After President Trump’s address to Congress on Tuesday, March 4, 2025, it is unclear if there will be much desire or willingness on behalf of the Democrats and Republicans to collaborate on legislation during the 119th Congress. President Trump and Congressional Republicans are moving toward “one big, beautiful” reconciliation bill (that is possible to enact without Democratic support) that will reflect most of President Trump’s priorities. The question is: what happens after reconciliation? The answer to that question has implications for issues such as reauthorizing user fees and reforming the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA), enacting a Farm Bill that has been extended twice already, and online security — all of which will require bipartisan support to be enacted.

Legislating is difficult. Our system of government is designed in a way that makes legislating quickly challenging, even if one party controls both Houses of Congress and the Executive Branch. (See Obama, Barack). Presidents have increasingly turned to Executive Orders or passing legislation with only the majority party. These routes have limitations. True, durable, legislation takes agreement, negotiation, and ultimately bipartisan support for meaningful legislation to be enacted. Anything that can be developed and deployed quickly can be overturned quickly. Each new administration believes it has a mandate to govern and desires to leave its mark on America. One of the first actions of any new President is to freeze regulatory actions of his predecessor and, in some instances, issue an order repealing a previous Executive Order.

Some of the problems and issues facing the United States require both parties to work together. Unfortunately, the electorate does not reward getting things done (especially if it requires working with the other party to do so) as much as it rewards “standing up” to the other side. Failing to fight or support the party line is punished these days by being primaried. This is one of several unfortunate changes that have come to Washington, D.C. during the past several decades. Partisanship has always existed. There were times when elected officials were able to work together, despite party, and craft policy that was good for the country. When both parties have “skin in the game” they are more likely to protect what they created. When one party “goes it alone,” it sets up a dynamic that encourages the other party to seek to undo that policy at all costs, as happened with the Affordable Care Act.

Republicans control the Executive Branch and both Houses of Congress and are seeking to implement large parts of President Trump’s agenda through a legislative maneuver called budget reconciliation. This process enables legislation to pass with majority only votes, which helps in the Senate where a procedure called cloture requires 60 votes, usually meaning that bipartisan support is required. Under reconciliation, the majority party, in this case Republicans, can pass legislation without a single vote from the minority party. There are some downsides to using the reconciliation process. For one thing, reconciliation legislation has an expiration date. It is not durable. Reconciliation can only affect revenues or expenditures. Republicans will spend much of 2025 attempting to pass reconciliation legislation. This is going to require time, effort, and lots of negotiating among Republicans. At the end of the day, Republicans will pass something, but the scope and cost of it will be limited by the rules of reconciliation.

What all this means for legislation that Congress needs to address post-reconciliation remains to be seen. After what is likely to be a year-long partisan exercise, how much will Democrats be willing to work with Republicans to enact any policies that will be perceived as Republican victories? During the Biden Administration, the dynamic was the same. Another complicating factor is history — the party in power almost always loses seats in the House of Representatives in the mid-year elections. With such a narrow majority in the House, history indicates that Democrats are likely to take control of the House after the 2026 elections. If the past is a predictor of the future, you should rewind your DVR to watch 2023-2024 (the 118th Congress) play out in reverse, with Democrats in the House seeking to stymie any legislation desired by Republicans in the Senate or President Trump.

Buckle up and stay tuned. It is going to be a bumpy ride.