11/12/2024

Congress Returns to Unfinished Business and a New Trump Era

The 'lame-duck' session is likely to be less than fruitful

Congress returns to a changed Washington as President-elect Donald Trump's hard-right agenda is quickly taking shape, buoyed by eager Republican allies eyeing a full sweep of power on Capitol Hill while Democrats are sorting out what went wrong with American voters.

Even as final election results are still being tallied, the House and Senate leadership is pushing ahead toward a second-term Trump White House and what he's called a “mandate” for governing, with mass deportations, industry deregulation and wholesale gutting of the federal government.

Trump is already testing the norms of governance during this presidential transition period — telling the Senate to forgo its advise-and-consent role and simply accept his Cabinet nominees — and he is staffing his administration and finding malleable lawmakers willing to break with civic traditions.

Please select this link to read the complete article from The Associated Press.