Rift looms large with split in US Congress

The 116th US Congress was gaveled into session on Thursday, the first new Congress to convene amid a partial government shutdown, which stretched into half a month on Sunday over President Donald Trump's demands for funding for a wall on the border with Mexico.

With Democrats sweeping back to power in the House of Representatives and an unprecedented turnover rate on the Republican president's Cabinet, some media predicted that Trump's first two years may look calm compared to what lies ahead.

Some political scientists, however, say it's going to be more of the same but with the administration increasingly distracted by multiplying investigations.

One thing does seem certain: legislative gridlock on Capitol Hill.

On Day 1, the Democrats, with veteran Nancy Pelosi at the helm, quickly passed measures to reopen the government, but without providing funding for Trump's border wall.

The measures were all dead on arrival in the Senate, whose Republican majority was bolstered in November's midterm elections. Pelosi said Democrats would pass new legislation to try to reopen parts of the government next week after talks between the Trump administration and Democratic negotiators on Saturday ended with no breakthrough.

On Friday, House Democrats unveiled a sweeping elections and ethics reform package that would make it easier for citizens to register and vote, tighten election security and reduce the role of money in politics.

The legislation would also require presidents to disclose at least 10 years' worth of tax returns. Analysts called it a direct response to Trump's refusal to release his.

Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, a Republican from Kentucky, pronounced the reform measure a nonstarter in the Senate.

Another effort, the Democrats' push for gun control, is likely to meet the same fate.

Democrats, however, seem to be divided about immediate efforts to impeach the president. Some far-left Democrats have publicly talked about impeachment, but Pelosi was cautious, saying "it would be very divisive" with investigations of the administration not yet concluded.

Mark C. Rom, an associate professor at the McCourt School of Public Policy at Georgetown University, said the Democrats will launch many congressional investigations, which he hoped would be part of broader strategies.

Cal Jillson, a political scientist and historian at Southern Methodist University, said subpoena-wielding House Democrats are expected to initiate investigations that are likely to include questioning of Trump Cabinet members and officials and other administration leaders.

That distraction likely will hinder the administration's ability to pursue its initiatives, he said.

"So I do think that the issues of investigations leading to distraction is a problem, particularly if he is unable to appoint and hold serious, qualified, experienced counselors and senior administrators," Jillson said.

Stanley Renshon, a political scientist at the City University of New York, said that Democrats will use subpoenas against Trump. But he said what Trump will face is "not really going to be all that much different from what he faced before".

"They've been trying to do that for the last two years, so he's had a lot of practice. … The problem for him really is not so much the Democrats; the problem is the American public," he said, explaining that while Trump likes the fight, Americans don't.