The first week of the new Congress is nearly at an end, and Democrats aren't too impressed by President-elect Donald Trump's ability to rein in his party. "Who knows if Trump understands what is happening, but if he does, he has got to be upset by how weak he already seems," one senior Democratic aide told Politico's Playbook.
As evidence, Democrats cite instances like the Republicans' surprise move to try to curb the Office of Congressional Ethics as going against the president-elect. Additionally, Vice President-elect Mike Pence and House Speaker Paul Ryan moved to defund Planned Parenthood, although the president-elect has been relatively supportive of many of the organization's women's health services in the past.
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Trump "is going to be in a constant battle against irrelevance," the Democratic aide told Politico, "and he is already losing."
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