This chaotic episode, unfolding just weeks before Trump\u2019s inauguration, highlights the hurdles he will face with a slim House majority and a Senate filled with lawmakers focused on their own political longevity. While Trump has portrayed his November victory as a sweeping mandate, his claim is contested by both the numbers and recent events. Despite winning the popular vote\u2014a first for a Republican in decades\u2014his support still fell short of a majority, and his Electoral College victory, while significant, was not record-breaking.\n\n\n
\n\n\nAdvertisements\n\n\n\n \u201cThe beauty is that we won by so much,\u201d Trump told Time Magazine. \u201cThe mandate was massive.\u201d However, his party has already handed him a series of notable defeats even before he officially assumes office.\n\n\n\n One setback came when Florida Senator Rick Scott, a close Trump ally, lost his bid to lead the incoming Republican Senate majority to Senator John Thune, who had openly criticized Trump. Although Trump refrained from officially endorsing Scott, the loss was a blow to his circle, which included high-profile supporters like Elon Musk and Turning Point USA\u2019s Charlie Kirk.\n\n\n\n Another stumble involved Trump\u2019s pick for attorney general. His initial choice, Representative Matt Gaetz, faced widespread opposition and was ultimately abandoned in favor of former Florida Attorney General Pam Bondi. Trump also backed away from efforts to secure a U.S. Senate seat for his daughter-in-law, Lara Trump, after Florida Governor Ron DeSantis privately resisted the idea, citing potential political fallout.\n\n\n\n \u201cI respect Ron\u2019s decision,\u201d Trump told reporters, distancing himself from the campaign to elevate Lara Trump. \u201cThat\u2019s his choice, not mine.\u201d\n\n\n\n Despite these early challenges, Trump continues to assert dominance over his party, pressing ahead with controversial Cabinet nominations. His picks include former Fox News anchor Pete Hegseth for secretary of defense and Robert F. Kennedy Jr., known for his anti-vaccine views, as secretary of health and human services. Both choices have drawn scrutiny, with Hegseth facing allegations of misconduct and Kennedy\u2019s nomination raising eyebrows due to his divisive stance on public health issues. Nonetheless, Trump has stood by his nominees, insisting on their confirmation.\n\n\n\n Republican lawmakers are feeling the pressure. At a recent Turning Point USA event, Charlie Kirk warned that opposing Trump\u2019s Cabinet picks would result in primary challenges. \u201cConfirm them all, or face the consequences,\u201d Kirk declared.\n\n\n\n Meanwhile, Trump\u2019s collaboration with Elon Musk has added a new dynamic to his political strategy. Musk\u2019s active participation in derailing the government funding bill\u2014boasting about the smaller size of the final legislation\u2014has further complicated Republican negotiations. Some GOP members, however, have expressed frustration with Trump\u2019s tactics, calling them shortsighted.\n\n\n \u201cI\u2019m willing to swallow bitter pills like budget bills and debt ceiling increases to give Trump the runway he needs,\u201d said Representative Dan Crenshaw, \u201cbut we need a plan for that.\u201d\n\n\n\n As Trump begins to grapple with the complexities of governance, he has acknowledged the limits of his influence. On a call with a GOP lawmaker, he reportedly conceded that avoiding a government shutdown was unavoidable, even if it meant postponing his goals for the debt ceiling.\n\n\n\n Despite these early stumbles, Trump allies see his presidency as just beginning. Former adviser Steve Bannon summed it up: \u201cIf you thought the last 48 hours were chaotic, wait until every day under President Trump looks like this.\u201d\n\n\n\n Whether this turbulence ultimately strengthens or weakens Trump\u2019s mandate remains to be seen, but his return to Washington is already reshaping the political landscape in unpredictable ways.\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Donald Trump may have declared his victory a mandate, but as Washington gears up for his return, the realities of governance are already testing his […]\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/sciencesandnatures.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7342"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/sciencesandnatures.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/sciencesandnatures.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sciencesandnatures.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sciencesandnatures.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=7342"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/sciencesandnatures.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7342\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":7343,"href":"https:\/\/sciencesandnatures.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7342\/revisions\/7343"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/sciencesandnatures.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=7342"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sciencesandnatures.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=7342"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sciencesandnatures.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=7342"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
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