DC: On Jan. 3, the 116th Congress of the United States will convene, and our country will enter a period of divided government. But divided government need not mean stagnation, inaction and retraction into partisan corners.
Make no mistake, President Trump will continue to win for the American people, and he has already signaled he’s ready to work on a bipartisan basis.
For two years, he has shown his ability to win at a time of unified Republican control of Congress; over the next two years, he will once again show his ability to govern in the face of a Democratic-controlled House that has vowed to investigate and subpoena.
Come 2020, the American people will reward him for his consistent effort to push forward the agenda of the American people in the face of a Democratic Party far more interested in obstructing and resisting.
In the weeks following the midterm elections, both President Trump and potential Speaker Nancy Pelosi issued calls for bipartisanship. But Trump did not just do so in word, he did so in action.
On Nov. 23, President Trump reissued a call for criminal justice reform, tweeting, “really good Criminal Justice Reform has a true shot at major bipartisan support. [Majority Leader] McConnell and [Minority Leader] Schumer have a real chance to do something so badly needed in our country… would be a major victory for ALL!”
The First Step Act — a comprehensive criminal justice reform package — passed the House overwhelmingly with a 360-to-59 vote. It currently awaits a vote in the Senate, and under the leadership of President Trump and Senior Advisor Jared Kushner, bipartisan victory is possible.
And not just on criminal justice reform. President Trump has repeatedly offered deals to Democrats over the last two years. On immigration, he offered a path to legalization for Deferred Action Childhood Arrival (DACA) recipients in exchange for border wall funding and chain migration.
On infrastructure — an issue Democrats have made calls to action on for years — Trump put forth a legislative framework. But in both cases, Democrats were uninterested in getting to work.
While there is significant overlap between the Republican and Democratic agendas and ample opportunity for Trump to prove a successful navigator of divided government, he needs a willing negotiating partner. Thus far, he has found very few on the left.
In a recent Rasmussen poll, 68 percent of likely voters said, “it is more important for the new Democratic majority in the House of Representatives to focus on policy areas where it can work with the president and his fellow Republicans.” Meanwhile, only 26 percent of voters said that impeachment should be the focus of the incoming Democratic majority. more here
Empeat fotey fie!
Government gridlock is a good thing!
Here’s divided Congress big win #1: the USMCA. If Congress “resists” and doesn’t approve it, we get something even better — no deal at all, because now NAFTA is dead, given that Mexico and Canada agreed it was by entering into a new deal.
That the author states, “at a time of unified Republican control of Congress….” tells me she hasn’t been paying close attention. Unified???
Further, there’s a large number of Trumps base (myself included), who aren’t giddy over early release, while thousands of illegals continue pouring into our country.
That’s not to suggest Prison Reform isn’t needed, simply the fact the main issue Trump ran on, is now 2 years in the rear view mirror and shall remain so with the incoming Dimowits.
Bet you never hear Nancy cry about only controlling 1/2 of 1/3 of government.