The 115th Congress convened Tuesday amid a palpable feeling of unease, as both Democrats and Republicans sought to adjust to the center of political gravity that is President-elect Donald Trump.
In a day of ceremony, the entire House took the oath of office anew and a third of senators — those elected in November — were sworn in.
The House also voted to renew Speaker Paul D. Ryan’s lease on power, as the Wisconsin Republican easily topped California Democrat Nancy Pelosi in voting. Senate Republicans retained Mitch McConnell of Kentucky as majority leader, and Democrats elevated Sen. Charles E. Schumer of New York to be their floor leader.
Mr. Schumer and Mrs. Pelosi said they might be able to work with Mr. Trump on some policies such as changes to Social Security and Medicare that congressional Republicans oppose. But they warned that they will throw up roadblocks if Mr. Trump tries to follow a more traditional Republican agenda of cutting taxes and the size of government.
“It is not our job to be a rubber stamp. It’s our job to do what’s best for the American people, the middle class,” Mr. Schumer said in his first speech as minority leader.
House Republicans quickly bent to Mr. Trump’s will after he blasted them for proposing a rules change that would have eviscerated an independent ethics watchdog. The president-elect, in a Twitter post, said Congress had better things to do. Within minutes, the Republicans shelved their plans.
Much of the heavy lifting of Congress will have to wait until after Mr. Trump takes the oath of office on Jan. 20, but Republicans began to lay the groundwork. Among their actions was introducing a bill that would help speed repeal of Obamacare through a budget process now controlled by Republicans in both chambers of Congress and the White House.
“This is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. This is the kind of thing most of us only dream about,” Mr. Ryan said. “The people have given us unified government. And it wasn’t because they were feeling generous; it was because they want results. How can we live with ourselves if we let them down?”
The White House, meanwhile, passed on its last chance to put Judge Merrick Garland on the Supreme Court. Some legal scholars said the president had an opportunity, in the five minutes between the end of the 114th Congress and the beginning of the 115th, to use his recess appointment powers to elevate Judge Garland from a circuit court of appeals to the high court.
But the victory would have been short-lived. Judge Garland’s appointment would have lasted, at most, only a year, and he could have been replaced as soon as the Senate confirms whomever Mr. Trump nominates for the high court.
Instead, the White House is preparing to defend Mr. Obama’s other priorities. The president has a meeting scheduled with congressional Democrats on Wednesday to strategize ways to preserve the Affordable Care Act, his 2010 health care law.
The law is the top target for Senate Budget Committee Chairman Michael B. Enzi, Wyoming Republican, who introduced a 2017 budget Tuesday that would create the window for repealing Obamacare under fast-track procedures that would pre-empt a Senate filibuster.
“Today we take the first steps to repair the nation’s broken health care system,” he said.
Mr. Schumer, though, said Mr. Trump could be a stumbling block for Republicans. The Democrat pointed to Mr. Trump’s campaign remarks backing coverage of pre-existing conditions and allowing adults in their early and mid-20s to stay on their parents’ health care plans.
“It is not acceptable to repeal the law, throw our health care system into chaos and then leave the hard work for another day,” Mr. Schumer said.
He added: “If there is one part of my speech that I hope you listen to and take to heart, it’s this one — and I mean it with the best of intentions. If you abandon change and simply embrace the shopworn, hard-right, pro-corporate, pro-elite policies diametrically opposed to the many campaign themes that helped you win working-class votes and get you elected, your presidency will not succeed.”
Mr. Trump, meeting with his transition team in New York, made sure his presence was felt in Washington via Twitter. He complained about ongoing problems with Obamacare, threatened penalties against General Motors Co. if it produces cars in Mexico and tries to sell them on the U.S. market, and said House Republicans were already losing sight of their priorities by picking a fight with Democrats over congressional ethics rules.
“Focus on tax reform, healthcare and so many other things of far greater importance,” he tweeted.
The spanking reverberated across the Capitol.
“He comes here with a lot of political capital and a tool of being able to speak to the American people. I don’t know of any American president that had that. Sure, it’s going to send some shivers down the spines of some members,” said Rep. Lou Barletta, a Pennsylvania Republican who sided with Mr. Trump and against the ethics rules change.
Whatever Mr. Trump’s effects, the House GOP is more unified than it has been in years, judging by the vote for speaker.
Mr. Ryan won the vote 239-189 over Mrs. Pelosi, losing only a single Republican lawmaker’s support. Two years ago, 25 Republicans defected from John A. Boehner.
Mrs. Pelosi, meanwhile, lost the votes of four Democrats.
• Tom Howell Jr. and S.A. Miller contributed to this report.
• Stephen Dinan can be reached at sdinan@washingtontimes.com.
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