OPINION:
The shambolic, wandering and vituperative remarks from Vice President Kamala Harris in Tuesday’s closing argument were, of course, more like a typically dreadful State of the Union address — albeit punctuated by idiocy (I doubt the gentlemen at Normandy and the gentlemen at the Stonewall Tavern in Greenwich Village suffered in equal measure or for the same purpose) — than anything else.
Indeed, the itemized list of the usual proposals from the Marxist vanguard served as a reminder that one of these candidates is going to be president.
And given the narrowness of the likely victory and the relative closeness of congressional margins, the candidate will need to prioritize his or her wish list.
This problem is likely to be especially acute for former President Donald Trump, who would, of course, be a lame duck upon taking the oath of office. That status would complicate his relationships with Congress (since none of the lawmakers would share a ballot with him again), as well as the federal bureaucracy that would seek to wait him out.
In addition, most of 2025 in Congress will be taken up by the debt ceiling, tax reform and which regulations will be subject to the Congressional Review Act.
The time necessary to process and confirm the presidential appointees who require the advise and consent of the Senate will be in short supply. That will be especially challenging for nominees with limited public-sector experience.
With respect to tax reform, Mr. Trump has proposed half a dozen or so provisions — deductibility for tips, interest on car loans, home health care providers, the military and first responders — that are relatively new ideas and likely to take some time to socialize. They would be politically complicated.
Moreover, numerous administrative actions — such as suspending regulations that would need to be rewritten, making determinations about tariffs and other policies and simply gaining working control of the vast apparatus of a federal government that spends $7 trillion a year — would demand immediate attention.
At the same time, the renewed president would need to populate his administration with 3,000 to 5,000 political appointees. That process itself would be fraught, as many prospective appointees would no doubt hesitate to commit some portion of their career to an administration that has no chance of running beyond four years.
Three final thoughts bear notice. First, when the president is a lame duck, pending elections become the enemy. If the Republicans hold the House and Senate by narrow margins after next week, the Democrats would likely retake control in 2026. That likelihood would alter expectations of both prospective appointees and members of Congress.
On the presidential level, the election to replace Mr. Trump would begin about a month after he takes the oath of office.
Second, it seems reasonable to assume that there will be civil unrest in the wake of the election. That will drain energy and focus from the executive.
Third, various associates of the president are virtually guaranteed to say or do things that will draw attention and resources away from the actual agenda.
To address and compensate for all of this, a crisp transition and a coherent and well-understood order of priorities is essential. Like Ms. Harris, Mr. Trump and his advisers have a lot of things they want and need to accomplish. A quick start, especially with respect to Congress, taxes and personnel, are irreducible requirements. If Mr. Trump wins next week, speed will be of the essence.
• Michael McKenna is a contributing editor at The Washington Times. He ran the energy transition for the Trump transition team in 2016.
Please read our comment policy before commenting.