Although ardent liberal powerhouse Rep. Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., will now take office as the next speaker of the House of Representatives, you should expect the new Democratic majority to work with President Trump on at least some issues.
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For a start, Pelosi will want to show that Democrats are capable of governing. One of the lessons of the Democratic Party’s 2016 election debacle was that too many voters saw Barack Obama, Harry Reid, and Pelosi as having failed to move the nation forward. President Trump was notably able to capture this sentiment of the “ignored and forgotten” and mobilize it into his own campaign.
Pelosi knows that in order to overcome this sentiment and return to power, Democrats must take back control of Congress and the White House. And she knows that achieving that objective first requires broadening the Democratic Party’s appeal. That means winning independent voters, and winning independent voters means showing that a party can get things done!
Beyond the political strategy, there are other good reasons why Trump and Pelosi will be able to work together. Enter a national infrastructure program. Trump has frequently referenced his ambition of a massive infrastructure program, he has been obstructed by congressional Republicans who fear that such a program would blow up the deficit and deliver inefficient, unreliable returns on investment.
But now it looks like Trump has a Democratic House of Representatives that is far more predisposed to domestic spending. And considering that the president has shown willingness to cut deals with Democrats against the wishes of Republican congressional leaders, a Trump-Pelosi infrastructure bill is far from unfeasible.
Finally, Trump has an interest in showing that he can work with Democrats. Everything we have learned about the president over the past two years suggests his ultimate priority is the retention of his own power. Obviously that requires Trump to win re-election in 2020. In turn, Trump must appeal to independent voters in the way that he did in 2016.
While Trump’s furious rhetoric against Democrats suggests he might run a partisan campaign in 2020, I think it far more likely that Trump will attempt to match his populist rhetoric with a more conciliatory edge defined by deals with Democrats. Again, Trump is a political chameleon: he will change colors relentlessly if he believes it is in his interest to do so. Certainly Trump feels in a better position to work with Democrats now that he would have in January 2017: the GOP is now Trump’s party.
Yes, a Pelosi-Trump cooperative agreement might seem strange. But at this odd moment of our history, both leaders have vested interests in occasional acts of substantive cooperation. Deficit hawks should prepare to weep.
