To the degree that an individual Senator can impact the nation’s agenda, Brown’s election had significant domestic implications.

During the election, the economy’s slow recovery and a perception of increased government spending provided significant traction for the Brown campaign. Immediately following the election, the Obama administration sought to focus its rhetoric and efforts on job creation legislation, to assist the ailing economy. In his State of the Union speech, given eight days after the Massachusetts election, the economy was the first topic the president mentioned. Barack Obama stated that ‘jobs must be our number one focus in 2010’ and announced a new ‘jobs bill’. This bill is additional to an earlier one, which passed the Senate with Senator Brown’s vote on February 22.

The sudden and deliberate emphasis on the economy means that some previous legislative priorities, such as as energy legislation, including a cap and trade scheme (H.R.2454  – American Clean Energy and Security Act of 2009) and financial regulatory reform (H.R.4173 – Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act of 2009) will be pushed down the legislative agenda. Both bills passed the House before Brown was elected to the Senate.

While the president stated he would assist ‘bipartisan effort in the Senate’ to get the Clean Energy and Security Act passed, without binding carbon targets in the aftermath of the Copenhagen conference, and following Senator Brown’s arrival, the Act is unlikely to include a Cap and Trade scheme, if it passes the Senate at all. The president has urged the Senate to pass financial reform legislation, although emboldened Republican opposition will likely force significant changes to the bill, if it passes committee vote and makes it to the floor.

Brown’s election also radically altered the course of the healthcare reform debate. Following Senate passage of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act on 24 December, it appeared extremely likely that after a conference of the House and Senate bills, the administration and senior Democratic party leadership would achieve widespread reform. The clear support for Brown and his pledge to be the 41st vote against final passage for a reform Act led to a turnaround, with administration and congressional leaders stepping back from major healthcare reform.

A renewed push to pass a reform bill has since been launched. The president has pleaded with Congress not to ‘walk away from reform’, however it is difficult to discern how his administration or the Democratic leadership will move ahead. The president convened a conference with the Republican party on February 25, and shortly before Brown’s election, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi stated that ‘We will have health care one way or another’. Given that the bill remains strongly opposed in the electorate, the content and coverage of further bills is uncertain.

Although foreign policy was not a significant factor in the campaign or election, Scott Brown made strong arguments against the trying of accused terrorists in civilian courts. This has buttressed increasing criticism of the administration’s policy to try those accused of involvement in the September 11 attacks in civilian courts in New York City. On the campaign trail, Brown continually argued that accused terrorists should not be given the same rights as citizens during trial, and that they should be tried by overseas military tribunals. Shortly after the election, senior administration officials and the Mayor of New York City retracted their support for New York City trials.

Further, in a speech at The Heritage Foundation on February 3, Senate Minority leader Mitch McConnell argued strongly that the venue for such trials should be Guantanamo Bay. Again, it is difficult to discern the approach the administration and party leaders will take, but it is likely that continuing strong Republican opposition will figure in decisions as to the location of the trials of accused terrorists.

Scott Brown was sworn in on 4 February 2010. To the extent that it is possible for a single Senator to reshape the domestic political agenda, his election has done so, and the implications of his taking a long-held and reliable Democratic seat will continue to be felt as the administration seeks to revive the economy, reform health care and serve justice in the case against terrorism.

James Boyers is a graduate student at the ANU and recently completed an internship in the office of Senator Richard Lugar, the ranking Republican member of the US Senate Foreign Relations Committee.