The Pushback Begins

Rick Klein: “If week one of the Trump presidency was about action, week two was about reaction. After a wild initial flurry, Congress is showing signs of exerting itself, slowing Cabinet nominees and seeking to rein in presidential impulses on national security and domestic policy alike. The judiciary has stopped, for now the most controversial early Trump move — the temporary travel ban that now isn’t. Trump’s not-filled Cabinet appears to have convinced him to engage in a more formal process around executive orders. Even the federal bureaucracy is playing a role in softening the administration’s harder edges, or at least forcing a more deliberate pace. And the most powerful part of the reaction may just be making itself known. The raucous scenes starting to play out at congressional town halls are already drawing comparisons to 2009-2010. So yes, there’s a big push. But the big pushback might be just as important.”