration. 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 The move offered Republicans an avenue to break out of an embarrassing impasse as they try to prove their ability to govern as the majority party in Congress. But Mr. McConnell’s proposal hardly settles the matter, and increases the likelihood that Congress will be forced to fashion a short-term spending bill to keep the department open. 
 
 With financing for the department set to run out Friday, lawmakers engaged in tense brinkmanship over the president’s immigration policies, with Senate Democrats threatening to block Mr. McConnell’s latest maneuver unless Speaker John A. Boehner of Ohio also guarantees that the House would accept the proposal. The House last month passed a bill to fund the department, but also repeal Mr. Obama’s recent executive actions on immigration, including a provision that gave legal protections for young undocumented immigrants known as Dreamers. 
 
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 “We have to make sure that people understand the bicameral nature of this Congress that we serve in, so to have Senator McConnell just pass the ball over to the House isn’t going to do the trick,” said Senator Harry Reid, Democrat of Nevada and the minority leader. “Unless Boehner is in on the deal, it won’t happen.” 
 
 In the high-stakes standoff, Mr. Reid showed that even in the minority, Senate Democrats are willing to employ the same tactics they deplored when Republicans used them just months before when Democrats controlled the chamber. 
 
 Democrats are gambling that by staying unified, they can force Mr. McConnell — who promised to run a Senate that could be effective and still leave a conservative imprint on policy making — into a corner. But the maneuver could backfire, if voters blame Democrats for filibustering the very spending bill for which they have been asking. 
 
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 On Monday, in what he described as an attempt to get the Senate “unstuck,” Mr. McConnell introduced a separate bill — based on a proposal by Senator Susan Collins, Republican of Maine — that would gut Mr. Obama’s 2014 executive actions on immigration, but not repeal the protections for the young undocumented immigrants. Senate Republican leadership had hoped that the two-vote plan, which would allow Republicans to express their displeasure with Mr. Obama’s immigration policies, would generate enough political support to avert a partial shutdown, for which many of them believed Republicans would be blamed. 
 
 “As I’ve said many times, we should not shut down the Department of Homeland Security,” said Senator John McCain, Republican of Arizona. “Recent polling shows that the majority of the American people would blame Republicans, and not Democrats, so it hurts us politically. But it also harms our ability to enforce our borders and do the work that the Department of Homeland Security does.” 
 
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 The next move now rests with the House, whose members were returning to the Capitol on Tuesday evening, but were not expected to have a sense of their own path forward at least until after a closed-door conference meeting Wednesday morning. But many conservative House members are likely to balk at any legislation that funds the Homeland Security Department without also fighting Mr. Obama’s recent executive actions on immigration. 
 
 “The speaker has been clear: The House has acted, and now Senate Democrats need to stop hiding,” said Michael Steel, a spokesman for Mr. Boehner. “Will they continue to block funding for the Department of Homeland Security or not?” 
 
 Adding to the tension on immigration and the funding stalemate, the president on Tuesday issued his first veto during this Congress, rejecting legislation to approve construction of the Keystone XL oil pipeline, a bill Republicans had made one of their top legislative showcases. 
 
 “I think truly the House doesn’t know yet what they’re going to do,” said Senator Jeff Flake, Republican of Arizona, who said he would support a bill to fund the Homeland Security agency. 
 
 Among conservatives, the backlash was swift, with many accusing Senate Republican leaders of caving to their Democratic counterparts and Mr. Obama. “For those keeping score: Obama vetoes Keystone XL and McConnell caves on DHS funding,” Erick Erickson, the conservative commentator, wrote on Twitter. “GOP is just pretending to be in charge of Congress.” 
 
 Mr. McConnell seemed eager to offer a solution — and keep the promise of no government shutdowns he made right after Republicans retook the Senate majority in November — and push the dilemma back on Mr. Boehner and his conference. 
 
 “Do you want to fund the Department of Homeland Security through the end of the fiscal year so we’re fully up and running and capable of dealing with all the threats that we have around the world, including those against us here at home, and would you also like to express your disagreement with the president’s overreach last November?” Mr. McConnell said. “This gives us an opportunity to do both.” 
 
 But after weeks of clamoring for a bill to fund the Homeland Security Department with no other attached provisions, Senate Democrats insisted that Mr. McConnell’s proposal was not good enough without similar assurances from Mr. Boehner. 
 
 “Without Speaker Boehner saying that he will fully fund Homeland Security, Senator McConnell’s offer does not get the department funded,” said Senator Charles E. Schumer, Democrat of New York. 
 
 The Democratic response appeared intended to gauge just what Mr. Boehner can move through the House, where his conservative members have already vocally opposed any funding bill that does not also fight the president’s recent immigration actions. 
 
 The Senate could still go along with Mr. McConnell’s proposal, but top aides expressed skepticism about the more hard-line House members being able to accept the deal, and suggested that the immediate outcome looked increasingly like a short-term funding measure for the agency. 
 
 A short-term funding measure, however, while staving off a partial shutdown, seems destined to please no one — and simply postpone the fight for a few months. 
 
 “A clean CR? Even Republicans are saying that is unacceptable,” said Senator Richard J. Durbin of Illinois, the No. 2 Senate Democrat. “That means we have to revisit this in 60 days and the department is going to be diminished in its capacity to protect America in the interim.” 
 
 And from Ms. Collins: “I believe we have to fully fund the department for the remainder of the fiscal year and that doing a temporary funding would only put us in the same situation a few months from now.” ||||| Senate Republican Leader Mitch McConnell is in active negotiation with the White House on a debt ceiling deal, and Democrats agreed late Saturday night to postpone a partisan-tinged cloture vote to give time for both sides to find a compromise. 
 
 “There are many elements to be finalized, and there is still a distance to go before any arrangement can be completed,” said Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid. “But I believe we should give everyone as much room as possible to do their work.” 
 
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 “I’m glad to see this move toward cooperation and compromise. I hope it bears fruit.” 
 
 Just hours before Reid had sparred on the floor with McConnell over the seriousness of his efforts, and Reid’s change of tone — and tactics — suggested that real progress had been made. “We’re getting close,” said one GOP leadership aide, with knowledge of the discussions. 
 
 “In the category of getting serious, I have spoken to both the president and the vice president within the last hour,” McConnell had told reporters earlier in day in a joint appearance with Speaker John Boehner. “We are now fully engaged, the speaker and I, with the one person in America out of 307 million people who can sign a bill into law. I’m confident and optimistic that we’re going to get an agreement in the very near future and resolve this crisis in the best interests of the American people.” 
 
 Boehner echoed McConnell’s statement, saying he believed that “we are going to be able to come to some sort of agreement.” But the speaker appears to have had no contact himself with President Barack Obama Saturday, while McConnell spoke to the president and reached out to Biden, after which the two men engaged in at least four back-and-forth phone calls through the day. 
 
 The biggest two outstanding issues are the Republicans’ insistence on “dollar-for-dollar” deficit reductions –without new tax revenues—to match any increase in the Treasury’s borrowing authority. And second, what enforcement mechanism is best to ensure that a new joint House-Senate committee will be able to come up with an estimated $1.6 trillion in savings by the end of this year. 
 
 Boehner has said that if the panel fails to meet its target, Obama can’t raise the debt ceiling— a concession that the president refuses to make since it only means more instability six months from now. The White House wants to substitute some alternative trigger that would still be action-forcing but not a threat to the whole economy. Biden is exploring options with McConnell, but even if a compromise is found, the cuts demanded by Boehner now are far larger than what the speaker had been willing to accept from Obama just last week. 
 
 One trigger option that has gained favor would impose across-the-board cuts on spending with the idea of inflicting enough pain that both parties would have an interest in meeting the joint committee's deficit target. Since Republicans have opposed any such sequester impacting revenues, the compromise now is likely to include deep defense cuts, a second priority for the GOP and therefore something of a lever. 
 
 Democrats are fearful that their own priorities—more revenues and fewer Medicare savings—will get lost in the process. And Reid didn’t hide his skepticism after returning from a 90 minute meeting with Obama, Biden and House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi at the White House. 
 
 “Boehner won’t even negotiate and McConnell is going backward,” said one aide close to the situation. And Reid bluntly accused McConnell of engaging more for show that real compromise. 
 
 “The Republican leader says he’s engaged,” Reid said ruefully. “Fortunately, members of his caucus, at least as far as I’m concerned, are more engaged than he is. There are meaningful talks going on with some of his members with my senators.” 
 
 McConnell shot back, “I actually cut short a conversation with the vice president” to come to the floor. 
 
 The Democrats bigger worry is Boehner, who shows signs of simply running-out-the-clock, playing hard-to-get with Obama and hoping the White House will give into his demands. ||||| Republicans’ decisive win Tuesday is likely to ensure that President Obama’s final two years in office are marked by a level of gridlock and stagnation that surpasses even the last four turgid years. And it raises the question of how the GOP will handle its new power. 
 
 RELATED: GOP takes the Senate 
 
 The GOP capitalized on Americans’ frustration with Washington to gain full control of Congress for the first time since 2006, while enlarging its House majority and winning several key governor’s races. 
 
 Sen. Mitch McConnell of Kentucky, 72, who held off a strong challenge from Democrat Alison Lundergan Grimes, is in line to be the new Senate majority leader. 
 
 Close video Mitch McConnell: ‘We have a duty’ to work with Democrats After winning re-election, Sen. Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., makes an appeal to help fix Congressional gridlock, saying “we do have an obligation to work together on issues where we can agree. I think we have a duty to do that.” embed like save share group 
 
 Still, Republicans have essentially refused to pass major legislation since taking the House in 2010, and, despite McConnell’s promises, the chances of getting anything significant accomplished are now even lower. That means pressing, national issues like immigration, climate change, the growing wage gap and infrastructure upgrades are set to remain on hold. 
 
 Instead, Obama will likely make frequent use of his veto pen in response to legislation passed by the GOP Congress. Whether that will include a repeal of Obamacare is uncertain, since few Republicans made the law a major campaign issue. 
 
 RELATED: Midterm voters not enthusiastic about 2016 presidential outlook 
 
 There were signs that the takeover of the Senate could embolden the GOP’s tea party wing and push the party even further to the right. Sen. Ted Cruz of Texas refused to say in an interview with CNN that he would back McConnell for majority leader. And in a statement, House Speaker John Boehner didn’t even mention immigration as an issue that the Republican Congress might address. 
 
 “We are humbled by the responsibility the American people have placed with us, but this is not a time for celebration,” said Boehner. “It’s time for government to start getting results and implementing solutions to the challenges facing our country, starting with our still-struggling economy.” 
 
 PHOTO ESSAY: Voters, young and old, take to polls 
 
 The loss of the Senate also puts at risk one power that Obama had largely continued to enjoy even after Republicans took the House in 2010: his ability to get judicial nominees confirmed. That means any potential vacancies on the U.S. Supreme Court could turn into protracted political battles. 
 
 The impact on the 2016 presidential race is less clear. Republicans’ increased ability to stymie Obama’s agenda could ratchet up voters’ discontent even further, making them more eager to make a change by handing the White House to the GOP. But it could also make Republicans appear to be part of the problem, especially if they overreach in an effort to play to their conservative base. 
 
 RELATED: An Election Day tilt toward Republicans 
 
 The night was almost as complete a Republican victory as the famous “thumping,” in Obama’s words, that the GOP inflicted on Democrats in 2010. Exit polls suggested the results were driven by the president’s low approval ratings, and by dissatisfaction with an economic recovery that, despite the numbers, many Americans still aren’t feeling. 
 
 On the bright side, Republicans elected two female senators, one black senator, and one black, female representative. 
 
 Democratic Senate incumbents went down to defeat in Arkansas, Colorado, and North Carolina, with Republicans also picking up seats in Montana, West Virginia, Iowa, and South Dakota. 
 
 Many of the Senate races had appeared for much of the campaign to be headed for close finishes. And even going into election night, it looked very possible that control of the Senate wouldn’t be decided for weeks or months, with potentially decisive runoffs looming in Louisiana and Georgia, and Kansas independent Greg Orman declining to say which party he’d caucus with if elected. 
 
 Close video House Republicans set party record, 250 seats An msnbc panel discusses Republicans winning the largest majority they have ever held in the House of Representatives and whether John Boehner will be able to keep his more extremist colleagues in line. embed like save share group 
 
 But states like Kansas, Arkansas, Georgia, Kentucky , Iowa, and Colorado seemed to move en masse toward the GOP in the final weeks and days, with Republican candidates doing everything they could to make the contest about the president. 
 
 It’s not hard to see why. According to the NBC News national exit poll, the president’s approval rating was just 45% with voters, down nine points from when he won re-election two years ago. 
 
 Meanwhile, a whopping 70% of voters said the economy is not in good shape, with just 29% saying it’s doing well. 
 
 In races for governor, Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker held off a challenge from Democrat Mary Burke, while Ohio’s John Kasich strolled to re-election. Those results put both men in potentially strong positions for 2016 presidential bids. 
 
 RELATED: The Obama factor in the 2014 midterm election 
 
 In Florida, Gov. Rick Scott, a Republican, held off Democrat Charlie Crist, who had previously served as governor of the state as a moderate Republican. In Texas, Republican Attorney General Greg Abbott cruised to victory over Democratic state Sen. Wendy Davis — who once ignited her party’s hopes of making the country’s largest red-state competitive. In Illinois, Republican Bruce Rauner defeated incumbent Democrat Pat Quinn. And in a rare bright spot for Democrats, businessman Tom Wolf ousted the deeply unpopular Republican governor of Pennsylvania, Tom Corbett. ||||| WASHINGTON (AP) — Republicans assumed full control of Congress on Tuesday for the first time in eight years in a day of pomp, circumstance and raw politics beneath the Capitol Dome. "We will get to work right away," pledged House Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy, R-Calif. 
 
 Sen.-elect Joni Ernst R-Iowa, right, talks with a reporter on Capitol Hill in Washington, Tuesday, Jan. 6, 2015, before being sworn-in for the 114th Congress in Washington. (AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin) (Associated Press) 
 
 People walk in the snow toward the Capitol in Washington, Tuesday, Jan. 6, 2015, on the start of the 114th Congress in Washington. (AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin) (Associated Press) 
 
 House Speaker John Boehner of Ohio, center, shakes hands and he walks past Rep. Louie Gohmert, R-Texas, right, as members of the House of Representatives gather for opening session of the 114th Congress... (Associated Press) 
 
 Rep. Joaquin Castro, D-Texas, left, holds his daughter, Andrea Elena Castro, as he stand with his brother, Housing and Urban Development Secretary Julian Castro as they join other members of the House... (Associated Press) 
 
 Incoming Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell of Ky. pauses outside his office on Capitol Hill in Washington, Monday, Jan. 5, 2015, as he prepares for Tuesday's opening of the 114th Congress under GOP... (Associated Press) 
 
 As the first snowfall of the winter blanketed Washington, Congress convened at noon as required by the Constitution. 
 
 On the Senate floor, newcomers mixed with veterans as Vice President Joe Biden swore in senators in groups of four. Mitch McConnell of Kentucky ascended to majority leader, his elevation endorsed by rank-and-file Republicans last year after they won control of the chamber from the Democrats. 
 
 Across the Capitol in the House, a similar scene unfolded as familiar faces and new ones crowded the aisles and lawmakers of both parties recited the Pledge of Allegiance. But in the House, there was an element of slight suspense as Speaker John Boehner of Ohio faced a tea party-backed effort to unseat him, though it looked certain to fall short. 
 
 Seeking unity despite the internal party dissension, the GOP moved swiftly toward a veto showdown with President Barack Obama over the long-stalled Keystone XL pipeline, a taste of things to come in divided government. 
 
 At the White House, Obama planned to meet with the new congressional leadership next week as both sides positioned themselves for two years of clashes and, perhaps, occasional cooperation that will help shape the outcomes of the 2016 presidential and congressional elections. 
 
 McConnell replaces Democrat Harry Reid of Nevada, who was a surprise no-show from the day's proceedings after he injured himself exercising. 
 
 Reid, who broke several ribs and bones in his face when a piece of equipment snapped last week, said his doctor had ordered him to work from home Tuesday. A photo Reid posted to Twitter showed him with his right eye taped over as he met with lawmakers. 
 
 Newcomers and veterans alike lifted their hands to swear the oath of office, many with spouses, children and grandchildren looking on to witness the biennial display of pageantry. The spectacle drew political veterans back to the Capitol as former Vice President Walter Mondale, a Democrat, and former Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist, a Republican, mixed with lawmakers on the Senate floor. 
 
 McConnell and Boehner both were to deliver remarks as they began laying down markers for legislative battles ahead. 
 
 First, Boehner had to survive his re-election as speaker — the main event on any opening day's agenda. Tea party-backed Reps. Louie Gohmert of Texas and Ted Yoho and Daniel Webster of Florida were nominated by colleagues as challengers to Boehner, and more than a dozen Republicans announced they would oppose Boehner. 
 
 The ranks of the opponents grew in the hours ahead of Tuesday's vote, but appeared far short of the number needed to place Boehner's election in jeopardy. Many lawmakers dismissed the challenge as a needless distraction at a moment when the party should be showing voters it can lead. 
 
 "It's time to put all this silliness behind and move on," said Rep. Phil Roe, R-Tenn. "We're on probation. If we don't perform ... (voters) can make a pivot in a heartbeat." 
 
 Nor did any of the rebels predict they would succeed in toppling the 65-year-old Boehner. Instead, they said the current high command wasn't conservative enough. 
 
 "I think we need to articulate a vision for the country, a vision for this conference," Yoho told reporters late Monday. "I threw my hat into the ring so people could have a choice and an alternative." 
 
 But Boehner's hand is strong after the Republicans' sweeping electoral triumph. The party will hold 246 House seats in the new Congress, to 188 for the Democrats, the biggest GOP majority in nearly 70 years. 
 
 Coupled with the commanding majority was word of the first retirement — New York Republican Chris Gibson announced he would step down at the end of his term. 
 
 The intraparty leadership struggle underscored the political peril facing Republicans as they looked ahead to two-house control of Congress. Yet the evident ability to pass the Keystone pipeline legislation showed their potential to advance an agenda. 
 
 Votes in a Senate committee and on the House floor were scheduled for later this week on the pipeline, which passed the House but died in a Democratic-led filibuster in the Senate late last year. Now, Republicans appear to have more than enough votes to clear it through the Senate as well, given the Republican pickup of nine seats in the elections. 
 
 While Obama has not said if he will reject the measure, White House spokesman Josh Earnest outlined a series of concerns with the pipeline. 
 
 But Republicans stand ready to cast the measure as a bipartisan jobs bill of the type that should be signed into law. 
 
 "There's a lot we can get done together if the president puts his famous pen to use signing bills rather than vetoing legislation his liberal allies don't like," McConnell said late last year. 
 
 Earnest, meanwhile, was less ambiguous about another issue. 
 
 Referring to an assertion by a Louisiana reporter, he said Rep. Steve Scalise of Louisiana, the third-ranking House GOP leader, had once described himself as "David Duke without the baggage." Earnest also said Scalise's presence in the leadership of House Republicans "says a lot about who they are." 
 
 Scalise spoke more than a dozen years ago to a white supremacist organization founded by Duke. The lawmaker said recently the appearance was a mistake and said he condemns the group's views. 
 
 ___ 
 
 Associated Press writers David Espo, Nedra Pickler, Chuck Babington and Stephen Ohlemacher contributed to this report. ||||| Immigration Mitch McConnell promises forceful immigration response The GOP leader did not specify what action his Republican Senate will take next year. 
 
 Incoming Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell promised on Thursday morning that Congress will respond forcefully in 2015 to President Barack Obama’s imminent executive action that will defer deportation for millions of undocumented immigrants. 
 
 In a blistering speech that quoted Obama’s past statements about his limited unilateral powers on the subject of immigration, the GOP leader did not specify what action that his Republican Senate will take next year, whether it be zeroing out funding for government agencies in a spending bill, taking the White House to court or taking a confrontational stance to the president’s nominees, as suggested by Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas). 
 
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 But the Kentucky senator vowed there will be a forceful response from Capitol Hill once his newly minted GOP majority takes over next year. 
 
 (Also on POLITICO: Obama to shield 5 million from deportation) 
 
 “He needs to understand something. If President Obama acts in defiance of the people and imposes his will on the country, Congress will act,” McConnell said ahead of a long Thanksgiving recess that begins Friday. “We’re considering a variety of options. But make no mistake. When the newly elected representatives of the people take their seats, they will act.” 
 
 McConnell’s remarks also serve to underscore his and other Republican leaders’ effort to avoid any whiff of the threat of a government shutdown when funding runs dry on Dec. 11. Instead, top Republicans are urging measured responses from their rank-and-file, hoping to avoid impeachment and shutdown talk as they mull how precisely they will respond to Obama’s actions and balance the demands of conservative Republicans agitating for a fiery confrontation. 
 
 “My belief is you can’t capitulate, but you need to push back smartly,” said Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.). “If you overreact, it becomes about us, not about President Obama.” 
 
 (Video: President Obama's full immigration address) 
 
 And by planning a response to the White House in 2015, McConnell also would accrue significantly more sway over Capitol Hill’s direction. Senate Democratic Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) still controls the floor until January — and both he and Republican leaders have said that in the current divided Congress they are essentially confined to considering whatever House Speaker John Boehner (R-Ohio) can muscle through his chamber to keep the government funded.
– The 114th Congress has convened with solid Republican majorities in both houses, Mitch McConnell as the new Senate majority leader, and John Boehner retaining his gavel in the House despite a Tea Party challenge. In what the AP calls "a day of pomp, circumstance, and raw politics," Joe Biden swore in new senators while Boehner loyalists moved to cut off what Politico seems to think is a small but growing opposition within his own ranks. Things to know about the 114th: Legislation: The GOP is looking to hit the ground running with legislation that approves construction of the Keystone XL pipeline, weakens ObamaCare, extends funding for Homeland Security at the cost of blocking President Obama's executive action on immigration, and cuts spending. More here. About that Keystone legislation: The White House wasted no time today in saying it would veto the Keystone bill in its current form. McConnell slid into his dream job: Per the AP, he said that "a lot of hard work awaits," but that "many important opportunities await too." Harry Reid stayed home: Reid, who hurt himself exercising last week, missed seeing McConnell take his old job. He "is in Washington, but on orders from his doctors he will not come into the office so that his injuries can continue to heal," a spokesman said, per Politico. Newbies: The Senate has 13 freshmen, while the House has 58, notes the AP.