Trump is going to body slam the GOP a lot more in 2017

[Shrek]

http://www.cnbc.com/2017/01/03/trump-is-going-to-body-slam-the-gop-a-lot-more-in-2017-commentary.html

It's become very clear that Trump will continue to make a lot of conservative Republicans very mad in 2017. And here's why he can get away with it: It's not just that Trump won the election and he's going to be the president. Remember that, while the general election was very close, Trump utterly gutted the GOP in the primaries. That was the real landslide of 2016 and it sends the message that he doesn't really need much from the Republican Party — especially its ideology — to succeed. Trump needed and probably still needs the official Republican label after his name, but that's about it.

Based on what the GOP House members did on Monday to gut the independent ethics office and the way Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell carries himself, they still haven't gotten the memo. House Speaker Paul Ryan seems closer to understanding the state of things, but even he isn't completely on board with the new realities. Maybe after Trump proceeds with more protectionist policies or pushes for big infrastructure deficit spending projects they'll start to come out of denial. But Trump was a candidate and is going to be a president who likes fighting lots of battles all the time, and he's really not going to care much about which side he's fighting.

[Little Star]

1. They signed on the dotted line & now they own him or..

he owns them.

[MineralMan]

2. That's possible, but it's not certain.

We'll be finding out fairly soon, though. Trump and Congress may come to some sort of agreement, or maybe already have. I don't know. We'll find out when we see what happens, but won't know until then.

[C_U_L8R]

3. This puppet show just isn't believable

I think Trump and the GOP will put up a lot of
fake fighting to keep the press occupied (squirrel!!) while
they hustle the stolen goods together out the back door.

[underpants]

4. I didn't think he got a majority of even the primary votes

If I remember correctly.

I get the point of the article though. They have no control of him. No loyalty. No real ties.

[HopeAgain]

5. Depends on what the currency of the day is...

Trump thinks he's a wheeler dealer. His Agenda is Trump power and Trump money. He's not an ideologue, he's a power monger. The republicans will have to trade something, by way of his standing/position/popularity/wealth each time to get their legislation signed, unless the legislation is necessary to maintain Trump's support base.