Kerby Anderson

During the 2024 presidential campaign, I did several commentaries on the challenges the next president would face in 2025. Donald Trump is now the president, and his administration and Congress face some significant political challenges.

Karl Rove recently listed them as “The Five Trials of Trump 47.” One of those challenges is the need to approve a funding bill for the balance of the 2025 fiscal year or face a shutdown on March 14. The added challenges are getting both the House and Senate to approve budget resolutions, then going to conference committee, and finally taking up the difficult issues associated with budget reconciliation.

In the background is a desire by the president and members of Congress to extend the Trump 2017 tax cuts. This requires some coordination since Senate Republicans prefer two reconciliation measures, while the House Republicans favor one reconciliation.

Another challenge is the need for Congress to raise the debt ceiling. It hit its $36.1 trillion limit the day Donald Trump was sworn into office. We are a month past that limit. So far, the Treasury Department has been using what are called “extraordinary measures” to keep the government working.

Speaker Mike Johnson faces the challenge of trying to move legislation through the House with the narrowest of margins. Representative Matt Gaetz already resigned. Representative Mike Waltz left to become national security advisor, and Representative Elise Stefanik is leaving to become UN ambassador.

These are just a few of the political challenges Trump, his administration, and Congress will face over the next few months. But there are more challenges on the horizon. Tomorrow, I will talk about many of the economic challenges ahead.