Trump Administration Higher Ed Plans

Posted on November 14, 2024

As of late Wednesday night, Republicans have officially maintained a majority in the House. Republicans will maintain control over House and gain the White House and Senate.

On the campaign trail higher education had considerable focus. President-elect Trump has suggested plans to eliminate the Department of Education. In his previous term, Trump proposed merging the Departments of Education and Labor, but Congress ultimately did not enact the idea.

Echoing the House Republican’s efforts over the last year, Trump’s plans to curb woke ideology in higher education will likely remain a top priority for the Administration. While Trump is limited in his ability to immediately cut off funds to universities, there are a number of other avenues the President may use to push back against DEI initiatives and other programs that he has deemed Marxist and leftist.

Trump has suggested using the military to crackdown on student protests on campuses and using civil-rights laws to challenge the teaching of critical race theory. Another tool that the Trump Administration has said they will consider using is the accreditation system. Many are predicting he may shift some of the responsibilities of accreditors to the Department of Education, where he could exert more influence.

Other plans floated by the incoming Trump Administration include increasing the tax on university endowments, ending President Biden’s student-debt forgiveness program, and using Title IX to ban transgender athletes from competing in women’s sports.

Senate Republicans Elect New Leadership

Posted on November 13, 2024

In a closed-door vote held on Wednesday, Senate Republicans elected John Thune of South Dakota to replace Senator Mitch McConnel of Kentucky as the leader of the GOP in the upper chamber. McConnel had announced his retirement from the position at the end of the 118^th Congress.

Thune will serve as Majority Leader in the 119^th Congress, with Republicans set to hold a majority (53-47). Thune was elected to the Senate in 2004 after three terms in the House and has held a number of leadership positions in the Senate, including Senate Republican Whip, Senate Republican Conference Chair, and Chair of the Senate Republican Policy Committee. He will replace McConnel, who has held the position of Senate Republican Leader since 2007, making him the longest serving Senate party leader in history.

Thune defeated Senator John Cornyn of Texas and Senator Rick Scott of Florida in the election, which is held in private. Though President Trump largely stayed out of the race to succeed McConnel, many of his allies, including Elon Musk and Sean Hannity, backed Scott’s bid for leadership.

All three candidates agreed to consider allowing recess appointments, per President-elect Trump’s requests. This move would allow Trump to push through controversial nominees who may not have the support of all Republican Senators.

Additionally, all three candidates also vowed to make changes to the way McConnel ran the chamber, promising a more open amendment process and to solicit more feedback from individual Senators. Ultimately, Thune prevailed over Cornyn by a 29-24 vote, with Scott having been eliminated in the first round.

Thune is viewed as an institutionalist and a skilled legislator who is well-liked by many of his colleagues within the Senate. He has previously drawn Trump’s wrath for refusing to cast doubt on the results of the 2020 election.

The election is seen by many as a sign that the Senate will retain some degree of independence from the incoming Trump Administration, as Senators chose to elevate long-serving insiders Thune and Cornyn over the Scott, a hardliner with close ties to President Trump. Republicans who supported Thune’s election cited his experience and the trust he has built among colleagues as the most important factors in their vote.

At 63, Thune is considered relatively young for leadership, and with his home state of South Dakota being solidly Republican, Thune is well-positioned to hold the position for years to come. Thune will be tasked with leading the narrow Republican majority as they consider wide-ranging legislation to tackle tax cuts, immigration, Ukraine funding, education policy, and other important issues in the 119^th Congress.

Appropriations in the 119th Congress

Posted on November 13, 2024

With Dan Newhouse’s victory, Washington State will maintain its Appropriations Committee presence, with Senator Murray slated to serve as Ranking Member of the Senate Appropriations Committee in the coming Congress, and Newhouse set to maintain his seat on the House Appropriations Committee. The House and Senate Appropriations Committees are responsible for funding the federal government each year, making them highly important.

While Washington members on the committee are safe, there are a number of vacancies that will need to be filled in the coming Congress. On the House side, there are eight Republican and eight Democratic members on the committee that have either retired or lost their re-election bids. On the Senate side, all Republicans maintained their seats, while Democrats will have lost three members following the retirement of Senators Manchin and Sinema and the defeat of Senator Tester.

Though the Washington congressional delegation is now secured, control of the House of Representatives, and thus the Appropriations Committee chairmanship, is still up for grabs. As of November 12^th, the GOP has flipped seven seats for a total of 215, and the Democrats have flipped six for a total of 206. Fourteen House seats remain uncalled, with both parties nearing the coveted 218 mark needed for majority control of the chamber.

Washington Delegation Finalized

Posted on November 13, 2024November 13, 2024

Now one week out from election day, the Washington State congressional delegation has finally been set. After days of counting votes, the races in Washington’s 3^rd and 4^th Districts have officially been called for the incumbents. In the Southwest Washington’s 3^rd District, incumbent Democrat Marie Gluesenkamp Perez defeated Joe Kent to win re-election to a second term in the House. In the 4^th District, located in Central Washington, Dan Newhouse defeated a Trump-backed challenger to secure his sixth term.

Gluesenkamp Perez, considered by many to be the most vulnerable Democrat in the country during this election cycle, was officially declared the victor late last week, holding a 15,000-vote lead over Kent. In a statement celebrating her victory, Gluesenkamp Perez thanked her supporters and told her constituents that her priorities in the next Congress will include lowering costs, securing the Southern border, ending the influx of fentanyl into communities, protecting reproductive rights, and demanding fiscal discipline.

Late on Monday night, the race in the 4^th Congressional District was finally called for Dan Newhouse, who held a 12,500-vote lead over fellow Republican Jerrod Sessler. In a statement released shortly after his victory was declared, Newhouse said that he was “incredibly honored to have the support from the people of Central Washington,” and that his victory proved that “the people want a results-driven leader who understands the unique challenges facing Central Washington.” Newhouse received more votes than Sessler in six of the eight counties that make up the 4^th District.

With these two races having finally been called, Washington State’s congressional delegation is set for the 119^th Congress. Every incumbent who sought re-election in the state will be heading back to D.C. for another term, while the two retiring members of the delegation, Representatives McMorris-Rodgers and Kilmer, will be replaced by Michael Baumgartner and Emily Randall, respectively.

2024 Election: What We Know So Far

Posted on November 6, 2024November 13, 2024

Early Wednesday morning, Donald Trump was officially declared the winner of the 2024 presidential election, defeating Vice President Kamala Harris. Trump’s win marks the culmination of a stunning political comeback and makes him just the second man ever, and the first since Grover Cleveland, to win two non-consecutive terms in the White House.

While many votes have not yet been tallied, and control of the House of Representatives remains up for grabs, the 2024 contest is already considered to be a significant victory for Republicans.

While this presidential election was forecasted to be one of the closest contests in history, it was also, somewhat paradoxically, more likely than any other recent election to result in an electoral college landslide.

The vote tallies in the seven battleground states—PA, MI, WI, GA, NC, AZ, and NV—were expected to be decided by razor thin margins. According to election experts, however, there was a 60% chance that one candidate would receive more than 300 electoral votes. This was the case for Donald Trump who, though we are still awaiting official results from three states, appears to be headed for a sweep of all seven battleground states and a decisive electoral college victory.

If trends hold, Trump may also be able to claim a victory in the popular vote, an accomplishment that alluded him during his last two presidential runs. As of Wednesday morning, Trump improved upon his 2020 margin in 2,367 counties, while only decreasing his margins in 240 counties. Rural counties remained Republican, and Trump made significant gains in both urban and suburban counties, winning a historic percentage of the Black and Hispanic vote for a Republican candidate.

Republicans will control the Senate after flipping OH, MT, and WV, defeating two of the last Senate Democrats in consistently conservative states, Sherrod Brown and Jon Tester. Multiple Senate races, including the contests in WI, MI, PA, and NV, are still too close to call. Control of both the White House and the upper chamber will give Republicans significant power in shaping the legislative agenda.

In Washington State, longtime incumbent Senator Maria Cantwell defeated challenger Raul Garcia handily but, along with Senator Patty Murphy, will lose her committee chairmanship. Senator Cantwell will now become Ranking Member of the Senate Commerce, Science, & Transportation Committee. Senator Ted Cruz of Texas, who was elected to a third term after fending off Democratic challenger Colin Allred, will become the Committee Chair.

Senator Patty Murphy is slated to once again become Ranking Member of the Senate Appropriations Committee, with Senator Susan Collins of Maine set to take over as Chair.

While the state is certainly still well-positioned in the chamber, Washington will no longer hold two of the most powerful chairmanships in the Senate. Nor will the state be able to claim the Senate pro tempore, a role that, while largely ceremonial, stands third in the line of succession to the President and had been held by Patty Murray since 2023. Nonetheless, Senator Maria Cantwell will represent Washington state until at least 2030, and Senator Patty Murray will similarly hold her office until at least 2028.

Ten other members of the Washington congressional delegation faced re-election to the House of Representatives on Tuesday, and while votes in most districts are still being tallied, the picture is beginning to come into focus.

Representatives DelBene, Larsen, Strickland, Smith, and Jayapal all won re-election as expected. Representative Kim Schrier of Washington’s 8^th district appears headed for re-election as well, though the race has yet to be officially called.

In Washington’s 5^th and 6^th congressional districts, two newcomers were elected to the delegation following the retirement of Cathy McMorris-Rodgers and Derek Kilmer. In Eastern Washington, Republican Spokane County Treasurer Michael Baumgartner defeated former diplomat Carmela Conroy in the race to succeed McMorris-Rodgers. On the Olympic Peninsula, voters sent former State Senator Emily Randall to the House to replace Kilmer.

The two key races in the state, taking place in the 3^rd and 4^th districts, remain too close to call. Incumbent Democrat Marie Gluesenkamp Perez is looking to once again defeat Republican Joe Kent in Southwestern Washington. As of late Tuesday night, Gluesenkamp Perez was leading Kent by 11,798 votes with an estimated 70% of votes recorded. This race will remain closely monitored in the coming days as both parties vie for control of the House.

In Central Washington, incumbent Republican Dan Newhouse is hoping to fend off a challenge from Trump-endorsed Republican Jerrod Sessler. With only half of the votes in, Newhouse holds a slim 3,829 vote lead. While not significant for control of the House chamber, this race nonetheless remains ideologically significant, as Newhouse is one of just two Republicans who voted to impeach Trump remaining in office. If Newhouse loses this race, Washington will have no members on the House Appropriations Committee in the 119^th Congress. In the 117^th Congress, Washington had three members on the House Appropriations Committee.

The race in Washington’s 3^rd district will grow increasingly more important as both parties continue to fight for control of the House of Representatives, with Republicans hoping to secure the rare trifecta of governmental control and Democrats hoping to secure a check against the incoming administration.