The White House
Donald Trump’s historic election win over Vice President Kamala Harris marks a return to the White House for the once and future U.S. President. Only one other American has managed to win two non-consecutive White House bids — Grover Cleveland, who won the office in 1884 and 1892.
Trump’s win was somewhat of a mandate with the electoral college going to Trump 312-226, and a slim but important popular vote margin.
Trump ran on a handful of election themes: securing the southern border, achieving American energy dominance, tax cuts and tax code reform, reducing inflation, ending hostilities in Ukraine and the Middle East, and others.
The complete GOP platform can be viewed here https://www.presidency.ucsb.edu/documents/2024-republican-party-platform
The United States Senate
Voters also reversed the Senate majority, with Republicans to hold a 53-47 margin. Sen. John Thune (R-SD) was voted Majority Leader by his Republican colleagues and will take the helm when Congress returns to Washington on January 3, 2025. Thune’s leadership role will be aided by Sen. John Barrasso (R-WY) as Whip and Sen. Tom Cotton (R-AR) as Republican Conference Chairman.
Now in the minority, Senate Democrats voted to keep Sen. Chuck Schumer (D-NY) as Minority Leader and Sen. Dick Durbin (D-IL) as Minority Whip.
The Committee on Indian Affairs will likely be chaired by Sen. Lisa Murkowski (R-AK), with Sen. Brian Schatz assuming the Vice Chairmanship. The all-important Committee on Appropriations will be led by Sen. Susan Collins (R-ME), with Sen. Patty Murray (D-WA) coming on as Ranking Member.
Sen. Mike Lee (R-UT) will likely chair the Energy and Natural Resources Committee, with Sen. Martin Heinrich (D-NM) assuming the Ranking Member slot.
The U.S. House of Representatives
With a razor-thin 220-215 majority, House Republicans re-nominated Rep. Mike Johnson (R-LA) to be Speaker; the formal vote will occur on January 3, 2025. Johnson’s leadership circle will include Rep. Steve Scalise (R-LA), as Majority Leader; Rep. Tom Emmer (R-MN), as Majority Whip; and Rep. Richard Hudson (R-NC), as National Republican Congressional Committee head. House Democrats re-elected by affirmation Rep. Hakeem Jeffries (D-NY) to be Minority Leader.
The Committee on Natural Resources will see Rep. Bruce Westerman (R-AR) returning as Chair, with the Ranking Members position being vacated by long-serving Rep. Raul Grijalva (D-AZ). It is expected the Ranking Member position will be contested by Rep. Jared Huffman (D-CA) and Rep. Melanie Stansbury (D-NM).
Rep. Tom Cole (R-OK), ardent supporter of Indian Country, will return as Chair of the Committee on Appropriations, with Rep. Rosa DeLauro (D-CT) returning as Ranking Member.
What to Expect Policy-Wise in 2025
Congressional productivity in terms of new public laws was at or near historic lows in the 2023-2024 period. There are important matters that are left over from the 118th Congress that will be dealt with in January 2025. Some of these topics include the Fiscal Year 2025 appropriations bills, the Energy Permitting Reform Act, Pipeline Safety legislation, as well as reauthorization of the Federal Communications Commission and the Federal Aviation Administration.
On the tribal legislation front, there are also important bills that need attention including reauthorization of the Native American Housing Assistance and Self-Determination Act, reauthorization of the Indian Child Protection and Family Violence Prevention Act, some more than 200 other tribal bills that languished either in committee or in one chamber or the other.
Broad themes will characterize legislative and policy efforts starting in January including efforts to boost traditional energy production and regulatory reform, Budget Reconciliation featuring tax cuts and tax code reforms. A GOP Congress is not likely to focus on climate change as has been the case for years.
How Should Tribe be Preparing to Engage?
The newly created “Department of Government Efficiency” (DOGE) will undertake an in-depth review of all Federal sending and program effectiveness and likely to propose significant, across the board reductions to the Office of Management and Budget. This effort will include reviewing discretionary Federal spending, even though discretionary represents only 26% of each Federal dollar spent, as well as the bulk of spending on Federal health care programs.
The incoming Trump Administration has indicated it will work closely with the DOGE’s two co-chairs Elon Musk and Vivek Ramaswamy who will have policy influence on reducing Federal bureaucracy and Federal spending.
While we know Federal funding streams for Indian programs and services have never kept pace for the demand for services in tribal communities, there will be room for improvement in program efficiency to make better use of Federal funds.
Indian tribal governments should be preparing for the next Administration by finding out where improvements can be made in Federal agencies like the Bureau of Indian Affairs, the Indian Health Service, and others, and bring forth thoughtful ideas to improve interactions with the Federal government. An Indian tribal government should review its participation in Federal programs, then identify where there are inefficiencies, and how they can be improved. A great starting point would be to find a service that is restricted by a Federal law or regulation.
A proven way to enhance service and program quality for tribes and consortia is to contract and manage Federal programs in lieu of the Federal government. The coming years present opportunities for more robust use of the Indian Self-Determination and Education Assistance Act and Tribal Self-Governance to contract and compact for services and programs now carried out by Federal agencies.
The tribes’ experience with these tools could bring great benefits to tribal communities across the country.
In addition to the DOGE and congressional committee oversight, there already exists an entity that is authorized to review inefficient and uneconomic laws, regulations and policies and propose how they might be repealed, amended, or improved. The Indian Tribal Regulatory Reform and Business Development Act was signed into law by President Clinton in 2000; it has never been implemented by any succeeding Administration.
Final Thoughts
Undoubtedly there will be opportunities for program reforms, as well as new and innovative ways to cultivate stronger tribal economies and healthier tribal citizenry. The keys to success involve thoughtful organization and early engagement with the 119th Congress and the incoming Trump Administration.
The authors, Natasha John and Paul Moorehead, have decades of experience working in Washington, D.C. and are veteran staff members of the U.S. Senate Committee on Indian Affairs.