Please can you help me understand (Trump related)

[Pocoyo123]

Now I'm not very clued up on US politics but I thought I had a rough handle on it. I thought the reason that Obama struggled to get motions passed (sounds wrong ), was because the house was primarily Republican, so vetoed most of the things he championed.

Now I know that Trump is Republican (now!), but how can he go ahead with such HUGE changes without control? I thought large changes would have to go through the house (or senate). How can he just come in and build walls, cancel Obama care and stop family planning?

Please can anyone explain? I'd be very grateful!

Everyone is republican now. There are three thingies and evryone single one is now republican. He has no opposition. Scary.

Following because I'd like to know the answer too!

Those houses change members at a different time to the presidential change, so now they're all Republican majorities.

Dear lord. I hadn't realised that.

I haven't caught up with the news fully today but I gather he's using Executive Orders!to push through the migration and Mexico policies quickly.

They might not stand but I think his focus this week is to make a splash and be seen to be energetic and proactive in achieving his electioneering pledges. I.e. How long the policy lasts isn't his main concern ATM.

He can sign executive orders but if the money's not there, it's all theatre.

But yeah. Both the Houses are Republican so he won't have to fight as hard as Obama did to get anything done.

They're executive orders. Don't require congressional approval to go through.

Oh dear God! Thanks for the replies (and not making me feel stupid).

So, if the Senate / House / whatever was Democrat, he could still push these amendments through? That's more of a dictatorship! (Or am I missing something?)

The House of Representatives and The Senate are the two assemblies that together make up Congress.

Hopefully there are enough moderates about to slow him down a bit.

Moderate Republicans, I mean.

The republican majority in each chamber isn't huge. I'm not sure how much I'm straw-clutching.

On the very worst things there will be enough sensible Republicans to stop him. Plenty can't stand him.

Thanks all for explaining this. I've been wondering similar.

So he's announcing all these things but they may not happen? Why doesn't the press report that?

It sounds like the wall is going up, that abortion funding is being stopped through insurance....

So we haven't necessarily gone back 50 years (just yet...?)

He's got the ball and he's running with it, basically. He might be successfully tackled or he might get all the way and score.

Scary to watch! Thanks so much for the great explanations.

Americans understand our govt really badly.

Part of why we distrust it is because we don't understand how things get done.
We get taught that there are checks & balances, but not how things get done (how legislation gets written, proposed & amended & passed, etc).
Anyway, Americans like to think the Prez is someone who gets done. It's one thing Trump understands (or rather doesn't understand the value of any other process), so Trump is getting stuff done.
Historically we liked our Presidents to take responsiblity ("The Buck stops here"). But Presidents seem to be made of Teflon in recent yrs.

Plus, he can reshape the judiciary and make more republican judges

www.google.co.uk/amp/s/www.washingtonpost.com/amphtml/politics/trump-to-inherit-more-than-100-court-vacancies-plans-to-reshape-judiciary/2016/12/25/d190dd18-c928-11e6-85b5-76616a33048d_story.html

The BBC explains Executive Orders very well.

I think when Obama began, he did have some Democratic majority, but he couldn't strong-arm them, and they splintered. Then Republicans won majorities in House and Senate, and Trump inherited that. Unfortunately, Republicans have more of a tradition of lock-step, of favoring their own party, so I wouldn't be optimistic on many opposing Trump.

I just saw a headline touting John McCain as Trump's "nemesis," but I don't put much stock in that.