Guillaume Seignac The Awakening of Psyche painting

A spokesman for Traficant said he had no plans of becoming a Republican, but may declare himself an independent. The Senate and House each held opening day sessions of several hours. The Senate reconvenes on Thursday. The House recessed until Saturday when the two chambers will hold a joint session to count the Electoral College votes that will formally make Bush the winner of the bitterly contested 2000 presidential race. Democrats and Republicans have already drawn battle lines over matters from tax cuts to education to some sort of power sharing in the Senate, where the two parties are split, 50-50. "It is quite often not easy to find consensus ... but we must try," Senate Republican leader Trent Lott of Mississippi declared.