Trump and Congress

Abstract

Trump did not manage to convince the 115th Congress to adopt his radical agenda. He has not taken over the party or won the influence to impose his reforms. To some degree, this reflects personal failings: Trump’s skills have not proved very effective in influencing legislators. More, though, his failings have been strategic. He began his term with an extraordinary delegation of power to Congress at the expense of his radical agenda by choosing conventional Republican priorities: healthcare and tax reform. Additionally, Trump’s core approach of appealing to his base with a divisive communications strategy has translated poorly from campaigning to governing. His base strategy may have won him substantial support within his own party, but Trump has not won mass support for his radical policy positions or his presidency. He has not even sold all of his own party on his radical vision. Instead, Trump’s combative and divisive style and his contentious values and policy positions have actively alienated moderates, both among the public and in Congress. That failure has cost Trump dearly as his governing strategy has failed to deliver him influence in Washington. He can call on much of his party’s support but in a finely balanced Congress where Republicans held only marginal majorities that was not enough to pass radical reforms.