As lawmakers returned to Washington, D.C. this September after their annual summer break, they found a city transformed—not just by the sticky heat of late summer, but by a president intent on rewriting the rules of governance. President Donald Trump, never one to shy away from the spotlight, has taken center stage while Congress was away, filling the legislative agenda with his own priorities and, in some cases, bypassing traditional channels altogether.
On August 11, Trump made headlines with a bold announcement: the federal government would take control of the Metropolitan Police Department and deploy the National Guard to combat crime in the nation’s capital. Flanked by Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth and Attorney General Pamela Bondi, Trump declared, “We’re having a lot of victories. We’re going to make Washington, D.C., great again. We’re making our country great again. The country is very close to being great. When they say it’s the hottest country in the world, they mean it. And this capital is … at a level that you haven’t seen in a long time.” According to Roll Call, this move was just the opening act in what promises to be a dramatic legislative season.
Trump’s assertiveness comes at a time when Congress faces a daunting playbill—one largely scripted by the president himself. After signing a massive tax and domestic policy measure on Independence Day, Trump initially appeared content to focus on foreign affairs and disaster relief. However, as the leaves begin to change, so too has the president’s focus. His legislative wish list has grown, and he’s made it clear that he expects Congress to move quickly on his priorities.
One of the most pressing issues is the looming threat of a government shutdown at the end of September. G. William Hoagland, a former GOP Senate aide, told Roll Call that Congress will soon be “entangled in a continuing resolution, appropriations, and a shutdown” threat for much of the fall-winter session. The annual spending drama could see lawmakers and the White House punting funding deadlines week by week, with the specter of a shutdown hanging over the city like a summer thundercloud.
Trump, for his part, is determined to avoid a shutdown that could jeopardize the economic gains he touts as the cornerstone of his presidency. “He wants to fund the government,” a GOP source close to Trump’s inner circle explained. “This president feels like he’s got the economy humming, and a shutdown could change that—or make people feel like it has. And because we know it takes seven or eight months for voters to actually feel things that affect the economy, a shutdown right now could hurt Republicans in 2026.”
Yet, the president’s approach to governance has raised alarms among some observers. According to a Slate podcast published on September 3, 2025, the struggle between Congress and the executive branch has reached a fever pitch. The podcast highlighted deep concerns about Trump’s expansion of executive power and Congress’s apparent inability to assert its constitutional authority, particularly when it comes to budgetary control and legislative prerogatives. “Can Congress stop Trump’s takeover?” the hosts asked, underscoring the tension that now defines the relationship between the two branches.
Trump’s unpredictability only adds to the uncertainty. As Hoagland put it, “with this POTUS, his agenda is impossible to determine one month ahead let alone three months ahead.” The president’s priorities tend to shift with his own perceptions of political advantage, making it difficult for lawmakers to anticipate what might come next.
Still, some elements of Trump’s agenda are clear. On August 21, as he visited law enforcement officers and National Guard troops involved in the federal takeover of D.C. policing, Trump signaled his intent to maintain a hard line on crime. Despite the fact that violent crime levels in Washington have returned to pre-spike levels, Trump used the congressional recess to seize direct control over the city’s police force. The move, while controversial, plays well with his political base and keeps security issues front and center.
Trump’s ambitions don’t stop there. On August 22, he called on Congress to send him a D.C. “crime bill” that would revoke policies like cashless bail and provide $2 billion to fight crime and make the District “clean.” In his words, “We [will] have no problem getting that money. That money will come out of Congress. I think it’ll be even bipartisan. I would imagine Democrats would vote for that one.” Whether Democrats will, in fact, support such a measure remains to be seen, but the president is betting that public concern over crime will give him the upper hand.
Security and prosperity remain the twin pillars of Trump’s legislative agenda. As one GOP source told Roll Call, “If you look at everything the president ran on in 2024, and really in 2016, they can be boiled down to two things: prosperity and security. So that means he’s going to be really insistent that Congress doesn’t play games and funds the military, funds more border security and funds immigration enforcement.” The White House is expected to push for the annual Pentagon policy bill, a full-year Defense appropriations measure, and potentially additional funding for Trump’s hardline immigration policies in the coming months.
In a move that raised eyebrows across the political spectrum, Trump announced on September 1 his intention to rename the Department of Defense back to the Department of War. “We’re just going to do it. I’m sure Congress will go along if we need that. I don’t think we even need that,” he told reporters in the Oval Office. “Defense is too defensive. We want to be defensive. But we want to be offensive, too—if we have to be,” he added, a statement that left many wondering about the implications for U.S. military policy and global posture.
As Congress gears up for a contentious fall session, the issue of confirmations looms large. Trump is reportedly frustrated with Senate delays on confirming his nominees, a process that has traditionally moved more swiftly through voice votes. “Confirmations, confirmations and confirmations,” is how one GOP source described the Senate’s likely preoccupation for the remainder of the year. Hoagland agreed, predicting that “the Senate will still be tied up with nominations throughout the fall.”
All the while, the fundamental question remains: Can Congress reassert its role as a coequal branch of government in the face of an executive determined to expand his power? The Slate podcast put it bluntly: “You’re a coequal branch of government! Act like it!” The coming weeks will reveal whether lawmakers are up to the challenge, or whether Trump’s takeover of the legislative agenda will continue unchecked.
For now, Washington watches and waits, as the curtain rises on yet another act in the ongoing drama of American governance—one where the stakes, as always, are nothing less than the balance of power itself.
