The 5-Minute Fix from The Washington Post

Keeping up with politics is easy now

By Amber Phillips

So, 2016 was a humbling year for those of us who work in/write about/like to pretend we know about politics. Donald Trump's win and Republicans' continued dominance at nearly all levels of governance underscored that whatever we think we know about politics, we might not really know.

Which means that what your teacher said in elementary school has particular resonance today: There are no dumb questions, especially when reflecting on this unpredictable, surprising, surreal year that was — and the unpredictable year that's likely coming.

Lucky for me, you all have asked me some great questions over the past few days, so let's dig right in to a few of them:

Does anyone have the power to check Donald Trump?

PALM BEACH, FL - DECEMBER 21: President-Elect Donald J. Trump talks to members of the media after a meeting with military leadership at the Mar-a-Lago club in Palm Beach, FL on Wednesday, Dec. 21, 2016. (Photo by Jabin Botsford/The Washington Post)

President-elect Donald Trump talks to members of the media at the Mar-a-Lago club in Palm Beach, Fla., on Dec. 21. (Jabin Botsford/The Washington Post)

Yes, but it will largely fall on Republicans' shoulders. Much of President Obama's legacy got held up either by Republicans in Congress or in the courts thanks to lawsuits from Republican attorneys general. And in 2018, Congress and a majority of states (including AGs) are under Republican control, which means Democrats don't have the numbers alone to check Trump.

Especially in today's hyperpartisan world, it's rare for one party to stand up to its own president. But if I were to predict one early flash point between Republicans and Trump, it would be Russia.

Trump has indicated he wants to be friendlier to Russia and doesn't believe the CIA's assessment that Russia hacked into Democrats' emails to help him win. Some high-profile Republicans in Congress who were already wary of Russia are taking the analysis seriously and want to further investigate Russia's involvement in our election. That could make things #awkward or even downright contentious.

The first GOP battle on Russia could play out in the nomination of ExxonMobil chief executive Rex Tillerson for secretary of state. Tillerson has ties to Russia — a red line for some Senate Republicans — and has opposed additional sanctions, which Congress is queuing up.

RubioTillerson

How unusual is it for Ivanka Trump to play such a big role in her father's presidency?

Donald Trump, 2016 Republican presidential nominee, right, applauds as his daughter Ivanka Trump exits the stage during the Republican National Convention (RNC) in Cleveland, Ohio, U.S., on Thursday, July 21, 2016. This evening marks the last night of a four-day Republican National Convention that has been defined by disorderly floor activity, divisions within the party, a plagiarized speech delivered by the nominee's wife and scattered protests in the streets of Cleveland. Photographer: David Paul Morris/Bloomberg

Donald Trump and his daughter, Ivanka Trump, at the Republican National Convention. (David Paul Morris/Bloomberg)

I agree with your assumption that Ivanka Trump is going to be a major figure in her father's administration. She's already held court alongside her father in meetings with world and business leaders, and she might even have an office in the East Wing — traditionally the domain of first ladies.

Anita McBride, former chief of staff to former first lady Laura Bush, told The Fix's Peter Stevenson this pseudo-first lady setup has happened before, except it's usually under circumstances when there wasn't a first lady.

James Buchanan was never married, and his niece Harriet Lane was considered the first lady of the White House.
When Gerald Ford's wife, Betty Ford, underwent a mastectomy, their daughter, Susan, stepped in to support her father at social events.
And Chester Arthur’s wife died about 20 months into his administration. (She was an opera singer and caught pneumonia at one of her performances.) So Arthur’s daughter stepped up to host social events.

Another unusual thing about Ivanka Trump? She will ostensibly be running her father's business while advising him, testing the legal and ethical bounds of how involved a president's family can be in an administration and what conflicts of interest could arise from it.

What did the media get wrong about the Trump phenomenon?

Reporters at the Trump Tower in New York, on Nov. 17. (Jabin Botsford/The Washington Post)

We gave him too much attention. We gave him too little attention. Those criticisms of how the media covered Trump have, in our opinion, been found wanting. (While we can't speak for all of “the media,” we believe anyone who read The Washington Post's coverage of Trump would have a clear-eyed view of him and his past.)

But here's one criticism of the media that The Fix's Callum Borchers thinks is fair: We may have missed the fact that GOP voters would choose Trump as their nominee in the first place:

The media did not understand voters' priorities. The media did not understand that many voters who complained about Republicans' waffling on conservative principles actually cared more about electing an outsider than a conservative. Conservatism was important to these voters, but another quality — a perceived ability to shake up Washington — was even more important.

What's going to happen to the Supreme Court?

U.S. Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg takes part in a panel discussion after speaking at Brandeis University in Waltham, Mass., Thursday, Jan. 28, 2016. Ginsburg spoke as part of a series of events at Brandeis to commemorate the 100th anniversary of the nomination and appointment of Louis D. Brandeis to the U.S. Supreme Court. (AP Photo/Michael Dwyer)

U.S. Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg is 83. (Michael Dwyer/AP)

Glad you asked this! The ideological make up of the Supreme Court is on our list as one of the most undersold stories of 2016 — i.e. it could be a big story in 2017.

We know that Trump's win means Republicans will get to replace the late Antonin Scalia, likely keeping the court in its nominal 5-4 conservative tilt. But there are potentially other openings during Trump's presidency that could swing the court even further right. The three oldest justices — 83-year-old Ruth Bader Ginsburg, 80-year-old Anthony Kennedy and 78-year-old Stephen Breyer — are either reliably liberal or moderate votes, while the court's conservatives are in their 60s.

The Fix's Aaron Blake on why that's a big deal: “The prospect of Trump replacing any other justice (or even more than one) could tip the court to the right for years or even decades to come.”

Thanks for all your great questions! Send me more for Friday's edition.

RIP (giphy.com)

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