A Republican senator was voicing his displeasure to the incoming Susie Wells The White House Chief of Staff.
“I texted you three days ago,” the deputy said.
Wells, who ran Donald Trump She said she got the message and would respond, without appearing to be in a rush.
There's no doubt that her phone must be full of messages from people who want a job — or influence — in the incoming Trump administration.
The behind-the-scenes maneuverings in the lead-up to Trump's second presidency may shed light on the legislative and administrative battles the next White House will have to fight. (Getty Images)
But these maneuvers highlight a dilemma Trump may face in the city he controls, with both chambers of Congress under Republican control (and Kamala Harris peacefully ratified the transfer of power yesterday, four years to the day after the Capitol riot).
The flip side of almost unlimited influence is that when things go wrong, there's no one to blame.
Then there is the black hole known as Congress. After being dragged Mike Johnson Crossing the finish line in the House Speaker election, and making calls even from his own golf course, Trump now faces a dilemma after a Christmas debt ceiling fight that delayed the budget fight until March.
Using a process known as reconciliation, which lowers the threshold from 60 votes in the Senate to 51 — and both parties have used this to dominate the party line — Trump favors “one big, beautiful bill.” This will include budget cuts, energy deregulation, tax cuts, border suppression, and other presidential priorities.
But many in Congress support two separate bills, and some in Trump world believe Congress simply doesn't have the bandwidth to take the kitchen sink approach.
So the big, beautiful bill may not pass until June, denying the 47th president an early victory.
Trump is stirring up a news storm, showing restraint in the press, even as he attacks the media
Johnson will have a margin of just one vote, making it difficult for him to implement the deep spending cuts that hardliners want in an echo of the battle that ousted the president. Kevin McCarthy.
Meanwhile, the Department of Homeland Security will have difficulty launching a major initiative because, like other agencies, it is operating under a temporary spending budget that nearly led to a Christmas government shutdown.
The risk of pushing two bills is that once the first is passed, momentum to approve the second measure may dissipate, even if it contains Trump's priorities like tax cuts.
House Speaker Mike Johnson's one-vote majority leaves him little room for error as he seeks to rally his caucus around the next president's agenda. (Valerie Blish)
Trump hedged his bets yesterday, telling radio host Hugh Hewitt: “I prefer an option, but… I'm open to either direction, as long as we get something passed as quickly as possible.”
Washington is a city obsessed with titles and influence, and this will affect the way the White House is run.
Wiles helped demote some jobs that had always been assistant to the president to titles of deputy assistant to the president — something no reasonable person on the outside would care about but a big deal to insiders. This is because after maxing out the auxiliary functions, the only alternative was to create a set of MP slots.
For her part, Wells told Axios, “I don't welcome people who want to work alone or be stars… My team and I will not tolerate backbiting, inappropriate guessing, or drama. These things are counterproductive to the mission.” “.
Carolyn Leavitt, the new press secretary, was also deprived of the large office her predecessors had used for at least three decades. This will go to another communications assistant.
I can remember being in that office on the second floor when Mike McCurry was press secretary Bill Clinton Drop in and chat while I'm working on my book 'Spin Cycle'. The reason for the large office was for briefings with the press, and sometimes interviews, which could not be accommodated in most of the small offices in the West Wing.
Anyone in Welsh's delicate position would steadily nag some officials during the process that determines winners and losers. But Trump views her as a grandmother and does not yell at her as he might do with other officials over a disagreement.
As for Elon Musk Due to his powerful role, Trump enjoys the company of wealthy people, and Malik X is the richest person on the planet. So he has the leverage to have no influence, if there is a dispute in the future.
Musk renews harsh rebuke of Democrats who refused to deport sex offenders: vote out 'everyone'
Moreover, it will be difficult for Musk to stay put once Trump moves from Mar-a-Lago to the White House, unless he wants to give Elon the Lincoln Bedroom.
Currently, the transition period is characterized by organized chaos. But as Trump knows well, having done this job before, when a terrorist attack or a border incident or a rise in grocery prices occurs on his watch, he owns it.
Meanwhile, with Kamala Harris After certifying her defeat in a perfunctory manner yesterday — drawing live coverage given the date of January 6 — Donald Trump posted this:
Trump has not made his feelings about the Biden team's handling of the presidential transition a secret. (Getty/AP)
“Biden is doing everything he can to make the transition as difficult as possible, from the never-before-seen legal war, to the ridiculous and expensive executive orders on the Green New Scam and other money-wasting shenanigans. Fear not, these are the 'orders' “They will all be ended soon, and we will become a nation of common sense and strength!!!”
Is this worse than what happened? January 6, 202?
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It's true that the outgoing president has, among other things, ordered a halt to oil drilling along 625 million acres offshore, but there's no reason why the “drill, baby, drill” president couldn't reverse that, even though that might slow him down. .
Harris gave a short lecture yesterday about the peaceful transition of power, and Biden made clear in a Washington Post op-ed that we must never forget what happened on that dark day.
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Regardless of who you agree with, I think it's fair to say that this issue was made in the election, and that Americans voted to return Trump to the White House with full knowledge of what happened during the televised riot.
