What Now? Next Steps?
Foreign policy: Trump broke a whole bunch of countries, declared wars all over the place, and declared victory, leaving us, and the rest of the world to deal with unfinished business in Iran, Ukraine, Venezuela and a host of other places. Congress may not be able to do anything about Russia, but it can block further Trump wars. There's also his latest move on Israel.
Supreme Court: Democrats will now be able to block any Trump nomination to the Supreme Court when they take control of the Senate in January. Justice Samuel Alito will be under pressure to resign, perhaps as soon as this week, so that Republicans can nominate a replacement and seat the person during this lame-duck period.
Staff: There have been rumors for weeks of a White House staff shake-up after the midterms. And that might extend to cabinet secretaries and a range of other officials. Does Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth leave? Trump said Tuesday night he didn’t have plans for big personnel changes, but these often happen quickly after a big electoral setback.
Congress: Trump didn’t cut any deals with Democrats at the beginning of this term, but he will have plenty of opportunities to do so now. He could use the new dynamic to his advantage, as Democrats inevitably will have intraparty squabbles to sort out. If Trump splinters them, settling on a group that might be more willing to cut deals with him on the budget, foreign policy and issues such as housing, he could find success. If he antagonizes them en masse, though, it might push Democrats together.
Projects: Trump has a number of Washington, D.C., projects that remain unfinished and tied up in court. The White House ballroom has survived legal challenges, but there’s the golf course, triumphal arch (or arc, as he called it Monday) and a number of other things. Does he continue to devote a lot of energy to these activities if voters have sent him a signal they want him to focus on things such as gas prices and affordability—or does he start to let some of these things go?
Supreme Court: Democrats will now be able to block any Trump nomination to the Supreme Court when they take control of the Senate in January. Justice Samuel Alito will be under pressure to resign, perhaps as soon as this week, so that Republicans can nominate a replacement and seat the person during this lame-duck period.
Staff: There have been rumors for weeks of a White House staff shake-up after the midterms. And that might extend to cabinet secretaries and a range of other officials. Does Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth leave? Trump said Tuesday night he didn’t have plans for big personnel changes, but these often happen quickly after a big electoral setback.
Congress: Trump didn’t cut any deals with Democrats at the beginning of this term, but he will have plenty of opportunities to do so now. He could use the new dynamic to his advantage, as Democrats inevitably will have intraparty squabbles to sort out. If Trump splinters them, settling on a group that might be more willing to cut deals with him on the budget, foreign policy and issues such as housing, he could find success. If he antagonizes them en masse, though, it might push Democrats together.
Projects: Trump has a number of Washington, D.C., projects that remain unfinished and tied up in court. The White House ballroom has survived legal challenges, but there’s the golf course, triumphal arch (or arc, as he called it Monday) and a number of other things. Does he continue to devote a lot of energy to these activities if voters have sent him a signal they want him to focus on things such as gas prices and affordability—or does he start to let some of these things go?
