take the reins

When Trump and his crew take the reins again, I expect the machinery of power to run on revenge, to silence those who dissent, to remake this place in a darker image.

And there has already been a rush of people eager to take the reins of power for themselves.

The lesson Roberts took from this losing streak was simple: If you can’t beat them, join them—and if you join them, you might as well take the reins.

Steve Bannon, the far-right powerbroker who served as a key Donald Trump advisor from 2015 to 2017, has an idea: let Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, R-Ga., take the reins at the Department of Homeland Security.

To contextualize this within the letter of the law, even before people were talking about the Alien Enemies Act on the 2024 election campaign trail, you had Texas Gov. Greg Abbott trying to take the reins on immigration enforcement.