Nominations as a provocation Trump is already putting pressure on Republicans in Congress

It remains to be seen whether the Senate and House of Representatives will really wave through all of Trump's plans. However, the future US president leaves no doubt that he will not accept dissenters.

After his clear victory in the presidential election, Donald Trump is setting to work with a broad chest. He is announcing radical projects and snubbing his opponents with controversial personalities. Although his second term of office has not even begun yet, many observers of the political scene in Washington are asking themselves a worrying question: will there be any room for criticism and debate in Congress in the future?

Despite the Republican majorities in both the Senate and the House of Representatives, in some cases even a small number of dissenters could be enough to thwart the White House's plans. For Trump, however, this is no reason to make any concessions whatsoever to his more moderate party colleagues. Instead, he is relying on intimidation in his usual manner.

Nominations as provocation

The Senate in particular will show early on how firmly the Republicans stand behind Trump. This is because its members have to decide on the president's proposals for ministerial posts. And some of the nominations, such as those of Matt Gaetz and Robert F. Kennedy Jr., are seen by many as provocative. "This will be a moment of high alert for American democracy," Chris Murphy, who sits in the Senate for the Democrats, told CNN.

Trump will be able to start his presidency with great power. Thanks to the majorities in both chambers of Congress, he and his Republicans have the opportunity to push through a whole range of political projects that they have long dreamed of - from tax cuts and mass deportations to the gutting of bureaucratic structures. Last but not least, Trump has repeatedly announced that he will prosecute opponents and pardon those convicted of involvement in the storming of the Capitol on January 6, 2021.

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Congress is therefore facing a potentially existential challenge. The MPs and senators will have to show to what extent they can still fulfill their oversight function in this context. One of the possible perspectives for Congress is that it will simply nod everything off in future, says Phillip Wallach, a researcher at the conservative American Enterprise Institute who specializes in the US legislative branch.

Quite a narrow majority

He is aware of such a threat, but he assumes that it would have been even more pronounced if the Republicans had won even clearer majorities, Wallach adds. He emphasizes that the lead in the House of Representatives could end up being narrower than expected and that the 53 seats in the Senate would be enough to confirm ministers, but would also only represent a very narrow majority. And "they are not weaklings", says Wallach about the elected representatives in the chambers. "They have no reason to simply turn themselves into doormats."

Nevertheless, the conditions for Trump are even better this time than they were before the start of his first term of office eight years ago. The Republicans in Congress are considered more loyal supporters than ever. Many former critics have withdrawn or been ousted. At the same time, the Supreme Court has moved strongly to the right. Three of the nine Supreme Court judges were nominated by Trump.

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The extent to which Trump could use these circumstances to rule radically can be guessed from the planned composition of his cabinet. While some appointments, such as the choice of Marco Rubio as future Secretary of State, could even meet with approval from some Democrats, others are likely to be met with resistance. Trump's decisions to make Kennedy Secretary of Health and Human Services, to appoint Tulsi Gabbard as Intelligence Coordinator and to put Pete Hegseth in charge of the Pentagon are controversial.

Gaetz leaves us speechless

And the fact that Gaetz, of all people, is to become the new Attorney General left many observers in Washington speechless. The staunch Trump supporter has spoken out in favor of a comprehensive shake-up in that very ministry. In addition, an ethics committee in the House of Representatives had investigated allegations against him regarding sexual misconduct and illegal drug use. Gaetz denies the allegations, but resigned his seat shortly after his nomination, effectively ending the investigation.

Democratic Senator Dick Durbin called on the House of Representatives to preserve and forward the report on the allegations against Gaetz. Republican Senator John Cornyn also said that he expected all information on the nominees to be made available.

So far, Trump's team has not even committed to a traditional transition process that would, among other things, initiate a background check of potential ministers by the FBI. Americans could be left in the dark about their most important political appointees, warns Democratic Rep. Mike Quigley. "The people have a right to know who is taking on critical roles in government."

Trump would probably even go one step further. He has proposed that the nominees be appointed to their posts via a highly controversial procedure called Recess Appointment. This would take the Senate out of the game. If the senators actually agreed to this, it would be "an act of extreme institutional self-sabotage", says congressional expert Wallach.

Decisions by decree

Irrespective of this, Trump has announced that he will push through a whole series of decisions by decree on the very first day of his renewed presidency. And with regard to personnel, close Trump confidants such as MP Marjorie Taylor Greene and the influential commentator Charlie Kirk have warned that all senators who do not confirm the nominees could face serious consequences.

Republican Senator Lindsey Graham, who has sometimes been a critic and sometimes an ally of Trump in recent years, says he would normally always approve a president's nominations, regardless of party affiliation. He intends to do so this time too. "It's a done deal for me," he adds.

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