Underscoring the sense of urgency, the House and Senate will start the session on a Sunday, for the first time on record. The Constitution dictates that Congress starts on Jan. 3, but in the past when the day has fallen on the weekend, lawmakers have come to an agreement to move the date to start during the workweek. But this year, Democrats wanted to start as early as possible, with the certification of Joe Biden’s election win set for Jan. 6 and Democrats wanting to avoid any recess appointments by President Trump, which could occur if there is any gap between sessions…

In 2018, 15 Democratic lawmakers, including one who is now a Republican, voted present or for someone other than Mrs. Pelosi on the floor. At least 10 of those Democrats are expected to come back in the next Congress, with one race in New York disputed. Some, like Reps. Jason Crow (D., Colo.) and Jim Cooper (D., Tenn.), plan to back Mrs. Pelosi for speaker in the new Congress. Rep. Jared Golden (D., Maine) plans to oppose Mrs. Pelosi for speaker. Others haven’t said whether their vote has changed…

While Mrs. Pelosi has expressed no concern about the vote, party leadership has stressed the importance of appearing in person, as proxy voting will expire with the current Congress and will need to be re-established by an in-person vote of the new Congress. The vote will likely be on partisan lines because Republicans are disputing the rule change in court.