Republicans, on brink of governing ‘trifecta,’ look to overhaul Washington

Republican lawmakers will return to Capitol Hill on Tuesday with some spring in their step.

After winning the presidency and the Senate majority, the party is on the cusp of regaining the House majority - and with it, a powerful governing “trifecta” in Washington.

Though control of the House may not be called for days, GOP lawmakers will this week work on the assumption they’ve clinched it, pushing ahead with House leadership elections and shaping plans to reverse or overhaul much of the Biden administration’s domestic and foreign policy.

“We’re going to raise an America First banner above this place,” Speaker Mike Johnson (R-Louisiana) said Tuesday on Capitol Hill.

Republicans in the House and Senate, he said, have a mandate to implement Trump’s policies. Johnson said he plans to spend the weekend at Mar-a-Lago “to iron out details on the plans ahead,” including lowering costs, significantly scaling back environmental regulations, and ending “wokeness and radical gender ideology.”

Republican lawmakers have said that their first priority for the 119th Congress will be passing policies aimed a securing the southern border. A top candidate to lead Senate Republicans vowed Monday to “take a hatchet to the regulatory apparatus” as the conference’s second priority. They also plan to quickly reauthorize President-elect Donald Trump’s 2017 tax law and other budgetary measures.

One question is how Trump will seek to shape the agenda. Trump quickly made clear he wants the Republican-led Senate to bend to his will when it comes to his appointments, asserting that he plans to go around the chamber for some nominees. His allies, meanwhile, loudly lined up behind Sen. Rick Scott (Florida) for GOP leader, although Trump himself has not endorsed in the secret-ballot race.

Democratic lawmakers, who maintain that they still have a narrow path to the House majority, will be focused this week on confirming as many judges as possible in the Senate in the dwindling days of their majority.

There are about two dozen judicial nominations already awaiting votes in the Senate Judiciary Committee and on the Senate floor, but some of them do not have bipartisan support, making their path more difficult.

“We are going to get as many done as we can,” Senate Majority Leader Charles E. Schumer (D-New York) said in a statement on Monday.

House Democrats plan on having “soul searching” conversations about how the party should move ahead. “From our perspective as House Democrats, I think we’re going to have a family conversation that’s going to be clear-eyed, candid, and comprehensive to figure out what happened on election night,” Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-New York) told CBS Mornings Tuesday.

Republican leadership elections

Republican lawmakers’ first order of business this week will be electing House and Senate leadership.

Republicans overwhelmingly expect Speaker Mike Johnson (R-Louisiana), Majority Leader Steve Scalise (R-Louisiana), and Majority Whip Tom Emmer (R-Minnesota), all Trump allies, to be reelected to their leadership posts on Wednesday - whether the House has been called. Some hard-liners may push to delay elections until the majority is called or finalize the rules that would dictate the House next term before choosing who would lead.

The new Senate majority - which is likely to include 53 seats, pending the outcome in Pennsylvania - will on Wednesday pick new leadership after 18 years under Sen. Mitch McConnell (R-Kentucky), who frequently sparred with Trump.

Three candidates are vying to get elected in the secret-ballot election, and all are touting their relationship with, and deference to, the president-elect.

Scott has cast himself as the true Trump ally in the race and picked up powerful MAGA momentum in recent days, boasting endorsements from billionaire Elon Musk, former Fox News personality Tucker Carlson, Trump backer Robert F. Kennedy Jr. and at least five senators.

“I’m very optimistic that I’m going to win because I’m representing Trump’s agenda and what my colleagues want,” Scott said on Fox News on Monday.

But Trump himself has not endorsed a candidate yet, and the grassroots fervor could benefit the two other more establishment candidates in the race, given some senators may feel alienated by the online pressure campaign.

Sen. John Thune (R-South Dakota), the current No. 2 Senate Republican, and Sen. John Cornyn (R-Texas) have been lobbying their fellow senators for months, and both have promised a shift from how McConnell has run things.

Thune and his allies have publicly urged Trump not to put his finger on the scale of the race, and so far the president-elect has held back.

Trump has, however, urged senators to allow him to bypass their approval and appoint his nominees without a Senate vote.

“Any Republican Senator seeking the coveted LEADERSHIP position in the United States Senate must agree to Recess Appointments (in the Senate!), without which we will not be able to get people confirmed in a timely manner,” he wrote on Truth Social on Sunday.

All three leadership candidates quickly said allowing recess appointments, which requires the Senate to be adjourned for at least 10 days while the president unilaterally appoints nominees, would be an option they would consider.

Such a move could allow Trump to push through controversial nominees who do not have the support of all Republicans.

Plans for the months ahead

Both the House and Senate will also begin earnest negotiations to address several must-pass bills by the end of the year.

Now that Republicans are poised to hold both majorities next year, lawmakers may extend fiscal levels, which are set to expire Dec. 20, until March. This would theoretically allow the Senate some time to focus on confirming a number of Trump’s Cabinet officials in the first 100 days.

Since a small bloc of House Republicans continues to oppose short-term spending bills, Johnson may once again need to rely on House Democrats to fund the government. His willingness to work with Democrats has angered some hard-right Republicans, though Trump has stood by the speaker throughout.

Lawmakers will also have to reauthorize laws addressing the country’s agriculture and defense by the end of the year and appropriate more funds to help those recovering from recent hurricanes and fires.

It is possible disaster relief will be passed next month alongside a bill extending government funding, according to two people familiar with the early negotiations, who spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss private conversations.