“He’s single-handedly changed the party,” said Sen. Jim Banks, R-Ind. Banks was sworn in as a member of the House as Trump arrived in Washington in 2017, when Banks said, Trump often have to deal with Republican pushback.

Trump faces fewer guardrails as he pursues a norm-shattering agenda that is already upending Washington and unsettling the world.

Trump’s goal with this and other White House political shop hires, GOP sources tell The Dispatch, is to exert total control over the party ahead of the midterm elections (typically unkind to presidents in their second terms)—and to look ahead to 2028 and the Republican Party’s future.

Trump's youngest son, Barron, was in fifth grade when Trump's first administration began. He's now a college freshman.

President-elect Trump is officially returning to Washington, set to be inaugurated on Monday for his second term in the White House as the Republican Party trifecta takes form. Congress is set to kickstart a likely busy spring legislative session in order to pass the commander-in-chief’s agenda.