In a shocking upset, Republicans will hold full legislative control of the federal government for at least two years: A majority in the House of Representatives, a majority in the Senate and, most shocking of all, the White House.
President-elect Donald Trump will be able to accomplish much of his agenda on his own, thanks to continuous expansions of executive power under previous presidents. He probably can’t build a wall without help from Congress, but he could crack down on illegal immigration more, especially through ending some of President Obama’s immigration executive actions. Trump could also reduce the number of refugees we accept, or even cut it down to zero.
But Trump will need help from Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., and Speaker of the House Paul Ryan, R-Wis., to accomplish much more. The kind of tax reform Trump wants will have to go through Congress. It will be up to McConnell and Ryan to make sure those reforms make sense and don’t worsen the national debt.
The same is true on free trade. Surely, United States participation in the Trans-Pacific Partnership is all but over with Trump’s election. But if he wants to take further actions, like raising trade tariffs, it will have to go through Congress. It’ll be up to Ryan and McConnell to ensure the country doesn’t enact damaging tariffs like the ones that exacerbated the Great Depression.
To fully repeal and replace Obamacare, Trump will have to work with Congress on replacement legislation. On his own, through what will be his Department of Health and Human Services, he can only make change around the edges.
On Twitter, some of the shocked comparisons to Brexit mentioned that the after the election, the United States won’t have someone like United Kingdom Prime Minister Theresa May, who opposed Brexit but was chosen as a moderate conservative who could guide the country through Brexit. True, Trump is Trump, and he’ll be the president.
But Ryan and McConnell will play a big part in guiding the country through his presidency.
Jason Russell is the contributors editor for the Washington Examiner.
