Dem
47
GOP
53
A number of Donald Trump's initial acts have been designed very carefully to assert his dominance over Congress and others and make it clear that anyone disobeying him would pay a heavy price. First up was his choice of cabinet (and cabinet-level) nominees. Some of them, like Marco Rubio for secretary of state, were seen as mainstream and not problematic. Others, like Kristi Noem for homeland security, were more controversial, but at least plausible. But Pete Hegseth for secretary of defense and Tulsi Gabbard for DNI were direct challenges to the Senate. Trump was basically saying: "I know these people are totally unfit for office in every way. I don't care and I dare you to defy me."
Another example of Trump daring Congress to cross him was how he handled the TikTok situation. Congress passed a law banning TikTok if it wasn't sold to an American company by Jan. 19. The president was given the authority to delay the ban for 90 days if progress was being made on a sale. There was no progress and Trump delayed the ban anyway, law or no law, saying: "Congress, what are you going to do about it?" We can expect many more examples of Trump publicly asserting dominance over Congress and everyone else in his path going forward.
Big strong alpha male here, right? Not really. Bullying people who are in a weaker position than he is comes naturally to Trump (and see below). But when forced to make tough decisions, he tends to chicken out. Case in point: He wants an immigration bill and also a tax cut bill. Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA) wants one giant bill with everything in it. Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R-SD) wants separate bills. Each one has his reasons. This is a classic example of where presidential leadership is needed. Trump has to pick one strategy and tell both leaders this is what he wants and get both to agree. He can't do it, so there has been no progress on any bill.
The same is true of the debt limit. He needs to get it raised or abolished. Some Republicans want to include it in a reconciliation bill, which risks some members of the Freedom Caucus killing the bill. Other Republicans want to make a deal with the Democrats, giving them something in return for their support so the bill is not held hostage by the Freedom Caucus. Trump seems unable to break the logjam.
Still another hot-button issue is the SALT limit, which punishes blue states by limiting deductions for state and local taxes. Republican congressmen from New York and California have said they won't vote for the tax bill unless the limit is raised. Freedom Caucus members have said they will not vote for the bill if it is raised. Time for presidential action, no? Trump to Congress: "You figure it out." That's not leadership. That's cowardice and unwillingness to confront selected congressmen and read them the riot act.
Yet another issue is aid to Southern California on account of the wildfires. Some Republicans want to stick it to California and Gov. Gavin Newsom (D-CA) by attaching a bunch of unacceptable conditions to the aid to make Newsom eat dirt. Boy, would that feel good. But other Republicans know that there are hurricanes in Texas and Florida regularly and once the precedent has been set, a future Democratic House, Senate, or president could attach strings to any aid to them. Trump needs to make a decision here and order Republicans to follow it. He can't make a decision.
This has happened on other matters as well. When Republicans are fighting Democrats, he is sure to intervene but when Republicans are fighting other Republicans, that's when his leadership is needed and so far it has been wanting. Yesterday was only Day 3, but it is not a great start. (V)