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Republicans will have control over House, Senate and presidency, but ... Can They Lead us?

By: Dace Potas
columnist
USA Today

..... On the heels of Donald Trump's reelection victory, Republicans are naturally taking a victory lap.
..... There remain some scattered outstanding votes left to be counted in House races, but as it stands Americans have given Republicans a strong mandate in 2024. Republicans took control of the House, marking the first time they've controlled both chambers of Congress and the presidency since Trump's first term.
..... Republicans must prove to Americans that they can be the adults in the room and effectively right the ship now that they have been trusted with power. If not, Republicans could face a quick revocation of tier hold on the federal government, as they did in 2018.
..... Republican have to know it's time to prove the doubters wrong. News media pundits have long criticized Trump's GOP as being dysfunctional and riddled with infighting, to much merit.
..... Between several debt ceiling hiccups and a high-profile House speakership battle, Republicans have provided critics with more than enough ammo to show that they are more focused on fighting than on responsible governing.

With total control, the blame will lie with GOP lawmakers

..... For much of the dysfunction, Republicans have lacked sufficient political capitol to be effective leaders, so these sideshows had limited effect on the government's actual effectiveness.
..... The GOP-controlled House has faced threats of a government shutdown several times of the past two years, often due to Republican infighting over budgetary legislation. it will be easier for them to achieve consensus with complete control, but we shouldn't expect these disagreements to vanish.
..... Now that they have the supposed keys to the kingdom, distractions will directly inhibit their ability both to deliver conservative policy and to keep the government running.
..... Republicans have trashed President Joe Biden's economic agenda, and the response from Trump is increased tariffs, which are certain to put even more of an economic burden on Americans.
..... As for the border crisis, Trump has made the massive surge in migrants a fixture of his campaign. Republicans now have the daunting task of solving said crisis, unlike the mostly empty Trumpian promise of a border wall paid for by Mexico the last time around.
..... Furthermore, with total control of our federal government, the blame will lie with Republicans in the case of any shortcomings in basic effectiveness. Namely, a government shutdown will result in the blame being laid solely at the feet of Republicans by voters.
..... Democrats have warned for years that a return of the GOP to power would means utter, dysfunction. The worst thing that the GOP could do is prove them right. Americans rejected Trump in 2020 and were skeptical at best of giving power back to Republicans in the 2022 end up being true, the GOP will quickly get it leash tightened again.
..... Acting by any means necessary to enact the full MAGA agenda will inevitable lose the trust of Americans who are apprehensive toward radical change in one direction or the other.
..... Americans are sick of the Democrats, but it's not as if Trump was winning swing states by the margins that Barack Obama achieved in 2008. This is not a sweeping mandate to enact Trump's full slate of policy proposals.
..... Republicans have been caused of extreme policies, and they ought to recognize that too much volatile change too fast is likely to result in losses in the 2026 midterm elections.

MAGA vis. anti-Trump wing of GOP

..... Total control poses a vulnerability for blame, and both factions of the GOP face difficulty as a result.
..... Anti-Trump conservatives must walk the line of enabling the MAGA wing by falling in line, and restraining the party so far that it reduces there effectiveness. At the same time, the MAGA wing will have difficulty pushing the party so far that they lose more traditional conservatives, while also effectively advancing directives from Trump.
..... With 53 seats in the SE ante, the GOP will have some padding, particularly with a tie-breaking vote form Vice President-elect JD Vance. This means there will be few opportunists for striking points, even on certain controversial Trump nominations.
..... After years of simply needing to highlight Biden-Harris shortcomings, the Republicans now have to produce on their promises.
..... A cohesive Republican Party will also install confidence in themselves, so long as they are effective. The GOP had spent a long time asking for the keys to power by painting Democrats as disastrous mismanagements, rightfully so.
..... Now is Republicans' time to prove they are more effective and can be trusted to do their jobs. The American people have a short memory, and could easily turn back to Democrats if the GOP can;t do that.

..... Dace Potas is an opinion columnist for USA Today and a graduate of DePaul University with a degree in political science.

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