In this photo taken Dec. 8, 2106, House Speaker Paul Ryan of Wis. speaks during a news conference on Capitol Hill in Washington. The 114th Congress has limped to a close, two years of partisan acrimony punctuated by the occasional burst of bipartisan deal-making in the waning days of President Barack Obamaâs tenure. (AP Photo/Cliff Owen)
The Associated Press
WASHINGTON (AP) - The 114th Congress has limped to a close. It was a tumultuous two-year period of partisan acrimony punctuated by the occasional burst of bipartisan deal-making in the waning days of Barack Obama's presidency.
Ahead is uncertainty. The GOP is preparing to assume monopoly control over Washington for the first time in a decade come January. Congress' relationship with an untested new president is yet to be determined.
Thus far, congressional Republicans have been highly deferential to President-elect Donald Trump, even when his pronouncements fly in the face of long-held GOP goals. The question hanging over the next Congress will be whether Trump prevails on issues - or whether congressional Republicans steer him in a direction more in line with traditional GOP beliefs.
FILE - In this Dec. 8, 2016 file photo, House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi of Calif. speaks with Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, of Ky. on Capitol Hill in Washington. The 114th Congress has limped to a close, two years of partisan acrimony punctuated by the occasional burst of bipartisan deal-making in the waning days of President Barack Obamaâs tenure. (AP Photo/Cliff Owen, File)
The Associated Press
FILE - In this June 29, 2016 file photo, Sen. Lamar Alexander, R-Tenn. walks on Capitol Hill in Washington. The 114th Congress has limped to a close, two years of partisan acrimony punctuated by the occasional burst of bipartisan deal-making in the waning days of President Barack Obamaâs tenure. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite, File)
The Associated Press