Americans will soon find out if our national government system of checks and balances works or is subject to partisan rupture.
President-elect Donald Trump and his ascending MAGA Republican Party won the trifecta of federal control in the Nov. 5 election: White House, Senate and House. The decisive victory could sanction one-party rule.
“America,” Trump declared, “has given us an unprecedented and powerful mandate.”
In his first term, he swung the Supreme Court to the right with the appointment of three conservative Republican justices. They gave him majority victories in revoking national abortion rights and extending the executive authority of the president in a case involving the Jan. 6, 2021, Capitol riot.
Put another way, Trump now holds sway over the executive, legislative and judicial branches of the federal government.
If there is no resistance within the GOP leadership, rank-and-file congressional members or the Supreme Court, Trump’s campaign agenda will overwhelm the counterweight of the opposition Democrats.
That agenda is far-reaching. Here are only a few of the thorny items:
– Lowering corporate and some personal income taxes despite the $34-plus trillion national debt, an amount already sure to burden future generations unless significantly reduced.
– Imposing import tariffs on foreign goods that could trigger a trade war within the global economy, and reduce American exports.
– Deporting an estimated 12 million or more illegal immigrants, including DACA migrants brought to the United States decades ago as babies and small children by their undocumented parents.
– Dismantling what Trump calls “deep state” government agencies and firing employees who Trump considers disloyal.
– Rolling back water and air pollution regulations; defunding alternative energy subsidies for a greener America, and ramping up production of fossil fuels scientists say contribute to adverse climate conditions.
Trump is moving quickly. Diehard loyalists command the levers of governance. Moderate Republicans need not apply. And they face reprisal if any resist him in Congress.
Cabinet and some senior appointees are subject to review and approval by the Senate. Trump has indicated to Senate Republicans he wants swift consent on his nominees when Congress convenes in early January, even if that requires a long recess so they can take office without a Senate vote.
The most controversial Trump nominee thus far is hardliner Rep. Matt Gaetz of Florida to the Office of Attorney General, the federal government’s chief law enforcement position. He would oversee the Department of Justice and FBI among other agencies.
Gaetz has advocated for going after Jack Smith, the Justice Department special counsel who prosecuted Trump for inciting the Capitol riot – a charge that likely will now dissolve. Gaetz has also mentioned the need to investigate the “Biden crime family,” a favorite Trump trope during his legal battles.
The 42-year-old Gaetz was once the focus of a sex-trafficking investigation by the Justice Department. But it declined to bring charges against him. A House Ethics Committee inquiry of Gaetz ended Wednesday when he resigned his seat in Congress to await approval of his elevation to attorney general.
Then there’s Elon Musk, the world’s richest person. He will join with billionaire Vivek Ramaswamy in running an advisory government efficiency entity created by Trump and charged with cutting regulations, wasteful spending and federal employees.
Musk endeared himself to Trump during the final campaign months by donating more than $100 million to his election effort in the seven swing states, and personally imploring voters to elect Trump in those states.
A Cincinnati entrepreneur, Ramaswamy sought the GOP presidential nomination in the primaries before endorsing Trump in January. He ran mostly a Trump-is-right-about-America’s dysphoria. He decried the federal government as bloated, proposing elimination of the FBI, Department of Education and the Nuclear Regulatory Commission.
Potential conflicts of interest shadow Musk’s role in the Trump camp due to his ownership of SpaceX. It receives billions of federal dollars for research, development and launch rockets for NASA. He also owns the electric car company Telsa and the social media site X, formerly Twitter.
But does it really matter who Trump picks? He’s made it clear he will make the final decisions on significant issues. His appointees will go along or be gone. Get with the mandate or get out of the way.
It is also reality. Trump won the electoral and popular vote by handsome margins. He outdistanced Vice President Harris by more than 3 million votes nationwide and by 76 votes in the Electoral College. He captured all seven swing states, baffling pollsters and pundits who predicted a much tighter race.
Democrats had a few Senate and House victories here and there to lessen their grief. But not enough to stop the Trump tide. They are now analyzing what went wrong and how to fix it.
Trump delivered a tough political lesson. Now, to the victor goes the spoils.