根据政治观察人士的说法，尽管美国国会由于政治分歧和意识形态两极分化而存在许多潜在的冲突，明年一月份以后参众两院和特朗普总统之间仍可能找到有限的合作领域。
华盛顿的两党政策中心政治分析人士John Fortier表示，“分裂的政府在美国政治中司空见惯，我们的政府更多时候是处在分裂而不是团结的状态。”他说，“这意味着，首先，总统的议事日程不再是立法的议事日程，有些事可以完成，但将需要民主共和两党的合作，这很困难，但不是不可能。”
特朗普总统和众议院多数党领导人佩洛西都已表示出寻找共同点的意愿。
特朗普总统周三在新闻发布会上说，“希望明年我们能够共同努力，继续为美国人民服务，包括在经济增长、基础设施、贸易，降低处方药价等方面。”特朗普表示，“这些也是民主党人想要做的事情，我确实相信我们能做到这一点。”
“我们将努力实现两党合作，”佩洛西在民主党周二在中期选举中赢得众议院控制权的第二天告诉记者说， “我们相信，我们有责任尽可能地寻求共同点。在我们不能达成一致的地方，我们必须坚持自己的立场。但我们必须尝试。“
与此同时，双方的摩擦也很快显现，民主党认为他们有责任对行政部门进行监督，而白宫则认为在新一届国会宣誓就职后，民主党会出于政治动机滥用调查权。
不过就目前而言，国会中的关键人物正在强调要开始工作，这种态度至少带来两党假定可以合作的氛围。
参议院多数党领袖、肯塔基州共和党参议员麦康纳尔在周三的新闻发布会上指出了医疗保健问题。
他说，“奥巴马医改存在严重问题，需要解决，”麦康纳尔说， “言论不能解决问题，我认为我们显然必须在两党的基础上解决这个问题。”
稍后参议院少数党领袖、来自纽约州的舒默告诉记者，参议院民主党人可以“专注于会影响到普通选民的中产阶级的问题，例如医疗保健、药品价格等等。”
Despite numerous areas of potential conflict, a politically divided and ideologically polarized U.S. Congress may find limited areas of cooperation between the two chambers and President Donald Trump beginning in January, according to political observers.
Trump and the top House Democrat, Rep. Nancy Pelosi of California, already have signaled a desire to find common ground.
“Hopefully, we can all work together next year to continue delivering for the American people, including on economic growth, infrastructure, trade, lowering the cost of prescription drugs,” the president said at a news conference on Wednesday. “These are some of things that the Democrats do want to work on, and I really believe we’ll be able to do that.”
“We will strive for bipartisanship,” Pelosi told reporters one day after Democrats won control of the House of Representatives in Tuesday’s midterm elections. “We believe that we have a responsibility to seek common ground where we can. Where we cannot, we must stand our ground. But we must try.”
At the same time, friction quickly surfaced over what Democrats see as their duty to provide oversight of the executive branch and what the White House sees as looming politically-motivated abuse of the investigative authority that House Democrats will wield when the new Congress is sworn in.
For now, however, key lawmakers are stressing a get-to-work attitude that presumes at least a modicum of comity and bipartisanship.
Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, a Kentucky Republican, pointed to health care during a Wednesday news conference.
“There are serious problems with Obamacare, serious problems that need to get fixed,” McConnell said. “Rhetoric doesn’t solve the problem, and I think we’re obviously going to have to address that now on a bipartisan basis.”
Moments later, Minority Leader Chuck Schumer of New York told reporters Senate Democrats can expand their ranks “by focusing on middle-class issues that affect average voters, such as healthcare, drug prices, things like that.”