What We’re Hearing on Capitol Hill
Author: Greg Valliere
January 22, 2025
THE RESTAURANTS AND BARS were filled yesterday — and everyone had an opinion and a forecast, as a radical new administration hit the ground running. Donald Trump has an iron grip on the GOP.
IT’S IMPOSSIBLE to cover all of the issues, but here’s a quick synthesis of what we’re hearing:
HERE COME THE LAWYERS: On issue after issue, litigation looms. High on a long list of regulations that will be targeted is what liberal activists consider an assurance in the Constitution that grants citizenship for individuals who were born in the U.S. This case alone will take months to resolve.
CONGRESSIONAL REPUBLICANS, GIDDY OVER THE TRUMP PRESIDENCY, are privately aghast at granting pardons to violent criminals. Republicans are lying low on this issue.
CABINET CONFIRMATIONS will speed up next week. Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. and Tulsi Gabbard are on thin ice; the rest of the nominees look safe.
TRUMP WILL TRAVEL TO CALIFORNIA in a few days. He’ll probably get a chilly reception, especially if Trump insists on concessions in exchange for funding.
AS WE WROTE YESTERDAY, the Democrats have no stars and no agenda, and on Capitol Hill the refrain is “what has happened to the Democrats?”
EVERYONE IS WATCHING THE POLLS, which show decent support — for now– for Trump. As long as his approval rating stays above 50% positive, neither party will dare to attack him.
FOREIGN POLICY IS THE BIG WILD CARD: Conservatives are increasingly isolationist, and are sick of sending money to Kyiv. Israel has decent support; Ukraine does not.
TRUMP MEANS BUSINESS ON TRADE: The president wants to crack down on auto imports into the U.S. and he’s determined to slash fentanyl shipments into the U.S. He’s not bluffing on trade — Canada, Mexico, China and others are preparing for a trade war that already has begun.
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