New Sheriff in Town: GOP Targets Obama Agenda

WASHINGTON -- The 114th Congress begins Tuesday, and there's a new sheriff in town. Republicans now control both the Senate and House.

CBN News' David Brody looks at how the battle is shaping up between the GOP and the White House.

Slow and steady: those are words you'll hear often from Republican leaders on Capitol Hill who say that after the GOP’s tidal wave in November, they will work with President Barack Obama when they can.

But they're also eager and determined to dismantle much of his liberal agenda.

"Of course, we’re so eager we would love to go for the whole enchilada, if you will. I think what we’re going to do is see us be smart about it and go after some of the components that need to be dealt with first," Rep. Marsha Blackburn, R-Tenn., told CBN News.

Those components include passing a bill this week that would finally start building the Keystone XL pipeline. Liberals call it an environment killer but Republicans say it’s a job creator.

Republicans also plan to try to dismantle Obamacare piece by piece. Votes on that start this week, too.

"We think it's a terrible piece of legislation. We're certainly going to be voting on that if we can put either repeal or take out pieces of it, like destroying the 40-hour work week, the medical device tax, the individual mandate," Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., said.

Republicans will also push to cut off funding so Obama can’t implement his controversial executive order on illegal immigration.

They'll also try to stop his plans for better relations with Cuba by going after the money allocated for it within the Department of Homeland Security.

It’s leaving the White House in a spot they're not used to.

For the president's first six years, he was setting the agenda. Now, he's having to play defense against the GOP's plans. Republicans are about to put the president on the spot.

Rep. Blackburn told CBN News the new Republican majority will act. After that, it’s up to the president.

"What we're committed to do is a right-of-center conservative agenda and move it forward, move it through both chambers and then send it to the president's desk. Then he has the opportunity as to whether to sign it or to veto it and send it back to us," she said.

With a Republican Party determined to challenge the president on numerous issues, expect to see Obama wield his veto pen more often this year than ever before. He's only used the power of the veto twice in six years. That’s expected to change in a hurry.