In lawmaking, there’s a simple maxim that rules the day: “The President proposes, Congress disposes.”
Meaning, no matter what’s in the president’s proposal, he needs 217 votes in the House and 60 in the Senate to get back to his desk before he can sign it into law. And while the House is more likely to pass legislation supported by the majority party, it’s in the Senate where significant negotiating and deal-making must be done.
In the past several weeks, we’ve witnessed the House fail at its first attempt to pass a repeal of the Affordable Care Act, something Republicans have been saying they’d do since its initial passage into law. Experts would suggest that was due to a lack of participation by the president or coming in when it was too late to get legislators to change their minds (and vote).