ArcaMax

"The hopes and fears of all the years ..." -- Traditional Christmas carol

WASHINGTON -- Oh, the drama.

The closing days of this Congress were a mad rush, more so than usual since the white mansion up Pennsylvania Avenue will soon change hands.

The holiday parties given by the Bidens enchanted guests with a melancholy undertow. The candles at the court burned bright, but this was their last lights.

Now what, for our little town?

If the marble memorials of the capital city could talk, they'd say: What will 2025 be like? How would President-elect Donald Trump seek to gain "retribution"? What about Elon Musk's influence? The richest man in the world, the unelected South African billionaire bluntly told Republicans in Congress to scrap a complex spending bill negotiated in the House by both sides.

That does not bode well.

First, Trump is not president yet. He and his friends should not be directing Congress behind the scenes at this stage. He even signaled he'd be OK driving over the cliff of a chaotic government shutdown before Christmas.

Second, Trump giving Musk free rein to give Congress orders was political hemlock. It's hard enough to get work done on deadline and at cross-purposes under the Capitol dome -- for disaster relief, payments to farmers and much more -- without an outsider obsessed with taking charge.

Chills ran down House Democratic spines, and they stiffened.

With a 217-215 slight Republican majority coming in January, Democrats are determined to force Republicans to a middle ground. Democratic leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-N.Y.) felt his trust in Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) buckle by the 11th-hour threats to tank the deal they made.

Already, the next Congress, to be sworn in Jan. 3, is off to a rocky start. Even some Republicans resented Musk playing Scrooge in shaping policy. When Musk crowed that the voice of the American people agreed with him and praised the German neo-Nazi party, his party at Mar-a-Lago was over.

Trump spoke out against Musk's shenanigans and said his constant companion should stay in his lane.

Somewhat restored, the House spending bill passed close to midnight Friday before a government closure clock would start ticking.

The political theater of the absurd did not have to happen. It gives us a preview of the mercurial way Trump will lead -- again, but this time feeling freed from the yoke of reelection. Again, but with more rage burning like those candles at the court. Again and again.

The Senate lost a few good men: Mitt Romney (R-Utah), Sherrod Brown (D-Ohio) and Jon Tester (D-Mont.).

Leaving public office, Romney was noted for votes of conscience (for voting to convict Trump in two impeachment trials). He also crossed the party aisle often to speak to other senators with a friendly word or two.

A fierce advocate for labor, Brown became known as the only Democrat who could win statewide in red Ohio, but he lost his seat. Tester, a farmer at home, lost his election after serving three terms as a blue senator in a Republican state. All gave impassioned farewell floor speeches, a Senate tradition, a glowing counterpoint to the bitter battles going on in the House.

The blue Senate, like the White House, will soon shift to Republican control, 53-47. The tension fogging the Trump Cabinet nominations has not cleared. Holding hearings and floor votes on each one, the Senate is the firewall between Trump and "whatever he wants."

Up in the Capitol press gallery, is there a chilling effect from Trump's ongoing grudge match with the First Amendment? Too early to say.

Amid the clashes, Rep. Jennifer Wexton (D-Va.) took a moment to say goodbye in a haunting speech she gave with a text-to-voice device. Diagnosed with progressive supranuclear palsy in her mid-50s, her debilitating illness forced her to retire. Her last act was coauthoring a childhood cancer federal funding bill that survived the drama of the last days.

"I hope I've made you proud," Wexton declared. "As I head into my final days in Congress, I'm choosing once again to have hope."

Hopes and fears were met in the last night before Christmas.

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The author may be reached at JamieStiehm.com. To find out more about Jamie Stiehm and other Creators Syndicate columnists and cartoonists, please visit creators.com.

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