Columns
Recent discussions I have had with President Trump and my congressional colleagues highlight both the significant challenges and the opportunity we will soon have to get our country back on the right track. After four years of inflationary spending under the Biden-Harris administration, voters have demanded a change in leadership and policy. The tragic consequences of open border policies have grown more severe during the last four years, and anti-growth Biden-Harris policies have squelched American energy production.
Ensuring the United States meets challenges we face around the world is a demanding but vital task. Dispute resolution and advanced international cooperation are rarely straightforward, with bad faith actors abusing processes and power. To promote the best interests of our citizens and preserve our security, we must unapologetically demonstrate American leadership and boldly stand with the friends of freedom around the world.
A new year brings a valuable chance to reflect on the accomplishments of the previous year and prepare for the opportunities ahead in the next. This week, it was especially meaningful to have my two young children with me as I was sworn in to serve Nebraska’s Third District as a member of the House of Representatives in the 119th Congress. Today, I am more committed than ever to securing a prosperous future for the next generation of Americans, one built on the foundation laid by our Constitution and those who have fought to defend it.
Christmas is a time for counting our blessings. As we near the end of 2024, I am so grateful for the freedoms we enjoy in United States and my precious wife and children. There is no better time of year to consider the things we truly cherish. We should also speak about them with loved ones and share the way they uplift our hearts.
This week, world events have emphasized the importance of American readiness to keep our country safe and stand with our allies across the globe. The fall of Bashar al-Assad’s regime in Syria is another reminder many regions of the world do not enjoy the freedom and stability we do in the United States. It also underscores the need for decisive U.S. leadership as Assad’s rogue allies, such as Russia and Iran, may grow increasingly desperate.
This week, despite prior assurances made repeatedly by the president himself and his spokespeople he would not do so, President Biden announced he had signed a sweeping pardon for his son Hunter Biden. While framed by the president as addressing Hunter’s gun and tax charges, the pardon stunningly covers all crimes Hunter “committed or may have committed” from 2014 to 2023, a period covering Hunter’s questionable business dealings in Ukraine, China, and other foreign nations.
Poised at the threshold of the holiday season, the Thanksgiving holiday has a powerful capacity to bring us together as Americans. Despite unrest in the world, economic adversity, and political polarization, we’re given the chance to unite, share in our blessings, and give thanks.
One-size-fits-all mandates from Washington are rarely the answer to the problems Americans face, and health care is no exception. As anyone who has traveled our state can see, there is endless diversity of needs across our communities. The health care challenges, and the solutions needed to best serve them, are just as varied.
Under the Biden-Harris administration, inflation triggered by anti-growth policies, lackluster engagement on trade, and bloated federal spending has hit Nebraska households hard—costing the average household in our state $32,110 more since January 2021. Rising input costs also continue to severely impact the agriculture and manufacturing industries. Data published this week by the Bureau of Labor Statistics shows the annual rate of inflation for wholesale products again increased in October.
This week, the American people chose to return Donald Trump to the White House while also electing a Republican majority to the Senate, and likely the House as well. Investors also received good news this week as the stock market had its best one-week rally in a year. Corn and soybean prices ended the week higher than they began, and multiple indexes surpassed record highs. This positive trend is not coincidental. The last Trump administration brought tax relief, regulatory relief, and an overall positive environment for job creation and investment.