Editor-DN
Washington DC:
US President-elect Donald Trump’s Republican Party has won enough seats to retain control of both houses of Congress – the House of Representatives and the Senate – further solidifying its dominant performance in the 2024 United States elections in Washington, D.C. In C political parlance, when a president’s party also controls Congress, it’s called the “governing trifecta.”
With Republicans tightening their grip on the “Washington trifecta,” Mr. Trump will have much broader authority to implement his legislative priorities next year after taking charge of the Oval Office. They also include major election promises to enact immigration controls and reduce regulations. on Wall Street and the energy industry among others.
Had he not won a majority in Congress, Mr Trump’s landslide victory over Democratic challenger Kamala Harris would still have given him significant control over the formation of the federal government and US foreign policy, both of which are likely to see a major shift during his administration. is However, with a governing “trifecta,” the incoming president would also be able to more easily win approval for his nominees for positions in his administration — something he struggled with during his first term in 2017. was when internal resistance within the Republican Party was significant. high
How does the US Congress work?
The US Congress has a total of 535 members, including 100 in the Senate and 435 in the House of Representatives. Each of the 50 US states sends two senators to the US Senate. However, the state is represented in the House of Representatives on the basis of its population. For example, a small state like Vermont has one representative while a large state like California has 53 representatives.
Members of the House of Representatives serve two-year terms and all 435 seats are up for re-election every year. This is in stark contrast with the Senate, the upper house of Congress, where senators serve six-year terms. Senate elections are staggered over years so that only 1/3 of the Senate can be re-elected during any given election.
Single-party control of Congress, once common, has become rarer and shorter over the past few decades, with the incumbent party losing seats every two years when midterm congressional elections are held. Both former President Trump and President Joe Biden enjoyed the “trifectas” in their first two years in the White House, but the dynamic changed after the midterm elections.
Does the ‘Trifecta’ Guarantee Absolute Power?
The ‘trifecta’ is no guarantee against political infighting. Despite the Biden administration’s “trifecta” from 2021 to 2023, internal disagreements have blocked some policy priorities, with figures such as Arizona independent Sen. Kristen Sinema resisting party orthodoxy.
A major obstacle to either party’s complete control is that it needs a three-fifths majority — or 60 out of 100 votes — to pass bills in the Senate. Therefore, to bypass the filibuster or the tradition of unlimited debate, a party needs a healthy majority in the Senate. Therefore, if a party has a simple majority in the Senate, it must reach across the aisle to pass the bill.
According to a New York Times report, Mr. Trump is likely to get a healthy majority in the Senate this time. However, even then, it may not have the magic 60 seats that would allow it to overcome opposition efforts to delay the legislation.
Additionally, there are already signs that Donald Trump may not get his way all the time, with his party selecting John Thune as Senate Majority Leader, even though Trump has reportedly nominated Rick Scott. was preferred for the post.
Although Mr. Trump has not officially endorsed Scott, U.S. media are seeing Mr. Thune’s selection as a sign that some Republican lawmakers are asserting their independence.
How the “Trifecta” Could Benefit Trump
All told, if managed tactfully, a “trifecta” could pave the way for the possibility of significant legislative action. Majorities in both houses of Congress could give Mr. Trump an advantage in advancing his right-wing agenda and major campaign promises such as the largest deportations of immigrants in history, steep tariffs on foreign imports, and rolling back environmental protections. is
According to The NYT The report says that using legislation to achieve these goals would make it very difficult to overturn them in the courts, especially since the judicial landscape also favors Mr. Trump. In his first term, the former president was able to install three conservatives on the Supreme Court – a two-thirds majority for years to come. He nominated more than four dozen judges to federal appeals courts, tipping several circuits toward more conservatism.
