Republicans lawmakers who are jubilant about President Trump’s flurry of executive orders and actions reshaping the government are staring down a challenge: making those changes last by turning them into law.

For now, the GOP majorities in Congress are largely happy to cede power to the executive branch as Trump tests the limits of his executive authority.

But as court challenges and future elections threaten to undo those actions, these lawmakers are strategizing about how to cement them into legislation and then law.

House Republicans in the Republican Study Committee (RSC), the largest caucus of conservatives, launched a “Set in Stone” initiative to start to identify Trump policies to write into law and pass them through Congress.

That’s not an easy task. With few exceptions, lasting policy changes would need to clear a 60-vote threshold to advance in the Senate, necessitating support from at least seven Democrats who have no incentive to help Trump secure legislative wins.

But Rep. August Pfluger (R-Texas), chair of the Republican Study Committee, says this is just the start of working with congressional leadership to identify opportunities.

“We have identified a handful of bills knowing that some of them are challenging to get across the finish line, but understanding that the American people elected Donald Trump to do these........

© The Hill