09 November 2016•Update: 10 November 2016
By Kasim Ileri
WASHINGTON
The Republican control of Congress does not necessarily mean an easy time for Donald Trump in the White House, Washington experts told Anadolu Agency.
“He will have enormous amounts of maneuvering room,” with Republican leadership in Congress, Karlyn Bowman, senior fellow and research coordinator at the American Enterprise Institute, a conservative think tank based in Washington.
But according to Bowman, Trump will have to engage in tight negotiations with congressional Republicans to bridge the differences within the party.
Bowman also pointed out that Trump’s relations with Congress will still depend on the people whom he “surrounds himself with” including his Cabinet, advisors and key bureaucrats.
Trump emerged as the Republican presidential nominee despite strong opposition from the party’s establishment because of his controversial policy proposals and the tone of his political discourse. He was also viewed with a heavy dose of skepticism because he was for years a registered Democrat.
It is no secret he had differences with fellow Republicans on immigration and trade deals to taxes and many other social policies.
But as the billionaire’s razor thin victory in the elections accompanied a Republican lead in congressional returns, Bowman believes Congress, particularly the House of Representatives, will have a big say in the Trump administration.
All signs point to the Republican Party holding on to 18 of their 24 seats in that were contested in the Senate and the party is leading the race for three others.
Projections show Republicans have secured 51 seats in the chamber and 235 of 435 House seats as the exit results trickle in.
According to Molly Reynolds, a fellow in Governance Studies at the Brookings Institution, although it is a narrow win in the Senate, the Republicans margin in both chambers will bring Trump closer to the party establishment.
“We will see Trump try to pursue some kind of shared Republican policy priorities such as tax cuts [and] repealing the Affordable Care Act,” Reynolds said.
Very much like many Republicans, Trump thinks that President Barack Obama’s signature health care law should be repealed
In January, the Senate and House passed a reconciliation bill against the so-called Obamacare’s “expansion of Medicaid” and “subsidized health insurance.” The bill was vetoed by Obama.
Trump has promised that repealing the legislation would be his first act in the Oval Office.
He is also close to his party in terms of taxing the wealthy more than middle income people as well, according to Reynold.
Trump proposes reducing seven tax brackets to four and lowering income taxes for most Americans rather than just the middle class – all in line with the Republican establishment.
On the other hand, Reynold said there will definitely be areas where Trump and the Conngress would differ.
“One example of that would be things involving social security where Trump says we should spend more on Social Security and congressional Republicans say we should spend less,” she added.
She thinks although these issues will require negotiation it may be the catalyst that can unify a Republican Congress with a Trump-led White House.
