Trump's new congressional liaison in pre-midterm limbo

President Donald Trump’s new top congressional liaison has entered the job in limbo, with control of the House and Senate too close to call and a boss who could be slowed by a slew of investigations over his final two years in office if Democrats take the majority in one or both chambers.

Trump on Saturday announced that Katie Bailey would become his legislative affairs director. She most recently had been a top deputy in that office. Forecasting the White House’s legislative agenda and how successful she might be likely will have to wait after the Nov. 3 midterm elections.

Bailey’s last Capitol Hill position was legislative director for former Republican Sen. Mike Braun, who was elected governor of Indiana in 2024. She will have ample challenges in both chambers once Congress returns next month for a lame-duck session.

“Her major first test will come with the lame duck, when if, as predicted, one or both chambers change for the 120th Congress,” said G. William Hoagland, a former Senate GOP leadership aide.

“It will be a very short amount of time when Republicans will want to complete (the National Defense Authorization Act), finalize appropriations, maybe rush a budget resolution and later a reconciliation bill raising the debt limit — all within less than 20-some days, while avoiding a government shutdown right as the holiday season begins,” he added.

Both chambers passed a stopgap funding bill earlier this year that keeps the federal lights on until Dec. 11. Trump signed that continuing resolution on Sept. 2, making for a quieter-than-normal September on Capitol Hill.

But few in Washington expect a tame lame duck. The White House press office did not respond to an email seeking a statement from Bailey about her priorities and plans.

Before that stopgap measure reached his desk, Trump told a rally crowd on July 22 in Marietta, Ga., that Democrats in Congress want an eventual government shutdown paired with a federal debt ceiling breach.

“They would love it. I call it ‘The 1929.’ You know what 1929 means? That was not a good year,” he said, referring to the start of the Great Depression. “And there’s no reason for it. They should terminate the filibuster.”

The No. 2 Senate Republican, Wyoming’s John Barrasso, wrote on X that Bailey was “a strong pick to be Director of the White House Office of Legislative Affairs. Katie has already been an important part of our efforts to pass our shared agenda,” adding: “I’m pleased President Trump chose an experienced fighter to lead OLA.”

When it comes to the top Senate Republican, Majority Leader John Thune, Bailey will have to manage her boss’s warm-to-cold relationship with the South Dakotan. She may have to try talking Trump out of trying to elect a new Senate GOP leader, should voters next month hand Democrats control of the chamber.

Trump defended Thune during his Sept. 9 address at a Republican midterms convention in Dallas, when many in the American Airlines Center booed the president’s mention of him. But at other points this year, Trump has pushed Thune to try ending the legislative filibuster to pass bills with a simple majority threshold, rather than 60 votes.

“Everybody call John Thune at the Senate. He’s the leader of the Republican Party, and tell him to get this stuff approved,” the president said at that same Georgia rally. “So we’re fighting so that all voters must show voter ID. We’re fighting so that all voters must provide proof of citizenship. … And also the no mail-in ballots, very important.”

NIL bill in the House

As Senate Republicans are deciding Thune’s fate for the 120th Congress, the House could be taking up a bipartisan college sports overhaul bill that received 77 votes on final passage in the Senate.

If House leaders do take up the “Protect College Sports Act,” which Trump endorsed, Bailey would face an early test getting the measure to the president’s desk. House Majority Leader Steve Scalise, R-La., said last month his chamber would want to make major changes, then send it back to the Senate.

The biggest likely change: Language stating clearly that student-athletes could not be classified as employees of colleges and universities. That’s something Scalise and other House Republicans call a non-starter. Senate Commerce Chair Ted Cruz, R-Texas, a chief author of the Senate bill, said he dropped his push for such language during negotiations because it would have severely diminished the legislation’s chances in the Senate.

Several lobbying sources, granted anonymity to be candid, said an employee prohibition provision would be a red line for too many Senate Democrats, likely stalling an amended version in the lame-duck session.

One of those lobbyists said the bill faces “a real uphill fight” in the House.

‘Great success’

So, too, would the president if Democrats control the House come January.

Should Democrats take over House gavels on Jan. 3, the party’s leaders and current ranking members of investigatory committees have made clear they intend to examine what they see as widespread corruption from Trump, his family and some top figures in his second administration.

House Judiciary ranking member Jamie Raskin was asked prior to the House leaving for campaign season whether impeachment proceedings would be a sure thing next year.

“You know,” the Maryland Democrat said, “there’s a long list of potentially impeachable events.”

That would mean Bailey “will have to play defense when her coach wants to be on offense,” Hoagland said.

Also possible is Bailey playing a firefighter role as House Democrats probe all things Trump 2.0. Her role could include ensuring there are not enough GOP votes in the Senate to convict and remove the president, should a Democratic House approve articles of impeachment.

Trump has not used his “midterms blitz” campaign rallies to call for Congress to send him legislation starting in November.

He will need lawmakers on spending matters and the debt ceiling. He has a track record of helping trigger government shutdowns during both his terms.

Trump on Saturday sounded hopeful that Bailey’s experience would help him overcome the legislative challenges that await during his final two years in power.

In a Truth Social post, he credited her with helping the administration confirm several Cabinet nominees and pass legislation.

“After previously working on Capitol Hill,” he wrote, “Katie understands how the Executive and Legislative Branches of Government can most effectively work together to achieve Great Success for the American People.”

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