Reporter's Notebook: Congress braces for post-election game of musical chairs as leadership battles loom

Capitol Hill is about to embark on a biennial game of musical chairs.

Everyone needs to find a seat when the music stops. Those who don’t are out.

There are four sets of leadership elections pending in Congress over the next few weeks. House Republicans and Democrats will pick their top leaders. The same with Senate Republicans and Democrats. The entire House must elect a speaker when the new Congress convenes on Jan. 3. The full Senate chooses the majority leader. That’s decided individually by the majority party in the Senate.