It’s becoming clear that Trump’s second term is running out of steam. The big, headline-grabbing moves have all come from the Oval Office, not the halls of Congress. He kicked things off with a flurry of executive orders-establishing the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) to shrink the federal workforce and slash bureaucracy. He’s gone after the Department of Education, signing an order to shut it down and shift control back to the states, while vowing to end funding for any programs tied to diversity, equity, or gender identity. And just recently, he signed an executive order to cut federal funding for NPR and PBS, claiming they’re peddling “left-wing propaganda”-even though most of their budgets come from private donors, not Washington.
There's a critical detail that's being largely overlooked: almost none of this has come through Congress. Despite Republicans holding both chambers, Trump has leaned almost entirely on executive action. In his first 100 days, Congress managed to pass just six bills-the fewest for any president in over seventy years. Most of those were minor, like rolling back Biden-era regulations or passing a stopgap funding bill to keep the government’s lights on. The only major law, the Laken Riley Act, tightened rules on detaining undocumented immigrants charged with crimes. That’s it. Trump’s “one big, beautiful bill” to cement his agenda is still stuck in committee, mired in infighting over tax cuts, Medicaid, and green energy credits.
Meanwhile, Trump’s budget proposal is a wish list that Congress is under no obligation to grant. He wants to pump defense spending up to $1 trillion and pour $175 billion into border security, while slashing education, health, and environmental programs. Non-defense discretionary spending would be cut by nearly a quarter. But even among Republicans, there’s disagreement-hardliners want deeper cuts to social programs, while moderates are pushing back, and no one seems able to agree on the details.
This looming budget fight is going to expose the reality: Trump’s administration is all bluster and little follow-through. Without a coherent legislative strategy or the ability to unite his own party, he’s stuck ruling by executive order. That’s not leadership, it’s a sign of a White House that can’t govern effectively. When the dust settles, voters will see an administration that’s big on noise but bereft of real, lasting accomplishments.
Time will tell if I am right or not.
