Washington, D.C. – The 118th Congress, seated in an unequally divided political landscape, faces challenges from Republican lawmakers as they struggle against legislative challenges and internal divides about how closely to align with former President Donald Trump’s political agenda.
Republicans’ grip on a majority of the House of Representatives means the new Congress is heading into a spring of bombshell disputes over government funding, the debt ceiling, and bitter fights over social policy and tax reform, complicating matters. For many observers, a deeper-seated divide among competing factions within the Republican Party casts a long shadow on resolving the key issues ahead.
While a big part of the party is still firmly professing allegiance to Trump and supporting his populist agenda, others are getting tired of his influence, especially in light of his prevailing legal troubles. Such divisions within the GOP are likely to stymie key legislative priorities and further damage party unity as the lawmakers come face-to-face with President Biden and the Democrats over various issues.
Trump’s Continued Influence
Trump, who remains the leading figure in the GOP, is going to take this opportunity to remind Republicans to obey his policy preferences, from immigration and taxes to culture wars, reminding them of his strength in Republican primaries: Many GOP lawmakers fear losing his base ahead of the 2024 presidential election.
Still, an increasingly vocal segment of the party has moderate and centrist lawmakers worrying that Trump’s focus on personal grievances and his push for returning to office is problematic. This is because these lawmakers believe that the former president’s influence could make the party unable to present a unified front on substantive policy issues while moving their legislative agenda.
Rep. Liz Cheney, who once was part of House leadership and a vocal Trump critic, says the party needs to “move beyond the influence of the former president” in order to be effective in government. She and others push for a more practical, policy-driven Republican Party rather than one fixated on the legacy of Trump’s presidency.
The legislative challenges ahead:
Backed by Trump, some leaders in the party are asking for a confrontation over spending cuts, border security, and future healthcare reform. Such a strategy has the danger of alienating the moderates of the Republican Party-the very wing that some believe will go soft if an outright aggressive strategy is initiated.
In the Senate, where the Republicans have a narrower majority, GOP leaders are treading carefully. In that chamber, Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell has pushed a focus on fiscal responsibility and steered away from some of Trump’s more divisive proposals. The pragmatic approach by McConnell, however, faces mounting resistance from Trump-aligned conservatives in the House, who are eager to make bold moves on issues like election integrity and “America First” policies.
A Divided Path Forward
As Congress opens its session, the GOP must find a middle ground between legislative wins and its internal conflicting forces. It will also be a time of battle between Trump loyalists and the more mainstream Republicans over such disparate matters as budget negotiation to the tone of the presidential election.
While many Republicans are united in their opposition to the Biden administration, how they approach critical issues, from foreign policy to domestic affairs, remains in flux. If the party cannot reconcile its internal divisions, it may find itself locked in a cycle of partisan gridlock, struggling to deliver on its promises to the American public.
