President-elect Trump wields tremendous power among Republicans in both houses of Congress, but his struggle to persuade them to bend to his will on the debt ceiling shows that it has its limits. Suggests.
Thirty-eight conservative Republicans on Thursday voted against stopgap funding measures, including a two-year suspension of the debt ceiling, saying they could not agree to such a request without offsetting spending cuts.
The House on Friday advanced a stopgap measure that would not raise the debt ceiling at all, effectively going against President Trump's wishes. Republicans have said they will seek to address the debt ceiling as part of next year's two budget proposals that advance President Trump's policies while cutting government spending.
It was an unusual moment in Washington after the president-elect won the White House for the second time on a strong run and with little opposition from his own party.
Republican lawmakers who spoke to The Hill said they had their own reasons why the debt increase wasn't included in the spending bill. However, some point out that the overall unity of the Republican Party is currently declining compared to President Trump's first term. And the Republican majority in the House will also matter.
“When I was there, the margins were bigger, but they weren't that big. We had a bigger team,” said former Congresswoman Shelley Moore Capito (R-Va.). .
She said her mindset as a congresswoman is “let's help the team.”
“Unfortunately, that spirit is no longer there,” she said of the House today.
To be sure, that vote was not an indictment of President Trump's power. Regardless of who is pursuing it, there is a group of conservative Republicans who oppose both raising the debt ceiling and any form of continuing resolution (CR).
But Trump not only supported the proposal, he threatened to challenge anyone who voted “no” in the primary.
“I don't think that necessarily portends the president losing power,” Capito said. “I think so. [House Republicans] You are asserting yourself. ”
In the Senate, President Trump is trying to get senators to do his bidding when it comes to nominations to his administration.
Gaetz withdrew his name from the list just a week later, after many members of Congress announced they would not support former Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-Fla.) to become attorney general.
This is another example of Republicans disobeying President Trump's wishes, but the administration has since made a comeback of sorts.
When Pete Hegseth's nomination as Secretary of Defense began to stall, Trump and the MAGA forces helped bring him back. They also didn't want to lose a candidate and build momentum that could oppose Trump's nomination.
Hegseth is now believed to be on track for confirmation, according to Senate Republicans.
Last week's battle over spending measures will raise questions about President Trump's top priorities during his first 100 days in office.
Those priorities would be shaped by two bills based on budget reconciliation rules that prevent the Senate from filibustering. The first is likely to include key provisions on energy, borders and immigration. The second includes an extension of the Trump tax cuts, which could go far beyond the bill passed by President Trump and Republicans in 2017.
“You have to be superhuman to feel like you have complete control over such a diverse group of Republicans, but you also have to feel like you have control over boundaries and diversity and differences on both ends of the spectrum.” said Sen. Thom Tillis (RN.C.).
“We don't expect any current or past president to have complete control over that. … No president will be able to hit 1.000 in a game played in the House for the rest of the term.”
Tillis added that Trump needs to be cautious in his dealings with House Republicans at this point because he has bigger fish to fry in the coming months.
“When you punch these people in the eyebrows and they nevertheless vote 'no' and go against things, it emboldens them and makes it much easier to vote 'no' to move forward.” ” he said. “We just can't afford that given all the commitments we have to meet.”
Despite Trump's last-minute push to raise the debt ceiling, which turned the tide on the table, several Republicans said Trump's touch in the negotiations could have been more heavy-handed. He wasn't actively whipping or calling on members to greenlight the debt ceiling.
Had they done so, the lawmakers said, big changes could have been made. They said they fully expected that if President Trump made such a statement, House Republicans would go along with it.
“If he had just picked up the phone and made a number of calls, the outcome would have been different,” said Sen. Cynthia Lummis (R-Wyo.), also a former congressman. “If that was a hill he wanted to die on, he would have done it. … If he was prepared to die on a hill for a problem, he would do it.”
“There's no one like Trump. We all know that, but there's no one like him. He's the one who put all of his perfect expression and all of his energy behind something.” Once you put it down, he tends to figure it out,” she continued, adding that she “absolutely” believes it will help when the time comes for reconciliation.
Sen. Markwayne Mullin (R-Okla.), the unofficial liaison between the Senate and the House, told The Hill that if President Trump had made the CR request, which included debt limits, there would have been 38 votes. He said a “no” vote could have killed the bill. Sliced in half.
He also pointed out that despite his influence, Trump is not yet president.
“Trump pushed, but he’s still in Florida,” Mullin said. “January 20th, this is a different story.”
