“NY Times” – Politics – Trump Republicans Congress Power Time: March 14, 2025.
In 2025, as President Trump’s tenure nears its end and the world has experienced an uptick in conflict and economic uncertainty, a fractured Republican Party has made it nearly impossible for lawmakers to enact major legislation, leaving them adrift in the wake of a significant shift in the balance of power on Capitol Hill.
Hampered by deep divisions within their ranks and struggles with civility and leadership, and unable to gain consensus even on issues that traditionally unite conservatives, Republicans have watched their spending and legislative priorities buckle under the might of an increasingly assertive Congress and a potent president.
The situation “has created a major potentially long-term headache for the federal budget” and “a healthy set of headaches for President Trump as he struggles to get his people in place,” according to Mary Kathleen Flynn, a legislative analyst at The MSU Policy Center, who wrote an analysis of the current state of affairs for “Fiscal Principles,” an online publication published by Morgan Stanley.
The ongoing conflict between Congress and the White House has not only stymied an ambitious legislative agenda for the Trump administration, but has also put several major spending bills in jeopardy for the current fiscal year, which began on Oct. 1.
Numerous House Republicans have been pushing a hard right, while Democrats and moderate Republicans have opposed key elements, including proposed cuts to domestic programs, a wish list of what the White House terms “reverse Obamacare” measures, and border security funding for an infrastructure project that crosses four border districts in Arizona.
In total, the House Republican leadership is seeking to spend $21.5 billion less than previous year’s appropriations — an 8.4 percent cut. But that is far less than the 26-percent cut that the Senate Budget Committee voted for last month.
For Republicans seeking to get their priorities passed, the situation has become increasingly desperate. The ongoing standoff highlighted by the Senate’s rejection last week of the sweeping budget and debt limit extension bill, which controlled both chambers of Congress, appears to be a bellwether for the next two years, as the parties struggle to find common ground on issues that have been part of their contentious relationship since the 2016 election.
For the GOP, this has meant largely having to rely on executive action, both inside and outside of Washington, to get things done.
While Trump has been criticized for his pardon of former National Security Adviser Michael Flynn, who faces significant legal jeopardy for his contact with Russian officials during the 2016 presidential campaign, as well as his efforts to declassify sensitive information — something senior intelligence officials have long warned could expose national security secrets — to make the country’s security agencies more accountable to the general public, his administration has built up a significant legislative record.
According to the White House’s own figures, the president has signed more bills into law than any point in his presidency during any year of his campaign.
This includes repealing the Affordable Care Act (better known in its nickname “Obamacare”), unleashing a flood of consumer credit, and taking action to help the wine and spirits industry.
In addition to passing a significant tax reform bill, also known as the “Tax Cuts and Jobs Act” late last year, Republicans have also been successful in building a bipartisan coalition to axe the $38 billion “minibus” spending bill that includes funding for major defense projects, including building a new president’s helicopter landing pad at Andrews Air Force Base.
Congress also passed and signed into law a major infrastructure bill that includes $10 billion in new funding for highways, as well as a “$1 billion study to develop a nationwide network of fast charging stations” for electric vehicles, according to the bill’s sponsors.
But for Republicans who see their mission in political terms — namely, winning elections — their priorities appear to be in peril as they struggle to overcome deep divisions within their ranks.
Democrats, who hold the upper chamber through at least one more election cycle, have the potential to further their agenda against Trump’s and the GOP’s, who are facing the steepest electoral challenge in decades.
Senator Schumer of New York, the Senate minority leader, has called for non-partisan reforms to ethics laws and campaign finance rules, along with a “bigger, bolder” infrastructure plan that is consistent with the wishes of voters across the country, who have indicated their overwhelming support for infrastructure spending “that truly makes our nation great,” he said.
In the House, Democrats have won overwhelming majorities on key issues, including campaign finance reform, increased protections for internet privacy, criminal justice reform, and increased minimum wage.
Trump’s recent decision to fire Acting Attorney General Sally Q. Yates — who had overseen a major federal investigation into Russian operatives, who are accused of attempting to influence the 2016 presidential election — has prompted a cascade of controversies, with several major media organizations reporting on the resignation of Acting Attorney General Rod Rosenstein, who had been presiding over the investigation, and the demand for his ouster from various high-ranking government officials.
Meanwhile, as the president struggles to reduce spending, “the Trump administration continues to struggle with the financial strains facing federal budgets,” according to Philip Verleger, who retired from his post as head of policy research at the American Petroleum Institute and who has written extensively on the oil market.
Federal spending, which currently accounts for 6 percent of GDP, is projected to remain at 4.5 percent in 2020, and is on track to continue climbing as the economy slows and deficits balloon.
At the same time, the president’s executive actions are likely to impede rather than improve fiscal policy, given that they could undermine an already tenuous budget process and hinder Trump’s ability to achieve major legislative victories under a divided government.
In short, as Republicans batten down the hatches on Capitol Hill, the future of America’s fiscal health, and the success of the Trump administration, rests on whether they can find a solution to their growing gridlock.
“The Trump presidency reflects a realignment, not merely of the Republican Party, but of the American electorate itself,” notes Andrew Krueger, an associate professor of political science at St. Olaf College.
“Americans are increasingly identifying with the parties they perceive as better fit for them, whether Democratic or Republican, and are less likely to lump themselves in with the traditional party majority,” he said.
“This has allowed the Republican insurgency to springboard itself from a position of institutional weakness to one of political strength.”
At the same time, the Democrats appear poised to agenda-set, with organized progressive caucuses and a unified message that promises to drown out the president’s more bombastic rhetoric.
“In this fractured environment, it seems only natural that the Democratic caucus — led by California’s Nancy Pelosi — increasingly looks to the party’s House minority as a strategic asset,” Krueger declared.
“The House Democrats offer a signal that while the GOP is struggling to govern in the aftermath of their unexpected electoral victory, the Democrats are capitalizing on the topsy-turvy political landscape to move their agenda forward.”
As policymakers grapple with how best to approach the political and institutional challenges ahead, they might do well to remember the words of former presidential candidate Hillary Clinton: “Breaking through gridlock and division in politics is not magic.
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