It's been seven days and some change since Donald Trump became president. And, already, it feels like Trump's presidency is forcing America to reevaluate its politics, its policies, its world order. Basically, everything. This surreal week seemed designed to put a spotlight on all the new realities Americans and their leaders need to get used to. Let's run them down: A Republican-controlled America For the first time in a decade, Republicans control all the levers of power in Washington (oh, and a majority of governors' mansions and state legislative chambers). And they're really, really excited about it. In his first week, Trump and Congress moved to unravel many of President Barack Obama's signature policies — on immigration, on trade, on health care. One of the better visualizations of Republicans' newfound boldness came from Vice President Pence, who on Friday became the first vice president to speak at March for Life, one of the largest antiabortion demonstrations in the nation. Click to play video A fractured Republican Party House Speaker Paul D. Ryan and Vice President Pence applaud as President Trump is introduced at a Republican conference in Philadelphia on Thursday. (Pablo Martinez Monsivais/AP) Republicans may be cheering on camera, but behind closed doors, many are fretting that the responsibility of governing is running smack into the reality that they're not all on the same page about how to govern. Trump represents a totally new direction for the party — one that is skeptical of free trade, doesn't place much stock in keeping the budget balanced and echoes Democrats more so than Republicans by promising to keep Medicare and Social Security untouched. In other words: winning was easy — governing is harder. The Post's Mike DeBonis uncovered audio of candid moments of concern by congressional Republican lawmakers about how to repeal Obamacare without pulling the rug out from millions of people who got health care from the law. They are wise to proceed with caution, says The Fix's Aaron Blake. A new Quinnipiac Poll found that by a margin of nearly 2 to 1, voters say they would be less likely to vote for a member who votes for repealing the law. A controversial president Republicans also aren't happy about all the distractions Trump is dumping on them: Investigations destined for nowhere on baseless claims of widespread voter fraud, or reports the president pressured the Park Service to find proof for his claims about how big his inauguration crowd was. Or even talking about inauguration crowd sizes at all. A view of the crowd at Trump's inauguration. (Bill O'Leary /The Washington Post) |