Why the clock is already ticking on the new GOP congressional majority

CNN — The Republican Congress that began its first full week of work on Monday is already operating on borrowed time – unless the GOP can defy one of the most powerful patterns of recent US politics. Almost always over the past few decades, during a new president’s first two years, the party holding unified control has sought to cram as many of its highest priorities as possible into the special legislative tool known as reconciliation. For the Republicans who will hold unified control after Trump’s inauguration later this month, Davis said, “Politically, the worst thing would be to get this and not produce, because when your base collapses, everything goes.” That will likely be a major argument for Republican leaders this year, he adds, particularly as they try to corral their razor-thin House majority behind what will likely be a sprawling reconciliation bill. Even counting the next two years in which Republicans will exercise complete control over Washington, by 2026, one party or the other will have held unified control for just 18 of the past 58 years. “The days of 30-vote majorities,” said Israel, “are probably over for the time being.” Even the parties that successfully defended unified control in the past usually suffered losses in the House and Senate during midterm elections; the difference for them was that their majorities were big enough that they could lose some seats and maintain control.