Congress returns to unfinished business and a new Trump era

WASHINGTON (AP) — Congress returns to a changed Washington as president-elect Donald Trump’s The hard right’s agenda is quickly taking shape, supported by eager Republican allies who keep an eye on a full agenda show of force on Capitol Hill as Democrats figure out what went wrong.

Even as the final election results continue to be tallied, the leadership of the House of Representatives and the Senate is moving forward toward a second term for Trump’s White House and what he calls a “mandate” for governing, with mass deportations, deregulation of industry and large-scale extermination of the federal government.

Trump is already testing the norms of governance during this presidential transition period – telling the Senate to abandon its advisory and consent role and simply accept his cabinet nominees – and he is man his administration and finding lawmakers willing to transform those civic traditions.

“Trump is going to do his deportations, the drilling, the wall — we all need to come together,” said Rep. Ralph Norman, R-S.C., a conservative member of the House Freedom Caucus.

But first, the leaders of the House of Representatives and the Senate will hold internal party elections for their own jobs this week. Most top Republican leaders depend on Trump for their political livelihood and have worked to do so get closer to the president-elect strengthen loyalty.

House Speaker Mike Johnsonwho is poised to retain a slim majority in the House with several House races still too early to call, his leadership team will gather early Tuesday on the Capitol steps for a victory lap and agenda-setting.

In the Senate, where Republicans seized power from Democrats on election night, there are three Republican senators vying to become the next GOP leader have hastily agreed to Trump’s plan for quick confirmation of presidential candidates.

“As Congress returns to Washington, we must do that prepare the Senate to advance that agenda legislatively and ensure that the President-elect can hit the ground running and his appointments are confirmed as quickly as possible,” GOP Sen. John Thune of South Dakota, who is seeking the leadership job, wrote in a Op-ed from Fox News. .

All told, it’s a fundamental overhaul not only of the centers of power in Washington, but also of the rules of government, as Trump returns to the White House in January with a potential Republican Party-led Congress that is far less skeptical or is more wary of his approach than eight American government leaders. years ago, and much more willing to support him.

“This is going to be a very challenging time,” said Rep. Pramila Jayapal, D-Wash., the chair of the Congressional Progressive Caucus.

She described the “heinous immigration policies” Trump promised voters and emphasized that progressives in Congress will exert “effective checks” on the new White House, just as Democrats did during his first term by opposing efforts to repeal the Affordable Care Act. and other policies.

At the same time, Jayapal warned that Trump will have “much fewer restrictions.”

“Our members are ready to take up the fight again,” she said, alongside a handful of newly elected progressive lawmakers she called the “bright lights” joining Congress.

The first tests will take place during the “lame duck” period of the remaining days of this Congress, the eight-week sprint until January 3, 2025, when the new lawmakers will be sworn in.

When lawmakers return this week, they will be joined by dozens of new names in the House of Representatives and Senate who are in town for freshman orientation weeks and private leadership elections scheduled for Wednesday.

But Republican senators are protesting that one of their own, newly elected Dave McCormick of Pennsylvania, is being excluded from orientation week by Senate Democratic Majority Leader Chuck Schumer because there are still uncounted ballots in his race. Schumer’s office has said the practice is to wait until all ballots have been counted.

The Senate leadership battle to replace retiring Republican leader Mitch McConnell is turning into a test of Trump’s loyalty, with the president-elect’s allies – including billionaire Elon Musk and Make America Great Again influencers – taking the lead. pushing senators to elect Senator Rick Scott of Florida.

But Scott was not the most popular candidate for the leadership post, and senators had rallied around the two “Johns”: Thune, the second-place Republican leader, and Sen. John Cornyn of Texas. The outcome of Wednesday’s private vote behind closed doors is highly uncertain.

In the House of Representatives, some conservative Republicans are quietly suggesting that their own leadership elections should be postponed until the final results of the House races are known. Democrats will later hold their leadership elections in the House and Senate.

Johnson wants to keep the gavel and told his colleagues in a letter last week that he is willing to “take to the field with them” to deliver on Trump’s agenda. But he is expected to meet opponents behind closed doors.

While Johnson only needs a simple majority in Wednesday’s closed-door vote to become the Republican Party’s nominee for chairman, he will need a 218-member majority in a House-wide vote in January.

A low vote total this week will show how much leverage Freedom Caucus members and others have to wring concessions from Johnson, just as they forced the then-chairman Kevin McCarthy to a lengthy vote for the gavel in 2023.

And while Johnson predicts that next year will see the launch of the “most consequential” presidency and Congress in modern times, he has struggled this year with Republicans refusing to go along with the plans, forcing the speaker to often collaborate to work with Democratic leader Hakeem Jeffries.

Johnson’s problems partly stem from his narrow majority, but that could continue if Trump continues to appeal to Republicans in the House of Representatives fill his administration. Trump has Rep. Elise StefanikRN.Y., Ambassador to the United Nations and Rep. Mike WaltzR-Fla., to become his national security adviser.

“We’ve accomplished pretty much everything,” said Rep. Ronny Jackson, R-Texas. “Everyone understands that.”

In the coming weeks, Congress faces a new deadline, December 20, to fund the federal government or risk a shutdown, and conservatives are redoubling their pressure on Johnson not to give in to their demands for spending cuts.

The House and Senate will also consider replenishing the Disaster Relief Fund to provide relief in the wake of hurricanes Helene And Milton.

And as President Joe Biden prepares to leave office and Democrats relinquish their hold on the Senate, there will be pressure to confirm more judicial nominees and push out any other bills that could potentially become law before Trump takes over .

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Associated Press writers Kevin Freking, Farnoush Amiri, Mary Clare Jalonick and Stephen Groves contributed to this report.