Amy Walter and Jasmine Wright on Trump's control of GOP lawmakers
PBS News Hour - Segments
PBS NewsHour
4.1 • 1K Ratings
🗓️ 19 January 2026
⏱️ 8 minutes
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| 0:00.0 | For more on the relationship between the White House and Republicans in Congress, I'm joined by our Politics Monday duo. |
| 0:06.6 | That is Amy Walter of the Cook Political Report with Amy Walter and Jasmine Wright. White House correspondent for notice. |
| 0:13.3 | Tamara Keith is away this evening. Jazz, great to have you here. |
| 0:16.0 | Thank you. |
| 0:16.9 | Let's pick up where Lisa left off there. Amy, this idea that Congress has been seating its power over the years. |
| 0:22.7 | She tracked that in the report. We now have a president who's willing to push and exert authority in ways previous presidents have not. |
| 0:29.2 | What does that mean for lawmakers who want their power back? |
| 0:31.8 | Right. Well, some of it is, I think we have to step back for a minute and say for Republicans in Congress, obviously, |
| 0:42.3 | Republicans control the House and the Senate, they actually are supportive of what the president's doing because the base Republican Party voters remain very supportive of the president, |
| 0:49.0 | pretty much down the line. Overwhelmingly, they support the job that he's doing in office. There was a Quinnipiac poll out just the other week. |
| 0:58.0 | 89% of Republicans approve the job he's doing as commander-in-chief. |
| 1:02.0 | They like what he's doing in Venezuela. |
| 1:04.0 | And remember, 80% of those who sit in Congress, who are Republicans in Congress, |
| 1:08.0 | sit in districts that Trump won by 10 points or more. In other words, most Republicans sit in Congress, who are Republicans in Congress, sit in districts that Trump won by 10 points or more. |
| 1:12.0 | In other words, most Republicans sit in Trump districts, and those voters in those districts |
| 1:17.4 | like what Trump's doing. So the idea of pushing back doesn't make much sense to them because |
| 1:23.6 | the people in their districts are pretty happy, at least the Republicans are, with what he's doing. |
| 1:29.6 | Jazz, when you mark one year of Trump's second term, what's the relationship between Congress and Trump here? |
| 1:35.0 | Well, if you ask the White House officials, they say their relationship is very good that President Trump is calling lawmakers, specifically Republican lawmakers. |
| 1:41.7 | Over the last week, we've heard him call a Democratic |
| 1:44.6 | Senator Elizabeth Warren. So he's willing to pick up the phone. But frankly, this White House, |
| 1:50.0 | and the president views the Congress as not a co-governing body, as some would say the Constitution |
... |
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