The soon-to-be president, who vowed to shake up Washington, this week tapped several highly unconventional candidates for his Cabinet, pressured Senate leadership candidates to back his plans for recess appointments, and is pushing lawmakers to back policy positions that violate traditional Republican orthodoxy, such as tariffs.
Early signs point to a House and Senate largely unwilling to buck his will, at least publicly. “He’s got a mission statement, his mission and his goals and objectives, whatever that is, we need to embrace it, all of it, every single word,” said Rep. Troy E. Nehls (R-Texas), a Trump loyalist.
In naming a set of unconventional nominees to run federal departments, Donald Trump this week also took steps to push for a broader goal: realigning the balance of power among Washington’s major institutions so that more authority flows from the White House.
Trump has threatened to take steps that would undermine the Senate’s confirmation powers and Congress’s role in budgeting—the most essential powers of the two chambers. He has insisted that senators allow him to place some nominees directly in their jobs, bypassing the Senate’s public hearings and confirmation process. He has said he would move to impound—or decline to spend—money appropriated by Congress for programs he dislikes, a step likely requiring him to overturn current law in court.
Trump’s transition team is considering a plan to bypass the Pentagon’s regular promotion system, with a draft executive order that would create a panel to evaluate three- and four-star officers for potential removal. If signed by the new president, the order would allow Trump to fire what he has called “woke generals,” those seen as promoting diversity in the ranks at the expense of military readiness.
Federal Reserve leaders have braced for a potential effort to fire Chairman Jerome Powell, while officials elsewhere are waiting to see whether Trump follows through on a campaign promise to rein in other independent agencies, such as the Federal Trade Commission and Federal Communications Commission, and subject them to greater presidential authority. “These agencies do not get to become a fourth branch of government,” he said as a candidate.
Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell has said he wouldn’t step down if asked to do so. Photo: LM Otero/Associated Press
Trump also has suggested he would take steps to disempower legacy media companies, calling for the government to revoke some broadcasters’ licenses. He has filed suits against the Washington Post for alleged libel, against ABC for alleged defamation and against CBS over its editing of an interview with his presidential rival, Vice President Kamala Harris.
For an American public that just voted for change in Washington, Trump and his team have shown they are pushing not just for adjustments but for a substantial reshaping of the government and its power structures.
“Clearly, he wants power for the purpose of overthrowing the established practices of government,” said former Sen. John Danforth, a Republican who represented Missouri in the Senate for nearly two decades. Circumventing the Senate on appointments, he said, likely “would be a violation of the Constitution—the glue that keeps us together as a country.”
Adam Jentleson, a Democrat and former senior Senate aide, said, “It’s impossible to look at the big picture here and not see a president who is intent on seizing an unprecedented level of control.”