After a shocking, historic upset, Donald Trump will enter the White House with a mandate. Heavy on bravado and light on specifics, the rookie politician needs one thing. After hundreds of reform promises and few details, he needs a big beautiful plan.
Luckily for Trump, House Speaker Paul Ryan has been preparing a comprehensive legislative agenda for the last year. Dubbed “A Better Way,” that conservative policy agenda could become mainstream.
Ryan’s proposal offers the nuts and bolts for repeal of Obamacare, rollback of Dodd-Frank and tax reform. And if the GOP can manage a quick detente, Trump could potentially wipe out much of Obama’s eight-year legacy in his first 100 days.
Of course, that if is a big “yuge.” But it’s definitely possible.
Republicans already primed the parliamentary pump necessary to steamroll Democrats. A simple budget tool called reconciliation would be key. Under reconciliation, a simple majority can neutralize the threat of a filibuster and pass a bill.
The GOP ran this power play in 2015 to send an Obamacare repeal bill to the president’s desk. There’s no reason they couldn’t do it again. In control of both chambers of Congress, that’s not Republican grandstanding. It’s a workable plan.
Ryan might never see his policy papers turned into legislation, though. His tepid support of Trump could make the speaker an unacceptable quarterback. A close Trump ally, Sean Hannity, renewed calls for Ryan’s head Tuesday night, even though the speaker campaigned to deliver the Badger State.
But if the chaos candidate can’t make nice with the Wisconsin wonk, their animosity doesn’t have to sink a Republican agenda. Ryan could also hand off his agenda to a new speaker.
Thanks to Trump, the party is unified on paper. From a red v. blue perspective, divided government is over. If Republicans are looking for a rallying point, Trump could follow Ryan’s lead. That doesn’t seem likely but it’s definitely possible.
Philip Wegmann is a commentary writer for the Washington Examiner.
