The lack of a strong Speaker of the House is killing President Trump’s agenda in Congress
One thing that President Donald Trump has learned that most first term leaders of the free world find out. It is great deal easier to campaign than it is to govern. But with the Republicans in charge of the White House, the House and the Senate, few would have predicted what a poor start Congress would have in helping the president achieve some of his signature goals.
Repeal and Replace Obamacare
This was an issue that every single Republican has run on for the past seven years. But when it came to crafting something that White House and Congress could support, the bill was rushed and it unraveled like a cheap suit.
Speaker of the House Paul Ryan (R-Wisc.) could not have handled this issue worst if he tried. He brought a bill to the House that met the idea’s that both he and Health and Human Services Secretary Tom Price wanted in a bill but it did not resemble anything President Donald Trump promised during the campaign.
Ryan then had a bill that was not Conservative enough for the far right Freedom Caucus and was too harsh for the moderates in his party from the Tuesday Afternoon group. So, the bill crashed and burned leaving the GOP along with President Trump looking at a loss in their first major legislative attempt.
Not Building “The Wall.”
There will not be enough money in this year’s budget to start the boarder wall between the United States and Mexico. It is very clear to Congress that there will be no money from Mexico, to help fund the project and they don’t have the money to start one of President Trump’s signature programs.
Congressman Devin Nunes
Nunes (R-Calif.) chairman of the House Intelligence Committee, the group charged with overseeing the investigation into Russian interference in the 2016 presidential election. He pulled off the rare double mistake. He made both Congress and the White House look bad all by himself in a 24-hour span.
You may recall Nunes told reporters that Trump associates had been swept up in surveillance of foreign officials by American spy agencies during the transition, citing intelligence reports that were classified.
He viewed the classified information at the White House, did not share it with the other members of the committee and in so doing put President Trump in the middle of the mess.
It turned out that Nunes didn’t have anything that was as earth shattering as he said it would be. It called in to question his creditability as the chairman of a committee and in the end he stepped aside as chairman for this investigation. A ten-day news cycle that again made both Congress and President Trump look bad.
The Freedom Caucus
This is group of about 40 of the most Conservative members of Congress and while their constituents voted for President Trump, they are not beholding to him.
This group will likely be President Trump’s biggest challenge in his time in Washington. Trump is not as far to the right as this group is and they are going to fight him on a number of core Republican issues like infrastructure and taxes down the line.
The Tuesday Group
This is group of 50 moderate Republicans who would not side with the Freedom Caucus on the repeal and replacement of Obamacare. These members of Congress could in the long run join moderate Democrats to help President Trump pass issues, but for now they are out to keep the Freedom Caucus from hijacking the agenda.
The Confirmation of Judge Neil Gorsuch to the Supreme Court
I know what you are saying, the Senate passed it. Ture, my point here is that Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Kent.) was able to get a win for President Trump, when in Congress, Speaker Ryan failed.
A Government Shutdown on President Trump’s 100th Day in office
On April 28th Congress must pass a spending bill that authorizes funding for the federal government. As of right now the Republican led Congress does not have the votes to pass the budget or for that matter a continuing resolution that would allow things to run for 90 days till they get something on the floor that could pass Congress and the Senate, so President Trump can sign it. If they fail and the government shuts down then that would be a huge embarrassment to the GOP as well as the president.
