Jon Karl: While Trump’s Hold on the Republican Party Is Not in Doubt, We Saw that His Power to Get Congress to Do What He Wants Has Its Limits

RUSH EXCERPT:
KARL: "If you were watching Congress this week, you might have thought for a moment that Donald Trump is already president. Along with his most high-profile and wealthiest adviser, Trump upended a bipartisan spending deal that had been months in the making, but the power of a President-Elect just like the president of a president, only goes so far. While Trump’s hold on the Republican Party is not in doubt, we saw that his power to get Congress to do what he wants has its limits. As Congress veered towards a shutdown, Trump made only one nonnegotiable demand. He said that the bill to keep the government open must also increase or abolish the so-called debt ceiling. That’s the amount the federal government can borrow to pay its bills. Without this, Trump said on social media, we should never make a deal. This wasn’t just advice. It came with a warning that he might campaign against Republicans who dare to defy him. Trump declaring any Republican that would be so stupid as to do this should and will be primaried. And even with that, 38 Republicans defied their President-Elect.