GOP Maintains Influence Over Most Legislatures, State Policy

Elsewhere in the Senate, Marco Rubio (R-FL) won a decisive re-election bid, which was an uphill battle considering his failed presidential run and his tenuous relationship with Trump.

President-elect Donald Trump paid a visit to the White House Thursday, and by all accounts he was pleasant toward the current occupant.

To those in heavily Republican Mohave County, the election of Donald Trump coupled with the retention of Congressional majorities looks like the flawless alignment of stars. They’re no better than Trump himself, who only a few weeks ago said that he would only accept the result of the election if he won.

One of those things could be infrastructure spending, which Trump promised in his victory speech.

And in some cases Republicans themselves might be the barrier.

Democratic operatives struggled to explain why their optimistic assessments of retaking Senate control were so mistaken. By Wednesday morning, it became clear that the GOP holds almost unprecedented control not only in Washington, but also in state capitals across the country. It will take painstaking and potentially lengthy negotiations to come up with a solution.

Whether it be race, class, religion, trade, the economy or what have you, Trump’s victory was as complete as it was dominant. One of his major challenges will be salvaging the GOP-backed school choice plan lawmakers approved in 2014 but which was held up by court challenges until September. Among their various points of disagreement, Ryan criticized Trump’s proposal to ban Muslim immigration into the US, called Trump’s criticism of a federal judge of Mexican descent “racist” and denounced Trump’s feud with the parents of a Muslim-American soldier who was killed in Iraq.

It turns out that Democrats also got more votes for the U.S. Senate than Republicans, and yet Republicans maintained their majority on Capitol Hill. When we have a difference in opinion, I prefer that we work them out in private. Part of what has always made America great – and still does, even in a week like this one – is the fact that the constitution protects the opinions and the votes of all Americans. How do we go from lagging in the recovery versus most states to actually leading? “We’re going to look very strongly at healthcare, and we’re looking at jobs – big league jobs”. But Trump’s ability to deliver on his extravagant campaign promises to change Washington and rebuild the nation will require passing laws, a tedious process not built for instant gratification.

Sen. David Johnson, an independent from Ocheyedan, said he would not support that approach, favoring instead a three-eighths of a penny increase in the state sales tax that Iowa voters approved in 2010 for natural resources and environmental improvements.

Republicans took control of the Iowa Senate, continuing a nationwide trend over the past several years.

“Many of his proposals would face a certain filibuster in the Senate”, predicted Jim Manley, a Democratic consultant and former top Senate aide.

On top of that, the NY real estate businessman and former reality television celebrity who will head the world’s most powerful government and largest economy, has no governing experience.

Now that Republicans have control of the White House and Congress, it will be interesting to see how the GOP handles its new power.

Republican donors who did not support Trump, too, were coming around. This was a big night for Republicans and a awful one for Democrats, and that extends far beyond the personalities of Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton.

Secular progressive policies at home and overseas are not working.

At a post-election news conference, McConnell declined to endorse Trump’s signature border wall with Mexico.

The new Congress will not convene until January 3, but the “lame-duck” Congress will return next week and Republicans are set to begin the process of picking leaders for both chambers.