Former Bush-Cheney strategist ‘doubts’ GOP will be able to pass meaningful reform

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Former Bush-Cheney campaign strategist Matthew Dowd added another layer to his reasoning that the second Trump administration was over before it started, and it involved RINOs.

(Video Credit: MSNBC)

Whether running attacks against President-elect Donald Trump’s staffing nominations or making moves to hinder the policy positions that led to a swing state sweep, the left remained unrelenting in efforts to hamper the America First agenda. However, joining “MSNBC Reports” Tuesday, Dowd suggested Democrats couldn’t hold all the blame as, even with congressional majorities, he cast “doubt” on the GOP’s ability to pass meaningful legislation.

MSNBC’s Alex Witt brought in a panel to look ahead at the political landscape in 2025 and asked Dowd, “Because on Capitol Hill, the Republican Senate leader no longer is going to be Mitch McConnell when Congress comes back. We have John Thune of South Dakota who is going to step into that role. Will Republicans be able to get anything done with slim majorities and a president who drives so much of the party agenda?”

“I think that’s the big question,” began his reply. “I doubt they’re gonna be able to pass any real legislative fundamental change reform packages in the manner that they want. They could pass some compromise strategies with Democrats, but they have a three-vote margin in the House, and a, you know, two-, three-vote margin in the Senate, and you have people like [Maine Sen.] Susan Collins and the senator from Alaska [Lisa Murkowski] who are gonna basically stop anything bad from happening.”

“So my guess is they’re gonna figure out pretty early on that passing some fundamental real legislative reform is all but impossible in this. And I think Donald Trump’s gonna, you know, resort to executive orders or, on the international scale, you know, doing things with or without NATO, doing things with Russia — all of those things he can do sort of on his own as president of the United States,” he went on. “But legislatively, I think it’s almost impossible to pass any fundamental reform that I think Republicans want.”

Dowd’s take comes on the heels of his assertion days earlier that, while shuffling out the door at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue, President Joe Biden was endeavoring to “box” Trump in before the GOP leader’s second term could begin.

“I think the Biden administration and the president is trying to prevent Donald Trump from doing as much damage as he possibly could do, which he could do a lot after becoming president,” he told MSNBC’s Richard Lui. “But I think Joe Biden is trying to box him in on this.”

While Democratic senators encouraged the lame-duck incumbent to impede Trump’s planned mass deportations, Republicans bolstered Dowd’s point as they seemingly struggled to find accord on how best to serve their constituents and advance the agenda put forward by the president-elect, down to disagreeing on who would hold the gavel in the House.

Staff Writer–Writers and editors can be contacted at [email protected] with feedback, tips, or corrections.

Native of Brooklyn, NY, Kevin Haggerty is a graduate of Hunter College where he studied Cultural Anthropology and Geography. An avid reader and truth seeker, he currently resides in Texas with his wife and their dog and, when he isn’t researching current events and their impacts, you’ll find him spending time with friends and family or working on his next novel.

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