The blue seats in Germany's parliament are being moved to match voters' choices

BERLIN (AP) — German voters have had their say. Now their verdict is being turned into reality underneath the glass dome of Berlin's landmark Reichstag building.

Workers on Wednesday rearranged the blue seats in the chamber of the lower house of parliament, or Bundestag.

After each election, the chairs and desks are unscrewed and put back into place to reflect the results, with aisles demarcating the seats held by different parties.

After the Feb. 23 election, there will be five groups in the new parliament. Lawmakers from the strengthened far-right, anti-immigration Alternative for Germany will sit at one end of the semicircle of seats, with the Left Party at the other end and center-right and center-left parties in between.

There are two parties fewer than in the old parliament after the pro-business Free Democrats and the Sahra Wagenknecht Alliance lost their seats last month. The total number of lawmakers also fell to 630 from 733 because of a change to electoral laws.

The Bundestag sat in Bonn for half a century after the birth in 1949 of the Federal Republic of Germany — then West Germany, now the reunited country. In 1999, nearly a decade after reunification, lawmakers moved to the Reichstag in Berlin, which had been transformed with the glass cupola designed by British architect Norman Foster.

The 21st Bundestag will hold its first session Tuesday. It's unclear when it will elect a new chancellor, since election winner Friedrich Merz is still in talks to form a coalition government.

But it is expected to elect its new speaker. The strongest party traditionally takes that job, and Merz's conservative Union bloc has nominated prominent lawmaker Julia Klöckner.

Unusually, the outgoing Bundestag worked until the very last moment. On Tuesday, it approved plans to loosen Germany's strict debt rules to enable higher defense spending and set up an enormous fund for investment in its creaking infrastructure.

Outgoing speaker Bärbel Bas thanked the workers who would rearrange the chamber “in overtime and at the weekend” as she closed Tuesday's special session.

A worker prepares the hall for the new seating of the federal parliament Bundestag at the Reichstag building in Berlin, Germany, Wednesday, March 19, 2025. (AP Photo/Markus Schreiber)

A worker prepares the hall for the new seating of the federal parliament Bundestag at the Reichstag building in Berlin, Germany, Wednesday, March 19, 2025. (AP Photo/Markus Schreiber)

German opposition leader and Christian Democratic Union party chairman Friedrich Merz, right, speaks during a debate and voting about loosen the country's debt rules and change constitution in the German Parliament Bundestag in Berlin, Germany, Tuesday, March 18, 2025. (AP Photo/Ebrahim Noroozi)

German opposition leader and Christian Democratic Union party chairman Friedrich Merz, right, speaks during a debate and voting about loosen the country's debt rules and change constitution in the German Parliament Bundestag in Berlin, Germany, Tuesday, March 18, 2025. (AP Photo/Ebrahim Noroozi)

German opposition leader and Christian Democratic Union party chairman Friedrich Merz , right, talks to a law maker after a debate and voting about loosen the country's debt rules and change constitution in the German Parliament Bundestag in Berlin, Germany, Tuesday, March 18, 2025. (AP Photo/Ebrahim Noroozi)

Media surround a worker as he removes a seat during the set-up for the new seating of the federal parliament Bundestag at the Reichstag building in Berlin, Germany, Wednesday, March 19, 2025. (AP Photo/Markus Schreiber)

A worker removes a seat during the set-up for the new seating of the federal parliament Bundestag at the Reichstag building in Berlin, Wednesday, March 19, 2025. (AP Photo/Markus Schreiber)

A worker removes a seat during the set-up for the new seating of the federal parliament Bundestag at the Reichstag building in Berlin, Germany, Wednesday, March 19, 2025. (AP Photo/Markus Schreiber)

A worker removes a seat during the set-up for the new seating of the federal parliament Bundestag at the Reichstag building in Berlin, Wednesday, March 19, 2025. (AP Photo/Markus Schreiber)

SOUTHAMPTON, N.Y. (AP) — Bryson DeChambeau spent a big part of the first day of the U.S. Open on the leaderboard. He spent most of the second day wondering if those trains pulling into the nearby Long Island Rail Road station were coming for him.

Two ugly three-putts led to a pair of double bogeys early in Friday's round for DeChambeau and he never recovered. He shot 5-over 75 to finish at 145 and lead an all-star cast of former U.S. Open champions who fell short of the cut line, which landed at 144.

DeChambeau, the 2020 and ‘24 champion, failed to make the top 60 and has now missed the weekend at all three majors this year. He joined 2017 and ’18 winner Brooks Koepka, 2021 winner Jon Rahm and defending champion J.J. Spaun on the sideline for the weekend where Wyndham Clark, the 2023 champ, will start with a four-shot lead at 7 under.

Koepka shot 77 to miss by six and snap the longest active streak of 11 straight made cuts at the U.S. Open.

Rahm also spent some time on the leaderboard Thursday and looked like a good bet for the weekend when he made the turn Friday. A string of four straight bogeys and a double on the back nine sent him packing with a 78 that left him two shots short of the cut.

Spaun shot 7-over 77 in the first round and not even his eagle on the par-5 fifth toward the end of the day kept him from being a bit player in the threesome featuring Scottie Scheffler, who shot 68 to head into the weekend at 140. Spaun missed by four.

As always, the cut produced its distinct brand of drama as the sun began to set on Shinnecock.

A lot of it revolved around Dylan Wu. After he made a bogey on the par-5 16th, the cut line jumped from 3 to 4 over. He was sitting in the rough off the 18th fairway with these possibilities: make par to make the cut at 4 over; make birdie to push the number back to 3 over, costing 12 other players spots for the weekend; or make bogey and miss the cut himself.

He lashed the shot over the green and finished a delicate up and down with a 7-foot putt, meaning he'll be one of the 72 players with tee times Saturday.

Other notables:

— Harris English couldn't cash in for birdie from 35 feet on No. 9 and missed his first cut in 11 appearances at the Open.

— Chris Gotterup needed a 6-footer on 18 to make it on the number.

— Jacob Bridgeman locked down a two-putt par from 70 feet on No. 18 to make it on the number.

Nobody went through more of a roller coaster than Patrick Reed, who finished his round on the front nine. He made double bogey on No. 4 to fall to 6 over, but answered with an eagle on the par-5 fifth to get back on the number. He bogeyed No. 8 and needed a birdie from 50 feet on his last hole, which barely came up short.

It marked only the second missed weekend in 12 U.S. Opens for the 2018 Masters champion, who is eligible to return to the PGA Tour in August after moving to LIV Golf in 2022.

AP golf: https://apnews.com/hub/golf

Brooks Koepka waves after his putt on the 10th hole during the second round of the U.S. Open golf tournament at Shinnecock Hills Golf Club in Southampton, N.Y., Friday, June 19, 2026.(AP Photo/Seth Wenig)

Jon Rahm, of Spain, waves after his putt on the 18th hole during the first round of the U.S. Open golf tournament at Shinnecock Hills Golf Club in Southampton, N.Y., Thursday, June 18, 2026.(AP Photo/Gerald Herbert)

Bryson DeChambeau walks to the tee on the 15th hole during the first round of the U.S. Open golf tournament at Shinnecock Hills Golf Club in Southampton, N.Y., Thursday, June 18, 2026.(AP Photo/George Walker IV)