He is having difficulty, at least so far, and the turmoil of the past day has revealed some of the boundaries of his authority and control over his party as he gets ready to return to the White House.
Trump issued a new demand for a stripped-down government funding plan that would also raise the cap on the amount of new debt the federal government can issue to pay its spending, one day after he thwarted a bipartisan government funding bill with significant help from tech multibillionaire Elon Musk.
For many House conservatives, who have long insisted that any increase in debt be accompanied at the very least by cuts to what they consider to be excessive government spending, it was a huge ask.
