Donald Trump is making it clear he wants to bend the Republican-led Congress to his will, pushing the limits of what lawmakers will accept on staffing his Cabinet and also on looming questions of federal spending authority.
Round one in that fight — the Matt Gaetz saga — went to Senate Republicans. And it gives early hints of how GOP lawmakers may respond on spending and other controversial nominees.
“The Senate also has a responsibility for advice and consent — and in this particular case, I think there was advice offered, rather than consent,” Sen. Mike Rounds (R-S.D.) said shortly after Gaetz announced he was withdrawing his name from consideration for attorney general.
In that tumultuous episode, GOP senators pushed back privately, not publicly. Many were hesitant to vocally denounce his efforts, knowing the threat of Trump’s wrath and a potential primary challenge constantly shadow them. But they counseled him behind the scenes, hoping he’d acquiesce before they were forced to either bend or defy him outright.
Gaetz won’t be the last example that tests the strategy. Even with the Florida firebrand out, incoming Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R-S.D.) has a slew of problems over Trump’s controversial Cabinet nominees — including sexual assault allegations against Pete Hegseth, who Trump tapped to lead the Department of Defense — as the incoming president leans on Congress to let him circumvent the Senate’s confirmation authority and make recess appointments.
And then there’s spending, arguably Congress’ most important responsibility. Speaker Mike Johnson has kept the House in limbo as he defers to Trump on his preferences for a funding deal, and a shutdown deadline is quickly approaching. Johnson and appropriators have a potentially bigger challenge soon, as the incoming president’s out-of-government allies have made it clear they want to go around Congress’ constitutionally guaranteed power to control federal spending.
“I think we should defend Article One. We’re an equal branch of government. I support probably 80 percent or 90 percent of the policies, but it’s going to be in the Article One vs. Article Two framework,” Rep. Don Bacon (R-Neb.) said about the relationship between Trump and Hill Republicans. Those two articles of the Constitution establish the legislative and executive branch, respectively.
Trump’s anticipated return to Washington is poised to look much different than his arrival…
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