WASHINGTON (AP) — Congress returns to a changed Washington as president-elect donald trump The far-right agenda is quickly taking shape, fueled by eager Republican allies eyeing a full vote. power sweep on Capitol Hill as Democrats sort out what went wrong.

Even as final election results are still being counted, House and Senate leaders are moving toward a second Trump term in the White House and what he calls a “mandate” to govern, with mass deportations, industry deregulation and total destruction of the federal government.

Trump is already testing the norms of governance during this presidential transition period: telling the Senate to give up its advice and consent role and simply accept your cabinet nominees, and he is staff your administration and find legislators willing to change those civic traditions.

“Trump is going to carry out his deportations, the drilling, the wall; it will take all of us coming together,” said Rep. Ralph Norman, R.S.C., a conservative member of the House Freedom Caucus.

But first, House and Senate leaders will hold internal party elections this week for their own seats. Most top Republican leaders depend on Trump for their political livelihood and have worked to approach the president-elect to shore up loyalty.

Speaker of the House Michael Johnsonwhich is poised to maintain a slim House majority with several House elections still too early to call, will gather its leadership team early Tuesday on the Capitol steps for a victory lap to set the agenda.

In the Senate, where Republicans seized power from Democrats on election night, three Republican senators who are vying to become the new leader of the Republican Party They have been quick to accept Trump’s plan for rapid confirmation of presidential candidates.

“When Congress returns to Washington, we must prepare the senate advance that agenda legislatively and ensure the president-elect can begin working with his confirmed appointees as soon as possible,” wrote Republican Sen. John Thune of South Dakota, who is seeking the leadership post, in a Fox News op-ed. .

In all, this is a fundamental reshaping not only of the centers of power in Washington, but also of the rules of government, when Trump returns to the White House in January with a potentially much less skeptical GOP-led Congress. or cautious about his approach than eight years ago, and much more willing to support it.

“This is going to be a very challenging time,” said Rep. Pramila Jayapal, D-Wash., chairwoman of the Congressional Progressive Caucus.

He described the “horrible immigration policies” Trump promised voters and insisted that progressives in Congress will provide “effective control” to the new White House, the same way Democrats did during his first term by fighting against efforts to repeal the Affordable Care Act. and other policies.

At the same time, Jayapal warned that Trump will have “many fewer restrictions.”

“Our members are ready to pick up the fight,” he said, alongside a handful of newly elected progressive lawmakers whom he called the “bright lights” joining Congress.

The first tests will be carried out during the “lame duck” period of the remaining days of this Congress, the eight-week sprint until January 3, 2025, when the new legislators are sworn in.

When lawmakers return this week, they will be joined by dozens of new names in the House and Senate who will be in town for freshmen orientation weeks and private leadership elections scheduled for Wednesday.

But Republican senators protest that one of their own, recently elected David McCormick of Pennsylvania, is being excluded from orientation week by Democratic Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer because there are still uncounted votes in his race. Schumer’s office has said it is customary to wait until all votes are counted.

The Senate leadership race to replace outgoing GOP leader Mitch McConnell is becoming a test of Trump’s loyalties, with the president-elect’s allies including billionaire Elon Musk and Make America Great influencers Again, pressuring senators to elect Senator Rick Scott of Florida.

But Scott has not been the most popular candidate for the leadership post, and senators had been rallying around the two “Johns”: Thune, the second-ranking Republican leader, and Sen. John Cornyn of Texas. The result of Wednesday’s private vote behind closed doors is very uncertain.

In the House, some conservative Republicans are quietly suggesting that their own leadership elections should be postponed until the final results of the House elections are resolved. Democrats will hold their House and Senate leadership elections later.

Johnson wants to keep the speaker’s gavel and told colleagues in a letter last week that he is ready to “get out in the field” with them to deliver on Trump’s agenda. But he is expected to confront his detractors behind closed doors.

While Johnson only needs a simple majority during Wednesday’s private vote to become the Republican nominee for president, he will need a 218-member majority in January during a floor vote of the entire House.

A low vote total this week will show the influence that members of the Freedom Caucus and others have in extracting concessions from Johnson, in the same way they forced the then-president Kevin McCarthy in a prolonged vote for the gavel in 2023.

And although Johnson predicts that next year he will launch the “most consequential” presidency and Congress in modern times, this year he has had difficulty leading Republicans who refused to accept the plans, forcing the president to often associate with Democratic leader Hakeem Jeffries.

Johnson’s problems stem in part from his slim majority, but that could persist if Trump continues to turn to House Republicans to fill your administration. Trump has already asked Rep. Elise StefanikRN.Y., will be ambassador to the United Nations and Rep. Mike WaltzRepublican from Florida, to be his national security advisor.

“We’re pretty much at capacity,” said Rep. Ronny Jackson, R-Texas. “Everyone understands that.”

In the coming weeks, Congress faces another deadline, Dec. 20, to fund the federal government or risk a shutdown, and conservatives are redoubling their pressure on Johnson not to budge on his demands to cut spending.

The House and Senate will also consider replenishing the Disaster Relief Fund to help provide relief after the hurricanes. Helen and Milton.

And with President Joe Biden preparing to leave and Democrats relinquishing their control of the Senate, there will be pressure to confirm more judicial nominees and get any other bills that could possibly become law out the door before Trump takes office. .

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Associated Press writers Kevin Freking, Farnoush Amiri, Mary Clare Jalonick and Stephen Groves contributed to this report.

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