Donald Trump was elected as 47th President of the United States after outperforming expectations in many swing states in Tuesday night’s elections.

Obviously, Texas was not considered a swing state in this election, and Trump’s victory in the state was concluded fairly quickly.

SEE ALSO: How Donald Trump Won Texas and Outperformed 2024 Election Projections

With a majority of Texans favoring a new Trump administration, it’s worth wondering what the next four years will actually look like now that the election is in the rearview mirror.

KPRC 2’s Michael Horton sat down with Rice University political science professor Mark Jones to discuss what the president-elect’s next administration could look like for Texans.

Michael Horton: In what ways do you think this election outcome will most impact Texans?

Mark Jones: I mean, the difference between Donald Trump in the White House and Kamala Harris in the White House is quite dramatic in terms of policy – both domestic policy and foreign policy, but also in terms of very different styles.

I think from a policy standpoint, this has big consequences for Texas voters, and you’re going to see much more conservative policies being maintained or promoted, rather than the much more progressive policies that we would have seen from Harris, ranging from issues like government spending and student debt forgiveness, to restrictions on oil and natural gas.

There’s a whole host of things where, you know, from a policy standpoint, a Harris administration would have promoted much more progressive policies in terms of social and economic issues, whereas the Trump administration will be more likely to have conservative policies. policies related to social issues and economic issues.

Thus, the Department of Education and the Department of Justice, under a Harris administration, would be heavily involved in promoting transgender rights, for example, as well as diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives of broader way. In a Trump administration, the Department of Education and Attorney General will be more likely to oppose state efforts to promote DEI as well as transgender rights.

Michael Horton: With the Senate victories leaning to the right last night, do you think that will make this presidency different from his first term?

Mark Jones: A lot depends, you know, on how Republicans approach the filibuster. This is ironic, because just a few days ago, Democrats were arguing that if Kamala Harris won and took control of the Senate, one of the first things they would consider would be abolishing the filibuster. But now I think you’re going to have some doubts among the Democrats.

I think there are still enough Republicans who see the value in the filibuster and protecting it by imposing limits on executive power that they are unlikely to get rid of it. But that doesn’t mean that at the margins they can find new, creative ways to water it down slightly, a trend that Chuck Schumer started some time ago when he was Senate Majority Leader.

One last thing, looking back at the first Trump administration, if we had to point out just one thing that Trump did that had an impact on public policy, it was the appointment of three conservative justices to the Court Supreme Court of the United States. And not just three conservative judges, but three relatively young conservative judges. Between Amy Coney Barrett, Neil Gorsuch and Brett Kavanaugh, they had a powerful impact.

It is highly likely that Trump will have the opportunity to appoint one or two additional justices over the next four years. You know, maybe some of the older conservative judges will be enticed to retire while Trump still has a majority in the Senate, so the Republicans can be assured of locking in one or more conservative judges, but instead of being in at 70, they would be between 40 and 50 years old.

Michael Horton: Have you heard about any Texas politicians who might run for administrative positions in Trump’s office? I know I saw Dan Patrick’s name, as well as Ken Paxton’s.

Mark Jones: Obviously, Ken Paxton, Dan Patrick and Greg Abbott are prominent and very influential Texas politicians. I’m skeptical that they would actually prefer a Cabinet appointment to their current position. You know, especially for Abbott or Patrick, I mean, Abbott is the most powerful Republican governor in the country, and Lieutenant Governor Patrick, between his own presence and his control of the Texas Senate, has enormous influence over the politics and politics here.

I think the only way you see them, you know, someone like Dan Patrick or Greg Abbott taking positions in the White House is if they’ve already decided that they’re not going to run for office. re-election in 2026, and that it would be a kind of choice. something of a swan song for their political career. As for Paxton, his name will be mentioned, but I suspect that if it rose to a serious level of consideration, there would be plenty of backroom conversations with President Trump about why that might not be a good idea.

But you know, there are other people. I think, you know, I would probably look less at state government and more at members of the United States House of Representatives. In particular, someone like Michael McCaul, I think, would be a natural fit for (the Department of) Homeland Security, for example.

MORE WITH MARK JONES: Key local election races and voting issues: What’s at stake for Alvin ISD, Spring ISD and Sugar Land