G2G Bio Bulletin – November 9, 2026

Congress & 2026 Elections: Congress will return to session tomorrow following Democrats’ sweeping victories in Tuesday’s midterm elections, which will bring an end to unified Republican control of Washington when the 120^th Congress convenes in January.

• Top-lines:
  • House: Democrats have won at least 254 seats out of 435, with about half a dozen more likely to be called in their favor. When counting is complete, this will be the largest majority since the early 1990s for either party. Democrats also won by the largest popular vote margin since 1974, allowing them to neutralize the impacts of mid-decade redistricting favoring Republicans in North Carolina, Texas, Ohio and Florida. Notably, no Democratic House incumbent lost to a Republican challenger in the general election.
    • Senate: Democrats picked up seven seats, and are leading in two more races that are yet to be called. If this holds, they will have a 56-44 majority, which is significantly larger than the most pre-election projections. Notable pickups include Maine, where Troy Jackson defeated Appropriations Committee Chair Susan Collins who had held the seat for 30 years, Texas, where James Talarico defeated state Attorney General Ken Paxton, and Kansas, where Adam Hamilton defeated incumbent Senator Roger Marshall. No open Democratic-held seats flipped to Republicans, and all Democratic incumbents standing for reelection won.
    • State Offices: Democrats have flipped at least five state governorships and several state legislative chambers from Republican control, allowing them to form trifectas (single party executive and legislative branch control) in Pennsylvania, Michigan, Wisconsin, Minnesota, Arizona and Nevada. Democrats also broke Republican trifectas or legislative supermajorities in a handful of other states, and gained dozens of other state-wide offices across the country.
• New Members of Congress:
  • Members and Senators-Elect with Healthcare & STEM Backgrounds:
  • Senate:
    • Annie Andrews, MD (D-SC): Pediatrician and children's health advocate, particularly on vaccination
    • Abdul El-Sayed, MD (D-MI): Physician and epidemiologist with experience leading public health departments
  • House:
    • Richard Pan, MD (D-CA): Pediatrician and former state legislator with a background in public health policy
    • Adam Hamawy, MD (D-NJ): Plastic surgeon and former Army trauma surgeon
    • John Cowan, MD (R-GA): Neurosurgeon
    • Mitchell Berman, RN (D-WI): Registered nurse
    • Jasmine Clark, PhD (D-GA): Microbiologist and state legislator
    • Rebecca Bennett (D-NJ): Healthcare executive and Navy veteran with a background in chemical engineering
    • Amish Shah, MD (D-AZ): Emergency Medicine physician and former state legislator
    • Daniel Biss, PhD (D-IL): Mathematician and former mayor and state legislator
    • Kristina Knickerbocker (D-OH): Oncology nurse practitioner, Air Force veteran
    • Christina Bohannan (D-IA): Attorney and former state legislator with background in environmental engineering
    • Manny Rutinel (D-CO): Environmental attorney and state legislator with a background in microbiology and climate policy
    • Pia Dandiya (D-FL): Former technology executive and education leader
  • Demographics:
    • Women: The 120^th Congress will include a record number of women, with at least 159 assured of serving across both chambers in 2027, representing approximately 30% of all lawmakers. This includes 131 Democrats and 26 Republicans, with two additional House races yet to be called in which both major-party candidates are women. The overall increase is driven by gains in the House, where women's representation will reach a new high, while the Senate will see a drop in female representation.
    • Age: The makeup of the new Congress will reflect the trend toward a younger and more generationally diverse legislature, driven by significant retirements and electoral defeats of long-serving members. Notably, the incoming House class will include the first member born in the 2000s, Rep.-elect Michael Alfonso (R-WI).
• Congressional Leadership and Committee Changes: Democrats will set the legislative agenda, chair and maintain majorities on all congressional committees, and be able to exercise subpoena powers. The departure of incumbent members will also open slots on committees for returning and newly-elected lawmakers.
  • Democrats: House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-NY) has outlined the new majority's agenda for the first 100 days, which includes revival of expired ACA subsidies and reversing impacts to Medicaid cuts from OBBBA. Both he and Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) may face challenges in securing unanimous support from their caucuses to confirm their new roles as Speaker and Majority Leader, respectively.
  • Republicans: Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA) will not seek to lead House Republicans as they transition to the minority. Majority Leader Steve Scalise (R-LA) and Judiciary Committee Chairman Jim Jordan (R-OH) have announced bids to succeed him. Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R-SD) has said he will run again to continue on as the Republican leader.
  • House Oversight & Investigations Committee: The Ranking Member and Incoming Chair, Robert Garcia (D-CA) articulated that Trump Administration officials should seek legal representation, indicating his intent to focus committee activity on rigorous review of departmental leadership and policy, particularly in HHS and Defense.
  • House Energy & Commerce (E&C) Committee:
    • Health Subcommittee: Six Republicans and three Democrats on the subcommittee are leaving Congress. This group includes Ranking Member Diana DeGette (D-CO), so Democrats must choose a new candidate for Subcommittee Chair. Having won a tough reelection bid, Rep. Kathy Castor (D-FL) is seen as the favorite, followed by Rep. Raul Ruiz (D-CA), who is an emergency medicine physician.
    • Biosecurity & Pandemic Preparation: Rep. Richard Hudson (R-NC), a committee member and leader of the House Republicans' campaign arm, unexpectedly lost reelection. His departure is significant, since he had led efforts to reauthorize the Pandemic and All-Hazards Preparedness Act (PAHPA).
  • House Ways & Means (W&M) Committee:
    • Health Subcommittee: Both the Chair Vern Buchanan (R-FL) and Ranking Member Lloyd Doggett (D-TX) are leaving Congress, as are another Republican and two other Democrats. Two incumbent members are in close races that have yet to be called, and this includes the second highest ranking Democrat, Rep. Mike Thompson (D-CA) who is facing down an intra-party challenger.
  • Senate Finance Committee (SFC):
    • Priorities: The Ranking Member and Incoming Chair Ron Wyden (D-OR) has outlined his plan to hold oversight hearings with pharmaceutical and healthcare insurance executives to discuss their role in rising healthcare costs and marketplace consolidation, as well as their companies' engagements with the Administration, such as with White House-brokered drug pricing deals.
    • Health Subcommittee: Five of the eleven Republican members are leaving Congress, while all ten Democrats will be returning.
  • Senate Health Education Labor & Pensions (HELP) Committee:
    • Priorities: The Ranking Member and Incoming Chair Bernie Sanders (I-VT) will likely use his position to advance long-held policy goals like Medicare for All, and coordinate with SFC on investigations of and reform proposals for federal agencies.
    • Membership: Six Republicans including current Committee Chair Bill Cassidy, MD (R-LA) are leaving Congress. A potential successor to Cassidy is Sen. Rand Paul, MD (R-KY). All Democrats on Committee will continue in Congress.
  • Appropriations Committees:
    • House: Six Republican and three Democratic appropriators are leaving Congress. Rep. Julia Letlow (R-LA) is moving to the Senate, and Defense Subcommittee Chair Ken Calvert (R-CA) is in race that has yet to be called. The whole committee is expected to be chaired by current Ranking Member Rosa DeLauro (D-CT), who is also expected to lead the Labor Health & Human Services, Education & Related Agencies (LHHS) Subcommittee.
    • Senate: In addition to Chair Collins, three other Republican and three Democratic appropriators are leaving Congress. A fifth Republican, Sen. Cindy Hyde-Smith (R-MS) is in a close race that has yet to be called. Current Vice-Chair Patty Murray (D-WA) is expected to return to her previous role as Chair.
• Other Congressional Business & Lame-Duck Session:
  • House E&C Chair Brett Guthrie (R-KY) and Ranking Member Frank Pallone (D-NJ) have written to the Congressional Budget Office (CBO) requesting an analysis of the fiscal impact of the No Surprises Act, particularly the arbitration process, which has been linked to rising costs and unintended financial windfalls. Pallone also introduced legislation several weeks ago to eliminate arbitration as the prescribed dispute resolution mechanism.
  • The outgoing Congress must address many urgent legislative tasks with very limited time. This includes the National Defense Authorization (NDAA) and the FY 2027 appropriations packages, whose legislative processes Democrats now have more leverage over. Many expect that the current continuing resolution (CR) funding the government, which expires on December 11, will be followed by a second CR to carry over into new Congress. Democrats can then shape the final FY 2027 spending packages according to their priorities, and not those of the outgoing Republican majority.

Administration & Agencies:

• NIH: A federal judge has permitted a lawsuit against HHS filed by Dr. Jeanne Marazzo, the former Director of the National Institute for Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID), to proceed. Dr. Marrazzo alleges she was improperly fired in April of last year, after she raised the alarm about the Administration’s terminations of grants and clinical trials, which she contends were illegal and politically motivated.
• CMS: The agency has:
  • Finalized the 2027 Physician Fee Schedule, which notably does not reinstate a temporary increase to provider pay legislated by Congress, that has since expired.
  • Announced it has decertified two arbitration firms from handling claims filed under the No Surprises Act, citing their subpar performance.
  • Issued the Cutting Administrative Requirements for Excellence in Patient Care (CARE) proposed rule that centers on reduction of staffing requirements for participating providers in certain care settings, and is intended to save the government $320 M. The document also requests information from stakeholders on strategies on to improve the availability of organ transplants, reduce barriers critical access hospitals face in reporting data and anesthesia administration policy. Comments are due in the second full week of January.
  • Finalized its plan for the fourth cycle of the Medicare drug price negotiation program, that would cover 20 eligible drugs. The products will be announced on February 1, 2027, and would take effect in 2029. Among other provisions, the rule aims to set a price floor for biotech products developed by small firms, and target prices of combination products ineligible for negotiation, but whose formulations include eligible drugs.
  • Faced a lawsuit by biotech trade groups, seeking to halt implementation of the GLOBE Model, that seeks to tie Medicare Part B drug prices to most favored nation (MFN) levels. This follows a similar lawsuit by pharma trade groups filed a few weeks ago.
  • Faced a lawsuit by four Democratic attorneys general seeking to stop the federal government from withholding Medicaid funding to states that have not implemented work requirements mandated by OBBBA, by the statutory deadline of January 1.
• White House, Other HHS Agencies & Departments
  • ACA: A federal judge has issued a stay against the Administration’s implementation of a ban on the registration of new brokers and agents to support enrollees seeking to sign up for insurance coverage during the open enrollment that kicked off last Sunday.