Welcome to the ultimate From the Politics Desk e-newsletter of the 12 months, the place we stay up for the most important storylines that can form Washington and past in 2025. (Check out our recap of the dynamics that defined 2024 here.) We’ll be again on Friday, Jan. 3.
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5 large storylines that can form 2025
By Sahil Kapur
With the brand new Congress getting underway on Jan. 3, and President-elect Donald Trump’s time period beginning Jan. 20, listed here are 5 large storylines to observe within the new 12 months.
1. How will Mike Johnson handle the tiny House majority?
For Mike Johnson, getting re-elected as House speaker on Jan. 3, if he manages it, would be the simple half. Next, he’ll need to navigate a sequence of inauspicious duties with a wafer-thin House majority: one other spherical of presidency funding on March 14, a debt restrict deadline and a significant party-line invoice (maybe two) to advance Trump’s agenda on immigration, border safety, vitality and tax cuts. It might be a frightening problem, significantly for a speaker who leapt out of nowhere to take over the job simply 14 months in the past. Johnson, who received Trump’s endorsement to stay speaker on Monday, is about to face probably the most consequential stretch of his profession.
2. What will outline the John Thune period?
For the primary time in 18 years, Senate Republicans could have a brand new chief, with John Thune taking the reins from Mitch McConnell. Will Thune’s management type be comparable or completely different? McConnell constructed his energy by gaining a deep understanding of his convention and following its needs. On what points, if any, will Thune say no to Trump, and the way?
3. How will Democrats handle Trump 2.0?
There are early indications that Democrats, burned by their failures in 2024, want to deal with Trump differently than they did in his first time period. Fewer freakouts about his social media posts and cultural taunts; extra concentrate on the financial points that triggered voters to swing towards them. It’s notable that some Democrats’ harshest criticism of Trump after the election got here when he mentioned it could be “arduous” to lower grocery prices. But whether or not Democrats could have the self-discipline to remain centered on kitchen-table points stays to be seen.
4. Which stars will emerge within the new Congress?
The congressional class of 2025 will deliver a brand new solid of characters for each events. For Republicans on Capitol Hill, forex will equal proximity to Trump’s White House, the ability to advance his agenda, and the power to go viral on conservative media. For Democrats, the query is who would be the face of the second resistance? They spent the final days of 2024 portraying Trump as a puppet of billionaires like Elon Musk and demanding a debt restrict hike to grease the wheels for giving Tump one other tax minimize invoice.
5. Do Trump and his allies pursue retribution?
After operating on an agenda of retribution towards perceived political foes, Trump mentioned this month in an interview with “Meet the Press” that he needs to show the web page. “I’m not trying to return into the previous. Retribution might be by way of success,” he mentioned. But his actions inform a special story. He has already pursued authorized motion towards media entities like ABC News and an Iowa pollster earlier than taking workplace. On Capitol Hill, he’ll have allies in energy locations, with committee chairmanships and subpoena energy to analyze. Will they use their energy to settle scores for Trump?
That’s all from the Politics Desk for now. If you’ve got suggestions — likes or dislikes — e-mail us at politicsnewsletter@nbcuni.com
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