Tom Cole NYTimes OpEd: ‘What the G.O.P. Wants Trump to Say Tonight’
What the G.O.P. Wants Trump to Say Tonight
By TOM COLE, FEB. 28, 2017
WASHINGTON — When he addresses Congress for the first time on Tuesday night, Donald J. Trump will do so as one of the most untraditional and unexpected presidents in American history. The election, however close, was a decisive statement by the American people against the status quo, an expression of the hope that he would break the stalemate in Washington and lead the country in a new direction.
Mr. Trump can take pride in his cabinet choices, the deregulatory thrust he and the Republican Congress have initiated and the boldness he has shown in shaking up the established order and the elites in Washington. His decision to push ahead on the Keystone pipeline is the triumph of common sense over environmental orthodoxy. And his nomination of Judge Neil Gorsuch to the Supreme Court is a master stroke that conservatives celebrate and even liberal jurists respect.
I have no doubt that President Trump will spend much of his speech making the case for three initiatives that are already underway in Congress: the rebuilding of the military, the repeal and replacement of the failing Affordable Care Act and the long overdue reform of the tax code. And he will surely discuss his proposals for something most Americans strongly favor — enhanced border security.
However, President Trump will need to do more than merely wait upon a Republican Congress to produce the legislation he has championed. He must become an active participant in the legislative process.