Replication Data for: Political Leverage and Legislative Strategy: How Trump Overperformed With Congress in 2025

In accounting for the president’s legislative success with Congress, scholars typically focus on variables such as party control, majority party size, and presidential popularity. But none of those factors sheds much light on why Republicans had so much more success in 2025 than in 2017. Instead, it is necessary to consider how other contextual and strategic factors can account for the different outcomes. In particular, President Trump possessed greater political leverage over the congressional GOP in 2025 compared to 2017. Congressional leaders also employed a more effective legislative strategy in 2025 than in 2017.