WASHINGTON—Republican control of the House and Senate seems tantalizingly close, so leading Republicans are turning to a matter often overlooked in campaigns: how to actually govern.
They say it will be crucial to show the GOP can legislate, lead and solve problems after years of lobbing political grenades at President Barack Obama and Senate Democrats.
If they add Senate control to their House dominance, Republicans say they will pass some bills that Obama is sure to veto, as they try to highlight their ideological differences with Democrats. But they also will push for changes in taxes, trade, regulations and other policies that both parties might accept.
“We have to prove in two years the Republican Congress can govern,” said Sen. Richard Burr, R-N.C.
Republicans know their new majority might last only two years — assuming, that is, they first obtain it this fall by picking up at least six net seats, as many predict they will. The 2016 Senate election map is far more favorable to Democrats. The contest to replace the term-limited president will add further distractions and uncertainty.
In interviews, GOP senators talked at times of an ambitious conservative push for fewer regulations, lower taxes and other long-held priorities. But they also outlined more pragmatic, modest agendas that might avoid Obama’s veto and the filibuster powers Senate Democrats will hold even if they’re consigned to the minority.
There was virtually no talk of balancing the budget, repealing Obama’s health care law or achieving similar GOP campaign pledges that prove politically impossible in Washington. These senators noted that even small achievements will require levels of bipartisanship rarely seen these days.
“It’s very possible to get a number of things done if the president is willing to come to the table, and I believe he will,” said Sen. Rob Portman, R-Ohio.
