No. of Recommendations: 6
Disagree. White House Chief of Staffs carry *enormous* power in DC. They're often the people the President tasks with getting the things that the Prez wants done.
I didn't say that she didn't have enormous power. I said it wasn't her call.
Only the President can control whether the President makes choices that will facilitate the implementation of his agenda. If Donald Trump chooses not to direct Congress to try one bill or two bills (whichever!), Susie Wiles doesn't get to countermand him.
I think you're selling Trump short. Do you think he's not aware of the fact that his last term could have been more than it was?
I think he's aware - I just don't know whether he has the skills, knowledge, temperament, or even the desire to do things differently this time around. He screwed up with the spending bill. It's very clear that he didn't sit down with Mike Johnson and lay out directly what he wanted in the bill, and what he didn't like about the current negotiated version (or have Wiles do that - it doesn't have to be Trump personally). That's a mistake! Without getting into the merits of what he wanted or whether it was possible, it's clear that no one from Trump's side ever told him that the debt ceiling was a top priority or that the bill was "too big" for Trump.
My impression of his management style (which very well could be wrong!) is that he likes to let his subordinates thrash things out amongst themselves, rather than provide a lot of direction from the top. Regardless of whether that's a successful formula in a private business - and Trump certainly seems to think it was successful for his businesses - it's not always a good fit for the Presidency. It's certainly not the right fit for the specific question of "one vs. two bills" that Congress has to decide early in his Administration.