To be confirmed as health secretary, Robert F. Kennedy Jr. can afford to lose no more than three Republican votes if all Democrats are united in their opposition to him.
The measure, which would require that medical providers resuscitate infants born alive during abortions, has no path to enactment after Democrats blocked it this week.
Representative Sarah McBride did not run for Congress emphasizing L.G.B.T.Q. issues. But since her arrival in Washington, her identity has come under attack from newly empowered Republicans.
The New York senator, who swallowed concerns for months and then stalled for time on sharing them with President Biden, ultimately told him he risked going down as one of the โdarkest figures.โ
President Bidenโs remarks were largely a symbolic gesture of support for a century-long campaign to enshrine gender equality into the Constitution. But advocates said they could add heft to a future legal fight.
Republicansโ decision to push through the measure early in the new Congress indicated their belief that the issue is politically potent for them. Its future in the Senate is uncertain.
The Pennsylvania Democrat is the first senator in his party to announce a meeting with President-elect Donald J. Trump, a sign of the political times as the Republican trifecta is about to begin.
Vice President Kamala D. Harris presided over the certification of her own loss without disputing it, and Democrats made no move to challenge the results.