After a year of Trump-inspired inaction, some Republicans in Congress are growing restless

One of the more remarkable moments in the history of our system of checks and balances came after the 2024 election.

Despite President Donald Trump having been elected with less than a majority of the popular vote (49.8%), congressional Republicans spoke about his victory as a landslide for the ages. Some of them even argued that Congress should effectively give up its prerogatives and do whatever the all-conquering Trump told them to do.

“Whatever that is, we need to embrace it. All of it. Every single word,” Rep. Troy Nehls of Texas said last year. “If Donald Trump says jump three feet high and scratch your head, we all jump three feet high and scratch our heads. And that’s it.”

The problem with that – beyond the fact that Congress is supposed to be a powerful branch of government in its own right – is that Trump didn’t seem to want lawmakers, who are also elected, to do much of anything. In fact, Trump mostly seemed to want the legislative branch to go away and let him govern through executive action.

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https://www.cnn.com/2025/12/11/politics/republicans-congress-restless-trump-inaction