‘Fully ready’: Trump’s allies say he is in a better position than ever to implement the plan

President Donald Trump House Republican allies say he is better positioned than ever to carry out his legislative agenda, entering the White House armed with nearly a decade of Washington knowledge.

“He was a great businessman the first time, but he didn’t know Washington. Now he gets it,” said Rep. Jeff Van Drew, RN.J., a close Trump ally who switched parties to better align with him during his first term. “He’s totally ready for this. He studied last time. He’s learned. He’s ready to go.”

Multiple House Republicans who served in Congress during Trump’s first term described the man as returning to D.C. with a triumphant election victory and a keen understanding of how Capitol Hill and the broader D.C. network works.

Several said the changes are reflected in his and his team’s near-constant communication with Republican lawmakers and in the people he hires for his team.

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“Now he knows that Washington in general is going to resist and do what they want — whether you call it the deep state or the establishment or a one-party party. I think he’s very aware, and I think he’s aligning his actions to address those issues. ,” said Rep. Scott Perry, R-Pa. “He understands that personnel is politics, so he tries to get the right people in place, not because they are loyal to him, but because they are loyal to the plan that the people want.”

Hours after being sworn in on Monday, Trump held public events where he signed dozens of executive orders fulfill promises he did in the campaign.

All the while, he remained in close contact with Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., and Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R-D., as well as convening a crowd of House Republicans at Mar-a-Lago earlier this month to discuss the GOP agenda.

Rep. Marlin Stutzman, R-Ind., a former founder of the House Freedom Caucus who served in the House from 2010 to 2017 and is back for another term, noted a marked difference from the era of former Speaker Paul Ryan.

“It didn’t seem like he and President Ryan were on the same page when they came to Congress. I saw them talking about the election and the rallies, and they just had different perspectives, which I think is a shame because it was a really missed opportunity for a lot things to do,” Stutzman said.

“This time he knows Washington, he’s got a great team he’s putting together and I think his team will be much more disciplined and focused on the four-year window to do as much as possible.”

Rep. Gary Palmer, R-Ala., a former member of the House GOP leadership, also noted Trump’s focus on Congress.

“His first term was clearly a populist campaign. He had really smart people, but they had no congressional experience,” Palmer said. “That’s not happening now. They’ve worked very closely with us. I feel like we’re all on the same page about what needs to be done.”

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Freshman Rep. Jeff Crank, R-Colo., who was a radio host before his political career, noted that the media environment Trump entered was more receptive compared to 2016.

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“He sort of broke the media complex. He acted like – the media that resisted him in 2016 now realized, ‘Well, maybe this was censorship that we were doing, and maybe that’s not the best thing for our business model.’ ” said Crank. “But whatever, they kind of joined him, right, in a lot of ways.”

A significant part of Trump’s D.C. education came during the four years he was out of office, said Rep. Darrell Issa, R-Calif., a longtime ally. But he and others agreed that Trump has not fundamentally changed.

“There is no doubt that he is better than if he had run for a second term. Still, he is the same man. He knows what he believes in,” Issa said.