Expert suggests Trump build ‘reliable majority’ to take advantage of GOP lead in Congress
COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ)
With Republicans set to flip the Senate and the majority in the House of Representatives being up for grabs, Republicans may have a substantial pull.
However, experts warn that this is easier said than done. As the GOP is set to take the Senate majority for the first time in four years, enthusiasm for the party's future is high.
"We voted to save the United States of America," Sen., Josh Hawley (R-MO) said on Election Night after winning his reelection bid over Lucas Kunce. "That's what this election has been about from Day 1, and I don't know how the rest of the country is going to vote, but I have to tell you, it's looking pretty good, isn't it?"
However, according to University of Missouri Professor Charles Zug, even if Republicans gain control of all branches of government it is not guaranteed that Trump will have an easier time in office.
"So theoretically, it's much easier to pass policies and affect policy change if one party has control over multiple institutions," Zug said. "That being said, in that situation, it all comes down to how well the party that's in control is able to work with its own members."
Zug said that, while appearing large on the surface, majorities tend to be fairly small as party coordination is necessary. For any congressional majority, regardless of political party, 100% agreement between members is hard to achieve, and in-fighting can make or break the group's legislative power.
An example of this was in January 2023 when it took the House of Representatives four days and 15 rounds of voting to elect former Speaker of the House Kevin McCarthy (R-CA) due to conflicting opinions within the Republican House majority. The same occurred for current Speaker of the House Mike Johnson (R-Louisiana) after McCarthy was ousted.
Zug adds that Trump has had a history of clashing with some Republican politicians and being a contentious topic within the party.
"Trump is, among other things, not particularly adept at building reliable majorities or holding reliable majorities together."
Trump entered his first term in 2017 with majorities in the House and Senate. Infighting plagued the party during that period, with a highlight being the late Sen. John McCain (R-AZ) voting against the attempt to overturn the Affordable Care Act in 2017.
Zug predicts that Trump may change his focus to executive orders instead of passing legislation and is expecting illegal immigration and the border to be the first topic on the table.
"What I would expect to see is a good number of unilateral presidential actions, so the president issuing executive orders to agencies in policy areas that he wants to change," Zug said. "I would expect to see is the president trying to do something about the border, if he can't do that, then giving executive orders to homeland security, immigration and customs, even the military."
Zug also expects Trump to take action on the war in Ukraine, nominate Supreme Court judges, and issue presidential pardons, however, it is still too early to say how the legislative branch will function.
"I don't want to try to predict any of that stuff, there's obviously higher likelihood that the Republicans will be able to actually pass legislation, given that there's a good chance they will have control over the legislature and the presidency," Zug said.
