These 5 things will 'shape American politics in 2025': analysis

01 January

Now that 2025 has arrived, the political landslide is about to change considerably.

A new Congress will be seated on January 3, with Republicans still controlling the U.S. House of Representatives while taking over the U.S. Senate. And 17 days later, President Joe Biden will exit the White House when President-elect Donald Trump is sworn in for his second term.

In a listicle published on New Year's Day 2025, The Hill's Caroline Vakil lays out "five things that will shape politics" in the United States this year.

Vakil lists: (1) "divisions between Congress and Trump," (2) "Elon Musk's influence," (3) "the Trump factor in primaries," (4) "Democratic efforts to pivot after (a) devastating election," and (5) "international crises."

"2025 isn't a major election year," Vakil explains, "with the biggest contests being held on the state level in New Jersey and Virginia. But that doesn't mean attention isn’t already turning to the 2026 midterms — and what role Trump will play in the GOP primaries that year."

Vakil continues, "With tensions already spilling out into the open on Capitol Hill, some Republicans who cross the president-elect could prove vulnerable heading into their reelection campaigns. Most recently, Trump re-upped his threats to primary Rep. Chip Roy (R-Texas) over his opposition to raising the debt ceiling without spending cuts. It could be a preview of what's to come as the president-elect looks to oust members of his party who get in the way of his agenda."

After losing the White House and the Senate, Vakil notes, Democrats are asking themselves where they need to go from here.

"Members of the party have conducted their own postmortems," The Hill's journalist observes, "though many Democrats say one of the biggest reasons their party lost last month was because of how voters feel about the Democratic brand…. One looming question is how Democrats will regroup and tackle some of those very issues members of the party have identified as setbacks post-election."

Caroline Vakil's full listicle for The Hill is available at this link.

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