On day one, tech billionaires hobnobbed with lawmakers over crab cakes and ribeyes after watching President Donald Trump’s inauguration from the best seats in the house.
On day two, Congress’ moderate Republicans stared at the ground ahead of them as they fielded reporters’ questions on changing the name of Mt. Denali, pardoning Jan. 6 rioters who attacked police, and eliminating birthright citizenship – or speed-walked in the opposite direction.
On day three, Oath Keepers founder Stewart Rhodes – recently released from prison, where he was serving time for seditious conspiracy in the Jan. 6, 2021 attack on the Capitol – was spotted eating lunch in a House office building after meeting with Republican lawmakers.
And on day four, two female GOP senators went against their party to oppose Trump’s nominee for Defense Secretary after a steady drip, drip, drip of sexual assault and abuse allegations that nearly (but not quite) derailed his confirmation on day five.
Welcome to Capitol Hill in the second Trump administration, where the new White House drives the day, whether lawmakers like it or not.
When Trump first took office in 2017, he was still an insurgent to his own party. The GOP-dominated Congress had plenty of Republicans who had been critical of the new, mold-breaking leader. Lawmakers on both sides had to adjust to the unrelenting news cycle and the likelihood that their lives could be turned upside down by one Trump tweet.
Eight years later, most of those openly critical Republicans are gone. Those who remain accept or embrace Trump’s freewheeling style, and are well aware of both the benefits of demonstrating their loyalty and the potential consequences of defying him.