The limits of King Trump’s powers are being tested

Withdrawal of Matt Gaetz shows president-elect has challenges ahead when he begins his second term on Jan 20

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When Donald Trump won all seven swing states as well as majorities in both the House and Senate earlier this month, he looked unstoppable.
Like a king in a medieval court, the president-elect likes to rule with advisers circling his gilded throne in Mar-a-Lago.
And on Nov 5, King Trump rode into battle and came out victorious.
On Thursday, however, the reality of governing in America’s imperfect democracy set in.
Matt Gaetz, his pick for attorney general, was forced to give up his nomination after it became clear he did not have the support of the Senate.
Four senators reportedly opposed his appointment, kiboshing the Republicans’ slim majority in the reconstituted upper chamber.
The debacle unfolded amid allegations Mr Gaetz slept with a 17-year-old high school girl at sex and drug parties.
Mr Gaetz denies the claims, but the threat of an impropriety row in the first days of Mr Trump’s second term was too much for some senators to handle.
After talking tough on Capitol Hill on Wednesday, Mr Gaetz has released a statement regretting that the controversy around him was becoming a “distraction” to the transition team.
In his own remarks on Truth Social, Mr Trump said: “Matt has a wonderful future, and I look forward to watching all of the great things he will do!”
It came just days after the president-elect doubled down on his support for Mr Gaetz, giving a television reporter who asked him if he was reconsidering his pick a firm “no” at a SpaceX launch in Texas on Tuesday.
Thursday’s episode is an uncomfortable reminder for Mr Trump of the obstacles that will stand in his way in Washington after he takes office on Jan 20.
The Senate may prove difficult, especially when faced with some of Mr Trump’s more ambitious policy suggestions.
There is already debate over whether the carpet-bombing of federal bureaucracy planned by Elon Musk and Vivek Ramaswamy will require primary legislation. If it does, then some senators will surely object.
Looming over the transition team are further questions about the background of some of his Cabinet choices.
Pete Hegseth, Mr Trump’s nominated defence secretary, has been accused of drugging and sexually assaulting a woman at a political conference in California.
He denies the allegations, and on Thursday the Trump team issued a statement to the media suggesting Mr Hegseth will not face the same issues as Mr Gaetz when it comes to confirming his nomination in the Senate.
The statement listed endorsements from 11 Republican senators and the declaration: “President Donald J Trump has nominated an exceptional cabinet to implement his America First agenda.”
For some, the political chicanery of Mr Trump’s nominations are an unpleasant reminder of his battles with Congress during his first term.
The formation of the president-elect’s first Cabinet was delayed by some weeks as he convinced senators to confirm his choices. Later in the term, he was impeached twice and wrangled with his own attorney general over the Mueller report into Russian interference in the 2016 election.
It has been suggested that Mr Trump knew that the Gaetz nomination would be controversial, and that his appointment was mooted as a stalking horse to flush out potential rebels in the Senate.
The argument runs that now Mr Gaetz has been forced to withdraw, Republicans will not dare to challenge any of the other nominations Mr Trump has put forward.
It is also possible that this was a strategic misstep, reportedly made without the knowledge or consent of the president-elect’s svengali, Susie Wiles.
Perhaps Mr Trump’s desire to reward an ally in the House who helped him depose the former Speaker Kevin McCarthy last year overrode his political judgement.
Whatever the explanation, there is no escaping the fact that Mr Trump heads into the third weekend after the election looking his weakest since polling day.
He won office again while pledging to take on the creatures of the Washington establishment, but their response has been clear. They are willing to fight back.
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