Donald Trump Donald John TrumpBarr criticizes DOJ in speech declaring all agency power 'is invested in the attorney general' Military leaders asked about using heat ray on protesters outside White House: report Powell warns failure to reach COVID-19 deal could 'scar and damage' economy MORE and House Republicans may clash over one of the president-elect’s chief campaign promises: to buy and hire American.

Trump has repeatedly vowed to follow those “two simple rules” while in office as a way to support American manufacturers and create jobs for the middle class.

“My administration will follow two simple rules. Buy American and hire Americans, right? We’re going to do it,” Trump said at a "Thank You Tour” rally in December. “Because from now on, it's going to be America first."

But around the exact same time, a Republican-led effort to strip a so-called “Buy America” rule from a water infrastructure bill was underway in the House.

That fight could foreshadow showdowns between the incoming administration and Republicans in Congress.

“Their position against Buy America is at stark odds with the president-elect, who has repeatedly pledged two rules for rebuilding the nation’s infrastructure: Buy American, and hire American,” Sen. Tammy Baldwin Tammy Suzanne BaldwinKeep teachers in the classroom Cher raised million for Biden campaign at LGBTQ-themed fundraiser Democrats seek balance in backing protests, condemning violence MORE (D-Wis.) said during a Senate confirmation hearing this week.

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Trump’s team has sent clear signals that they intend to follow his Buy America mandate.

Elaine Chao, Trump’s nominee to lead the Transportation Department, agreed to uphold that standard in an infrastructure bill, even though she has expressed opposition to such polices in the past.

“The president has made very clear his position on this,” Chao said during her Senate confirmation hearing this week. “Of course all Cabinet members will follow his policy.”

It’s less certain if House Republicans will play along. An aide for Speaker Paul Ryan Paul Davis RyanAt indoor rally, Pence says election runs through Wisconsin Juan Williams: Breaking down the debates Peterson faces fight of his career in deep-red Minnesota district MORE (R-Wis.) did not return a request for comment for this story.

But the issue could soon be put to the test, with Trump promising to build a border wall and make massive upgrades to the nation’s infrastructure.

“The water infrastructure bill was the first major test of whether the Washington establishment would live up to President-elect Trump’s ‘Buy American, Hire American’ promise. They failed,” Sen. Sherrod Brown Sherrod Campbell BrownEmboldened Democrats haggle over 2021 agenda Hillicon Valley: Russia 'amplifying' concerns around mail-in voting to undermine election | Facebook and Twitter take steps to limit Trump remarks on voting | Facebook to block political ads ahead of election Top Democrats press Trump to sanction Russian individuals over 2020 election interference efforts MORE (D-Ohio) said in a statement on Friday. “When it comes time to take up infrastructure issues this year, I hope Speaker Ryan will work with both parties to put American workers first.”

As The Hill reported last year, Ryan was directly behind last year’s effort to drop the Buy America rule from a final waterways package, according to sources familiar with the negotiations.

The language — included in the Senate-passed bill, but not the House version — would have required American steel and iron to be used in certain drinking water projects.

The philosophy behind opposing the provision is that blocking some companies from receiving federal dollars would create an unfair system of winners and losers. Or, as Transportation nominee Chao once described the policy, it would “dig a moat around America.”

“The ‘Buy America’ provision … in the [economic] stimulus package did more than squander America's credibility on international trade,” Chao wrote in 2009. “It also created bureaucratic hoops that will slow down spending the stimulus funds on projects that are supposed to energize our economy.”

The fight against Buy America was also fortified by a lobbying effort from foreign steel companies that tapped Squire Patton Boggs, which employees former House Speaker John Boehner John Andrew BoehnerLongtime House parliamentarian to step down Five things we learned from this year's primaries Bad blood between Pelosi, Meadows complicates coronavirus talks MORE (R-Ohio), to pressure lawmakers to ditch the language.

NLMK Inc., a major Russian steel company with some facilities in the U.S., and California Steel Industries, which is jointly owned by a Japanese steel company and a Brazilian mining company, both hired the firm to lobby on the waterways bill in 2016, according to the Center for Responsive Politics.

Trump never publicly weighed in on the Buy America spat in Congress last year, despite desperate pleas — and an aggressive Twitter campaign — from Democrats.

When Trump officially enters the White House, however, supporters like Sen. Rob Portman Robert (Rob) Jones PortmanRomney undecided on authorizing subpoenas for GOP Obama-era probes Congress needs to prioritize government digital service delivery House passes B bill to boost Postal Service MORE (R-Ohio) are expecting more Republicans to come around to the policy.

“Senator Portman is confident we’ll have a better chance at including such a provision in legislation this Congress with support of the Trump administration,” said Emily Benavides, press secretary for Portman.

In addition to Trump’s promised infrastructure and border wall proposals, the issue could surface in negotiations over an aviation bill, spending measures and the next waterways bill.

Rep. Dan Lipinski (D-Ill.) told The Hill on Friday that he is currently working on new standalone legislation that would attach the Buy America rule to all places that it’s not currently applied to.

“Hopefully, Trump follows through and makes it a priority,” Lipinski said. “I would hope to see him really push that, and maybe bring enough Republicans along that we can do more to enforce Buy America than before.”