What to Know in Washington: Trump is Back But With Little Time

Donald Trump’s power to change Washington is unquestioned. Whether he has enough time isn’t nearly so certain. But first, you should know:

• Lobbyists are pivoting their influence to Elon Musk’s DOGE in hopes of reaching Trump.
• Republicans aren’t convinced of Big Tech’s political change of heart.
• The Senate’s newest member is well-positioned to keep the seat after JD Vance’s original term ends.

Trump is Back, But With Little Time

When Donald Trump takes office at noon, he’ll be at the zenith of his political power. But the clock will also immediately start ticking on his second — and final — term, Ian Kullgren reports.

He’s got as few as two years to deliver on a litany of promises. If Republicans lose power in the 2026 midterms, as history and Trump’s own 2018 midterm performance suggest they will, the incoming president will have just 652 days to deliver on several promises to reshape the country.

Historic tax cuts, the largest deportations of undocumented immigrants in US history, and new tariffs will be on the agenda. So will taking a wrecking ball to — in his eyes — a bloated federal workforce. That’s already a difficult task, but come January 2027, it could be all but impossible.

“We’ve got two years to make things happen,” Ways and Means Committee member Rep. Greg Murphy (R-N.C.) said. “You never know, we might break history”.

Extending his 2017 tax cuts is a major part of the agenda Trump wants to turn into reality, but it’s complicated by the narrow majority Republicans hold in the House. With a four-vote edge over Democrats — and just one more than the 218 required to pass legislation — Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) inherited the smallest majority in nearly a century.

Republicans are trying to make every moment count — and there are early signs things might be different this time. Read More

• Also Read: Emboldened Trump Returns to Power With New Allies, Clear Goals

Read BGOV’s Congress Tracker for our breakdown of lawmakers’ agenda and the politics driving it.

Lobbyists Eye Musk’s DOGE to Reach Trump

Legions of lobbyists working the halls of Congress and federal agencies to secure their policy priorities have a new target: A shadow federal department run by Elon Musk.

Companies and industry groups are looking to Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency to advance their agendas and protect their interests. The urgency to make inroads with Musk’s group underscores how special interests see the billionaire as a shortcut to Trump, a way to push their issues to the front of the line.

It also shows how an entity ostensibly created to disrupt politics as usual is quickly becoming a target for Washington’s seasoned advocacy apparatus. The exact scope of the lobbying isn’t known. It won’t be a formal department and might not even be a part of the federal government. That means lobbyists don’t have to say if they’re in touch with the organization, an end-run around standard disclosure rules.

But a handful of companies filed federal reports that they’re either lobbying the group directly or talking with members of Congress about the effort and the issues the entity is likely to tackle. Read More

• Vivek Ramaswamy — Musk’s DOGE co-leader — plans to announce a 2026 campaign for Ohio governor, according to a campaign operative familiar with his thinking. Read More

GOP Vows Tech Scrutiny Despite Trump Ties

Congressional Republicans insisted they’ll continue pushing to regulate the largest technology companies in the world, despite warming relations between industry leaders and Trump, Oma Seddiq reports.

Meta’s Mark Zuckerberg, Amazon‘s Jeff Bezos, Tesla and X’s Elon Musk and Google‘s Sundar Pichai are among the powerful tech executives expected to attend the inauguration ceremony in a splashy display of the industry’s pivot since the election to ease tensions with Trump, who bashed the companies in his first term and threatened to crack down on allegations of online bias against conservatives.

Sen. Josh Hawley (R-Mo.) said, “They want to be close to the people who are now going to be regulating them and writing the law.”

“I don’t believe for a second these guys have had some fundamental change of heart. I think that their bottom line is their profit margin, and they’re concerned about that,” he added.

Senate Commerce Chairman Ted Cruz (R-Texas), whose panel has jurisdiction over tech companies and previously led probes into their practices, similarly said he’s “not at all” worried about tech’s ties to Trump and will “absolutely” continue to exercise oversight. Read More

• Also Read: Trump: Spoke With Cook of Apple, Who Pledged Massive Investment

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