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Opinion: Will Republicans prove Trump haters right, or do their jobs and govern like adults?

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Opinion: Will Republicans prove Trump haters right, or do their jobs and govern like adults?

With GOP control of the White House, the Senate and soon the House, it’s almost time for Republicans to prove they know best for the country – or fail on their own.

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On the heels of former President Donald Trump’s reelection victory, Republicans are naturally taking a victory lap. 

There remain some scattered outstanding votes left to be counted in House races, but as it stands Americans have given Republicans a strong mandate in 2024. If Republicans take control of the House, it will be the first time they’ve controlled both chambers of Congress and the presidency since Trump’s first term. 

Republicans must prove to Americans that they can be the adults in the room and effectively right the ship now that they have been trusted with power. If not, Republicans could face a quick revoke of their hold on the federal government, as Americans did in 2018.

Republican have to know it’s time to prove the doubters wrong  

News media pundits have long criticized Trump’s GOP as being dysfunctional and riddled with infighting, to much merit. 

Between several debt ceiling hiccups and a high-profile House speakership battle, Republicans have provided critics with more than enough ammo to show that they are too focused on fighting among themselves than they are responsible governing. 

For much of the dysfunction, Republicans have lacked sufficient political capital to actually be effective leaders, so these sideshows had limited effect on the governments’ actual effectiveness. 

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The GOP-controlled House has faced threats of a government shutdown several times over the past two years, often due to Republican infighting over budgetary legislation. It will be easier for them to achieve consensus with complete control, but we shouldn’t expect these disagreements to vanish.

Now that they have the supposed keys to the kingdom, distractions will directly inhibit their ability to both deliver conservative policy and actually keep the government running.

Republicans have consistently trashed President Joe Biden’s economic agenda, and the response from Trump is increased tariffs, which are certain to put even more economic burden on Americans.

As for the border crisis, Trump has made the massive surge in migrants a fixture of his campaign. Republicans now have the daunting task of actually solving said crisis, unlike the mostly empty Trumpian promise of a border wall paid for by Mexico last time around.

Republicans should avoid going full MAGA

Furthermore, with total control of our federal government, the blame will lie with Republicans in the case of any shortcomings in basic effectiveness. Namely, a government shutdown will result in the blame being laid solely at the feet of Republicans from voters. 

Democrats have warned for years that a return of the GOP to power would mean utter dysfunction. The worst possible thing that the GOP could do is prove them right. Americans rejected Trump in 2020 and were skeptical at best of giving Republicans power back in the 2022 midterm elections. If the prophecies told of another Trump presidency end up being true, the GOP will quickly get their leash tightened again.

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Acting by any means necessary to enact the full MAGA agenda will inevitably lose the trust of Americans, who are apprehensive toward radical change in one direction or the other.

Americans are sick of the Democrats, but it’s not like Trump was winning swing states by margins that Barack Obama did in 2008. This is not a sweeping mandate to enact Trump’s full slate of policy proposals. Republicans have been accused of any number of extreme policies, and they ought to recognize that too much volatile change too fast is likely to results in losses in the 2026 midterm elections.

The factions of the GOP will have difficulty navigating 

Total control poses a vulnerability for blame, and both factions of the GOP face difficulty as a result. 

Anti-Trump conservatives must walk the line of enabling the MAGA wing by falling in line, and restraining the party so far that it reduces their effectiveness. At the same time, the MAGA wing will have difficulty pushing the party so far that they lose more traditional conservatives, while also effectively advancing directives from Trump. 

With 53 seats in the Senate, the GOP will have some padding, particularly with a tie-breaking vote from Vice President JD Vance. This means there will be few opportunities for striking points, even on certain controversial Trump nominations that are being discussed. 

After years of simply needing to highlight Biden-Harris shortcomings, the Republicans now have to actually produce on its promises. A cohesive Republican Party will also install confidence in themselves so long as they are effective. The GOP has spent a long time asking for the keys to power by painting Democrats as disastrous mismanagement, rightfully so. 

Now is their time to prove they are more effective and can be trusted to do their jobs effectively. The American people have a short memory, and could easily turn back to Democrats if the GOP can’t do that. 

Dace Potas is an opinion columnist for USA TODAY and a graduate of DePaul University with a degree in political science.

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