Republicans’ Donald Trump problem isn’t going away just because he’s headed to the White House.

After spending most of the year ducking and running for cover from one Trump utterance after another, not much has changed for Capitol Hill Republicans — other than that they won election. They returned to Washington this week facing a barrage of questions about Steve Bannon, mass deportations and a lobbyist-packed Trump transition team, and many of them are dancing around the clear differences between Trump and the rank and file in the Capitol, like spending more on infrastructure and defense while also cutting the deficit.


Now, Republicans are holding out hope that his passage from candidate to leader of the free world will bring about the long-awaited Trump pivot.

“They’re in a whirlwind over there right now,” said Senate Majority Whip John Cornyn of Texas, the No. 2 Republican in the chamber, when asked about Trump's transition team. “I don’t think we’re going to have a clear picture of things for a few weeks. Maybe a month or two."

“It’s one thing to be out on a campaign trail, it’s another thing to be here. And then the reality of the issues that we have to deal with sink in,” said one Republican senator, who nonetheless was enthusiastic about Republicans winning the White House and both chambers of Congress. “Between right now and Jan. 20, things that are said should be taken more and more seriously.”

For Republicans, dealing with Trump and his team of loyalists certainly beats trying to govern alongside Hillary Clinton. But at least they were prepared for that possibility.

The reason for the challenging union between Trump and the Republican Congress? GOP lawmakers simply thought he would lose.

“We really hadn’t thought [his election] was likely to happen. So we hadn’t really thought about it much,” said a second Republican senator. “You don’t have to be president on Nov. 9. You’ve got about 10 weeks to really think about what this really means. Nobody but the guy who’s elected president understands how sobering it is to figure out: You’ve got the job.”

And if Trump's spontaneity and aggressive brand of politics become a fixture in Washington, it will have to mesh with Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell's methodical style, even as the Kentucky Republican's conference must be ready to react to the latest Trump developments. Things are no different in the House, where House Speaker Paul Ryan (R-Wis.) repeatedly deflected uncomfortable questions about Trump during a news conference.

Most troubling for Trump out of the gate is Sen. Rand Paul's (R-Ky.) vow to try and block the confirmation of John Bolton or Rudy Giuliani if either man is nominated for secretary of state. Unless Republicans can find a Democrat to support either of those picks, Paul could singlehandedly derail one or the other in a closely divided Senate Foreign Relations Committee.

Paul is also sending a broader message: That the president-elect will have to deal with the bloc of libertarian-leaning Republicans that may oppose him on foreign policy, government surveillance and civil liberties.

“I’m open to trying to stop anyone from leading the Department of State who doesn’t understand the history of the Middle East, doesn’t understand the Iraq war was a mistake, doesn’t understand regime change,” Paul said in an interview, explaining his shot across the bow at Trump: “My effort to insert myself in the public debate is not to oppose Donald Trump, it’s to support what Donald Trump said in the campaign.”

Indeed, Trump’s campaign style is running headlong into reality. The appointment of Bannon, his combative strategist, has put Republicans in a defensive crouch. They've been quick to praise Reince Priebus as chief of staff, while denying all knowledge of the Breitbart executive-turned-White House consigliere.

At a photo-op with Senator-elect Todd Young (R-Ind.), McConnell had a Bannon question sprung on him. His answer: “It’s great to see you guys today.” Young declined to discuss Bannon when he left McConnell’s office.

Privately, some Republicans on Capitol Hill aren’t sure how long Bannon will serve in the position, but as long as he does they do not want to agitate someone who ran an insurgent website that often cast establishment Republicans as traitorous.

Sen. Lindsey Graham has opposed Donald Trump but focused in a press conference Tuesday on the ways in which he wants to work with the president-elect. | Getty

And others in the party suggested Breitbart's aggressive posture toward Republicans was aimed at boosting the website’s traffic, not a reflection of how Bannon will run Trump’s political tactics.

“There seem to be a lot of people that will talk in ways that get attention and get attention for their businesses,” said Sen. Mike Rounds (R-S.D.). “Most of us recognize that there is a reasonableness to be expected in discussions with the executive branch.”

On policy, many Republicans have little idea of what's coming next. Several said they’ve not heard from Trump or his transition team and are going off his public remarks, some studying his speech in Gettysburg, Pennsylvania, last month that vowed to "drain the swamp" and others scrutinizing a “60 Minutes” interview in which he vowed to deport as many as 3 million people who are suspected criminals.

Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.), a vigorous proponent of immigration reform who opposed Trump, held a media availability with reporters on Tuesday afternoon that centered on ways to work with the president-elect: Infrastructure, cracking down on Chinese currency manipulation and confirming a conservative Supreme Court justice.

“The reason I didn’t pick [immigration] is I don’t know what he wants to do. I'll tell you what I won’t do: I will not vote for a bill that quite frankly deports [and] treats a grandmother and a drug dealer the same,” Graham said.

Trump also has appeared to soften his commitment to building a wall along the U.S.-Mexico border. He's done the same on quickly repealing all of Obamacare by committing to keeping protection for people with pre-existing conditions and for children to stay on their parents’ insurance until they are 26. But Republicans insisted they were prepared for a more nuanced approach from Trump after a campaign built on punchy declarations to build the wall and tear out Obamacare root and branch.

“A fence isn’t a wall? That’s just picky. And the same thing with Obamacare. Republicans, I think for the most part all of us said: Repeal and replace, but we also recognize the importance of pre-existing conditions and the coverage there. That’s nothing new,” said Sen. Deb Fischer (R-Neb.).

If Republicans said they are excited about working with Trump on a conservative legislative agenda, they are willing to pop at least one of Trump’s campaign trial balloons: Term limits. A central piece of Trump’s plans to “drain the swamp” of Washington largesse, McConnell said last week it will “not be on the agenda in the Senate.”

“It’s fine to have a conversation about that. I’ve always found the best term limit is an election,” Cornyn said.

Katie Glueck contributed to this report.