That’s in spite of one last “gotcha” signed into law through executive order by Joe Biden as his presidency comes to a close.
Biden on Monday signed an executive order banning new offshore oil and gas drilling in more than 625 million acres of federal waters along the East and West coasts, the eastern Gulf of Mexico, and parts of Alaska’s northern Bering Sea.
That executive order is not something Trump can reverse with the stroke of a pen. The Outer Continental Self Lands Act of 1953, under which Biden made the decision, does not explicitly provide presidents the authority to unilaterally reverse a drilling ban without Congressional action.
In short, “drill, baby, drill,” a favorite campaign call for candidate Trump, won’t get the green light on his first day in office.
Conservatives say increased U.S. oil production is the fastest way to improve cost-of-living conditions across the board.
“That will reduce the cost of goods. It will reduce the cost of transporting goods and products across the country," Rep. Erin Houchin (R-Indiana) said on Washington Watch Monday.
"That is one of the quickest ways we can begin to turn the economy around and begin generating prosperous revenue for American families,” he said.
Houchin told show host Tony Perkins that Congress, with Republican control in both the House and Senate, will not be a stumbling block.
“We’ll see that, I think, in the next few weeks, and quickly, I think, the American people will see some relief," she predicted.
Freshman House member Brandon Gill, of Texas, agrees, although Republicans have an image of bickering among themselves in the House.
“Every Republican in the conference is excited and ready to actually execute on the Trump agenda. We finally have the trifecta,” he said on American Family Radio Tuesday.
Gill told show host Jenna Ellis that Republicans want the same things as Americans who overwhelmingly voted Trump into office and gave the GOP control of both chambers.
“Every Republican wants to secure the border, wants to get rid of the criminal illegal aliens who have come into our country that Joe Biden has imported as a means of importing voters. Every Republican wants to extend the Trump tax cuts, wants to cut regulations,” he said.
Sidestepping Biden’s remaining days
The 119th U.S. House will get some things done even while Biden remains in power, Houchin said.
The rules package it passed last Friday includes 12 bills ready-made for a full vote on the House floor.
These are bills that were previously passed by the House. Their special status in the rules package means they won’t face extra scrutiny beforehand, and they can pass with a simple majority once presented.
Among those is H.R. 2, the Secure the Border Act of 2023 that the House passed last May but was never voted on by the Democrat-led Senate.
“We want to take advantage of every resource that we have,” Houchin said. “H.R. 2 is part of that package. We want to hit the ground running. We are ready to go, and we want to give the president as much of a head start as we can before he takes office on the 20th.”
One party, different 'ideologies'
While the media highlights internal fighting of Republicans, those arguments are in place, Gill says, because of the diversity of conservative brands.
There’s more diversity, perhaps, than exists among Democrats who are often presented as united on volatile social issues like abortion and transgender rights.
“We've got a lot of different ideologies, and that's something that's easy to forget. You've got the Republican conference the neocons, you've got the paleo conservatives, you've got the libertarians, you've got the traditional Reaganite conservatives. There's actually a lot of ideological diversity,” Gill said.
All of these thoughts will come together and enact Trump’s agenda under the leadership of House Speaker Mike Johnson, Gill said.
It took only one vote for Johnson to be re-elected as Speaker last Friday. That’s the glass half full.
The glass half empty is that getting there took a break in the voting and a pep talk from Trump. Originally, three Republicans did not vote for Johnson, enough to require at least one more round of voting.
Ultimately Johnson was confirmed with 218 votes.
“President Trump wants Speaker Johnson, so because of that, I am 100% behind him. But I also think Mike has a lot of respect within the Republican conference,” Gill said.
Gill said Johnson is in constant contact with Trump, the two in conversation multiple times a day.
“Sure, concerns come up. I get that. But Speaker Johnson is the most conservative speaker the House has had in recent memory. He is the person President Trump wants to lead the House and execute the Trump agenda,” Gill said.
