A new reality sinking in
D.C. wrestles with President-elect Trump's transition, many proposals and fiery style
Unlike the last time the Republicans recaptured the White House 16 years ago, the transition to Trumpism comes with the pledge — or threat — of a fundamental shift not just in policy, but in every aspect of how governing works in Washington.
Democrats were shell-shocked. And many Republicans wrestled with their own angst as they pondered how to navigate a fiery chief executive who has aligned himself with few policies beyond a hard-line stance on immigration — and has been only partially committed to even those.
As Republican leaders publicly celebrated the shift in power, some in the rank and file, along with allied lobbyists and staffers, worried about how it will play out. They hung on to the reassuring, calm — even gracious — Trump victory speech as a sign he could be more statesmanlike than he was on the campaign trail.
“Anyone who thinks he is going to magically change is delusional,” said GOP strategist Kurt Bardella, who refused to vote for Trump in Tuesday's election. “The confrontational style of Trump and those who have been a part of his team will continue when he assumes the presidency. There are going to be a lot of situations where the Trump administration is at odds with its own party in Congress.”
Trump's plans on taxes, the federal budget, health care and trade have had huge gaps and were subject to last-minute shifts. His proposal for a wall on the border — paid for by Mexico — is laden with so many logistical challenges that those with an expertise in immigration predict it will never be built. The same goes for Trump's plan to deport millions of immigrants in the U.S. illegally.
Trump has vowed not to touch federal entitlements such as Social Security and Medicare that congressional Republicans have tried for years to cut. The New York businessman's announcement on election night that he would pursue a burst of infrastructure spending immediately unsettled some of the fiscally conservative lawmakers who endorsed him.
Even the unity that Trump and congressional Republicans displayed in their vow to repeal Obamacare seems fragile. Neither has offered a workable plan for replacing it, meaning a repeal could deprive millions of Americans who just voted for Trump access to medical care they have now and send premiums soaring, as happened to some consumers recently, provoking ire just before the election.
Still, Trump will be empowered to make good on his promise to erode — if not eliminate — many of President Barack Obama's landmark achievements. Hard-fought climate change measures will be shelved by a president-elect who has called global warming a hoax and promised to reinvest in coal. Trump and Republican leaders are looking to implement deep corporate tax cuts that Obama has resisted throughout his presidency. The conservative majority on the Supreme Court will quickly be restored.
The prospect of it all had some Obama staffers in tears as they gathered in the Oval Office on Wednesday morning. Obama scanned their faces for a moment before offering comfort.
“He basically said, ‘This doesn't undo what you have done,' ” said one senior staffer who was there. But Obama quickly urged them not to give into the passions of the moment, but rather to get busy on the tasks at hand — hosting Trump at the White House on Thursday and setting in motion a smooth transfer of the levers of government.
“We are now all rooting for his success in uniting and leading the country,” Obama said publicly Wednesday. “The peaceful transition of power is one of the hallmarks of our democracy. And over the next few months, we are going to show that to the world.”
The Obama administration, according to an aide, is focusing on making sure the public and the incoming administration understand what is working — and what Americans may miss if it is taken away.
“In a way, everything changed and nothing changed last night,” said Sen. Chris Murphy, D-Conn. “We have a new president — one that half the country didn't want. But let's be honest: Had Hillary (Clinton) won, we would still have a president that half of America didn't want.”
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