President-elect Donald Trump won’t retake the presidency for five days, but the race is on among Republicans to position themselves as his facilitator-in-chief on Capitol Hill.
Members of Congress are trying to convince Trump they are best positioned to turn his agenda into law, including tax reform, mass deportations, and efforts to control sovereign foreign lands. It’s still early, and few clear winners have emerged. But it’s evident Trump, facing a razor-thin majority in the House, will have to lean on relationships with lawmakers to get things done — and those efforts could reap rewards for entrepreneurial members.
Bids for Trump’s attention in recent days have come in the form of unvarnished messaging bills, which have accelerated in recent days. Rep.
In a brief interview, Johnson softened his description of his bill from his announcement, saying it would only explore the option of buying the canal, underscoring the maneuvering needed to champion Trump’s more unorthodox ideas.
To be Trump’s conduit, a member must do more than demonstrate loyalty. They must carry water. Anyone hoping to wield influence will simultaneously have to ingratiate themselves with the president’s inner circle, manage his shifting expectations, and have the clout on Capitol Hill to sell Trump’s more out-there ideas to colleagues.
In the Senate, one under-the-radar influencer is
Trump values his opinion and will pay attention to it, the lobbyist said of Mullin, adding he has a more level-headed perspective than some of his far-right colleagues who is “not crazy”.
Mullin has a deep knowledge of the House, having represented an Oklahoma district for a decade before being elected to the Senate, this person added.
One over performer so far has been House Speaker Mike Johnson. He passed a spending bill without the debt ceiling agreement Trump wanted and still earned the president-elect’s support in leadership elections a few days later. While it may not be surprising that the speaker would have a close relationship with the president, recent history has shown it’s tough to balance the wishes of Trump and the far-right Freedom Caucus and remain in power for long.
Anyone looking to influence Trump’s will also have to curry favor with his inner circle, most notably James Braid, an ally of Vice President-elect JD Vance who will serve as the White House director of legislative affairs. Braid has a long resume on Capitol Hill and in the executive branch, serving as Vance’s deputy chief of staff, legislative liaison for the Office of Management and Budget during the first Trump administration, and policy director for the House Freedom Caucus—a combination of skills that could help contain far-right insurgents.
And there’s incoming Chief of Staff Susie Wiles, a former lobbyist familiar with the Hill. She has lobbied the White House, Congress, and federal agencies for more than 40 clients, according to a report from the left-leaning nonprofit Public Citizen.
Another under-the-radar player is Vince Haley, who will lead the White House Domestic Policy Council. Haley is a former speechwriter from the first Trump White House under Stephen Miller.
Confirmation hearings offer another venue for Trump allies to distinguish themselves. During a hearing Tuesday on Pete Hegseth, Trump’s nominee for Secretary of Defense, Mullin accused Democratic senators of voting drunk after they questioned Hegseth on his potential character defects.
“It is so ridiculous that you guys hold yourself as this higher standard and you forget you’ve got a big plank in your eye,” Mullin said.
The hearings for other Trump appointees, including Marco Rubio (R-Fla) and South Dakota Gov. Kristi Noem (R), will present another opportunity for congressional Republicans to show their support of the president-elect.
—With assistance from Maeve Sheehey
To contact the reporter on this story:
To contact the editor responsible for this story: