With far fewer restrictions and more allies everywhere in Washington, Donald Trump is returning to the White House, for the second term in which he was elected by a wide margin.
In his second term, the Republican Party, which he heads, has been reshaped in his image over the past eight years.
Already, since 2016, several Republicans have shown reservations about the billionaire. In 2020, the doubt even reached his own vice president, Mike Pence, who refused to join Donald Trump’s plan to overturn the result. However, the situation is different. Congressmen like Liz Cheney and the late Senator John McCain who opposed the billionaire have been replaced by people who sought his support to get elected.
It’s a similar picture on the Supreme Court. Donald Trump had appointed three conservative justices during his previous term. The legal safeguards that limited previous presidents after its July decision giving presidents broad immunity from criminal prosecution have been loosened.
Trump will be the first Republican president since 1988 to win with the most votes in the election. Nearly nine in 10 Republican voters have a positive view of him, according to a Reuters/Ipsos poll conducted in October.
The Republicans have plenty of reasons to celebrate. Republican strategist Josh Ashbrook told Reuters that “the president will return to office triumphantly, with a new mandate to fix the biggest problems facing our nation. And this time he knows how Washington can work to his advantage.”
More MAGA and less Republican
In recent months, his allies have been considering potential candidates for posts in the new administration to be staffed by his loyal soldiers.
“We are looking for younger, more MAGA people. More MAGA and less Republican than before,” said one donor, who wished to remain anonymous, referring to Trump’s Make America Great Again slogan.
Meanwhile, the Senate is expected to comfortably approve the nominees Trump wants to appoint to government positions, unlike what happened in his first term when many nominees were rejected by senators. Republicans have regained control of the Senate, having picked up 52 to 57 seats out of a total of 100.
“With a 54-seat majority, which is the number that seems to be looming now, he should be able to get his nominees approved,” commented analyst John Lieber at Eurasia group.
Fears that he will feel unbridled
It is expected to be equally easy for Trump to approve the judicial nominees he will put forward, although not many vacancies remain as Democratic President Joe Biden has nominated nearly half of the 890 permanent federal judges in the US.
Meanwhile, legal experts believe the Supreme Court’s ruling on presidential immunity will make Trump feel unbridled once he is sworn in on January 20.
“Trump will have very few constraints and I think he will feel very empowered with this decision in his pocket,” commented Cheryl Baker, a law professor at Fordham University.
