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Donald Trump is currently in his second term as president, having taken office after winning the 2024 election against Kamala Harris. Alongside Trump’s return, the Republican Party holds majorities in the House of Representatives and the Senate, securing a governing trifecta in Washington, according to Wikipedia. The Republican National Committee, with Trump’s close allies in firm control, is largely unified behind the president, with party infrastructure and resources being marshaled in support of his policy agenda and candidates at both the federal and state levels.

The big headline dominating Republican politics is the ongoing government shutdown, which began at the start of October after a failure to pass a continuing resolution to fund federal agencies. Speaker Mike Johnson and House Republican leadership have been highly visible in the media, holding regular press conferences and using social media to emphasize that, from their perspective, the shutdown is the result of Democratic resistance to the GOP’s stopgap bill. Republicans argue that their proposal is straightforward and reasonable and that Senate Democrats, led by figures like Chuck Schumer, are to blame for keeping the government closed due to disagreements over healthcare funding and Medicaid cuts implemented under President Trump’s recent legislation, known in the media as the “Big Beautiful Bill.” FOX 4 Dallas-Fort Worth and other affiliates have provided wall-to-wall coverage from Capitol Hill, with emphasis on public frustration over the stalemate and the economic impact of an estimated 750,000 federal workers being furloughed daily.

On policy, President Trump has continued a hardline stance on immigration, reviving protections and enforcement efforts seen in his first term while pursuing new restrictions such as attempting to limit birthright citizenship. Legal challenges are underway, as multiple federal courts have issued injunctions against some of these executive orders. Trump’s administration also ended the Obama-era protections against immigration arrests in sensitive locations like schools and hospitals. The Laken Riley Act, signed into law as the first legislation of Trump’s second term, has become a symbolic centerpiece for Republican messaging on immigration.

Foreign policy for the party remains staunchly nationalist and transactional, with President Trump pressuring European partners to take greater responsibility in Ukraine, limiting the U.S. role in NATO and foreign aid, and recently approving an arms delivery to Ukraine only after securing agreement for NATO allies to cover the cost. Sanctions on Russian energy giants have also been prominently announced, aiming to exert pressure abroad but with significant economic implications for European and Asian partners.

With the 2026 midterm elections already a central focus, Trump has ramped up his involvement, endorsing a slate of GOP candidates and warning that Democratic attempts to change state-level redistricting or election administration rules could undermine Republican prospects. The Associated Press and others note that off-year elections this November—particularly in states like Virginia, New Jersey, and California—are being treated as bellwethers by both parties, as Trump positions his party to maintain its Congressional dominance into the next cycle. While Trump’s executive order seeking to reshape election administration was blocked by the courts, state-level ballot measures in key battlegrounds are drawing heavy national attention, with Republicans vocal about election security and access issues.

Polling data from RealClearPolling shows that approval of Republicans in Congress has modestly increased among independents during the shutdown, while Democrats in Congress are registering their lowest approval ratings in decades according to recent CNN surveys. Nevertheless, the GOP’s national...