Republican leader set to make big changes following landslide victory
After taking majority control of both the Senate and the House this past week, the Republican Party has decided to challenge many of President Obama’s policies, in hopes of taking things in a new direction.
The GOP has announced plans to make Congress “more productive.” This statement follows a previous Democrat-Republican split in Congress, with the GOP holding the House and the Democrats the Senate, providing frustration and dissatisfaction for the American population.
President Obama is hoping to overhaul the immigration system.
Newly elected Senate Leader Mitch McConnell aired his frustrations, noting that “the Senate, in the last few years, basically doesn’t do anything.” President Obama responded to McConnell post-election, noting that he is “eager to work with the new Congress” to make the next few years productive.
There has been speculation that Obama’s statements come as a result of the Democratic Party’s attempts to remove themselves from his shadow – a political strategy to ensure the party’s success in the upcoming presidential election.
While the Democratic Party is contemplating how to use their majority in the Senate while it lasts, President Obama is hoping to overhaul the immigration system. Following through on that move, however, risks alienation from his party, currently trying to tread lightly as they look forward to 2016.
Furthermore, the Democrats are deliberating on whether to confirm Loretta E. Lynch as Attorney General while they can, or hold off and leave the GOP in charge of that decision. Some speculate that the hesitations stem from the harm to their image that could stem from grilling a Black woman so obviously fit for the job.
The most salient issue is how the new Republican Congress will handle the Affordable Care Act. It remains to be seen whether they will repeal the controversial “Obamacare” or make drastic changes to the Act. However, as the House held by the GOP for years has made attempts in a similar vein, the Senate is likely to follow suit. Other issues-at-hand in the early stages of the new government include Net Neutrality, carbon emission taxes and control, and minimum wage laws.
The Republicans did not gain a complete 2/3 majority to override a presidential veto in this election, however, so options remain on the table for President Obama.
Despite the complicated process of shifting party control in Congress, the American people have voted to make some big changes. Oregon, Alaska, and Washington D.C. all legalized the recreational use of marijuana on their ballots, and the acceptance of medical-use marijuana was widespread across the country. Abortion legislation, gun laws, and income inequality policy, conversely, faced mixed results country-wide.
The ability of the two parties to work together productively will help shape the road leading up to the Presidential election in 2016.