From the Republican perspective, America is in for two good years. Their presidential candidate, Donald Trump, will enter the White House on January 20, and his party will have full control of both houses of Congress.
Similar "single management" (unified government) has existed a total of 48 times since 1857 - i.e. since the beginning of the two-party system in the United States. Democrats have had the pleasure 23 times and Republicans 25 times. 38 times one of the two parties has simultaneously controlled the White House and one of the houses of Congress. However, maintaining a majority in Congress for an entire presidential term is a difficult task, as midterm elections are held in the middle of that term. Only once since 1969. until now, full control over the legislative and executive branches has been preserved even after the midterm elections – under Democratic President Jimmy Carter from 1977 to 1981, recalls Katherine Schaefer of the Pew Research Center.
Presidents are aware that their majorities in Congress can generally be short-lived. “Therefore, I assume that President Trump will quickly deal with some of his priorities”, says Nolan McCarthy, a political scientist from Princeton University in an interview with DV.
Can Trump put himself over the Senate?
The US separation of powers system is as old as the Constitution itself. The founding fathers adopted the principle of so-called “checks and balances“ (system of mutual control and separation of powers).
The Senate majority will be especially important for Trump early in his term as the upper house of Congress confirms his cabinet nominations. Republicans will have a majority there, but it is too fragile – by 53 to 47 votes, and some of Trump's proposed candidates are quite controversial. Among them are, for example, former Democrat Tulsi Gabbard or Republican Rep. Matt Goetz, who, because of his extreme views, may face resistance even within the ranks of his own party.
Trump may try to avoid the tedious approval process – for example, if he announces ministerial appointments at a time when the Senate is in recess and not in session. Then Trump's preferred nominees can begin work without Senate approval. In the X platform, Trump has already called on Republican senators to agree to this unusual procedure.
Debate is looming over whether the Senate should go into recess to allow the president to appoint his cabinet without the House's approval, says Princeton University's Nolan McCarthy. “Never before have we had a situation where such appointments were made on such a scale. It can happen from time to time with one or two positions. But to elect a whole government in this way – that would be very worrying“, adds the political scientist.
The decisive role of the Supreme Court
However, it seems that Trump is aiming for just such an option. In addition, he has another strong trump card up his sleeve – in his first term he succeeded in appointing three conservative chief justices. Officially, the US Supreme Court is non-partisan, but in practice, presidents appoint to this body only their trusted candidates with attitudes that are close to their political views.
Of the nine judges (five men and four women) who are appointed for life, Trump can count on the support of six. Experts such as McCarthy expect the new president to try to administratively push many of his ambitious projects through executive orders, bypassing Congress. The procedure in such cases provides for a court appeal, but since the Supreme Court and many other lower-level courts are dominated by Republicans, “it will be easier for Trump to get rid of judicial review,” says the Princeton political scientist .
"More power than the fathers of the Constitution could have imagined"
This is exactly how things can develop with Trump's promised mass deportations. Is it legal to use the military for this purpose or to change the birthrights of people who were born in the US? These questions may reach the Supreme Court, Sarah Binder from the “George Washington“ University tells DV.
She is concerned that the Supreme Court as it currently stands does not always follow established law and often rules in favor of Republicans. This happened, for example, on the issue of the right to abortion or presidential immunity, she recalls.
Authors: Karla Bleiker, Laura Kabelka