The right needs bigger ideas than tax cuts



New York City voters last week elected socialist Zohran Mamdani as their next mayor. It wasn’t an isolated win. Across the country, progressives dominated key races, including the gubernatorial contests in New Jersey and Virginia.

In race after race, conservative, moderate, and establishment Democrats were swept aside by aggressive, hard-left challengers. The message could not be clearer: Conservative messaging — and in some cases, conservative policy — is failing to connect with ordinary voters.

Socialists like Mamdani promise utopia through government control. Conservatives cannot counter that with spreadsheets and slogans.

Mamdani and his progressive allies succeeded because they campaigned on issues that hit home for millions of Americans: the cost of housing, food, personal debt, and the lack of good jobs.

Ironically, those were the very same issues that powered Donald Trump’s 2024 victory and brought working-class voters back to the Republican fold. Now those same voters are drifting back toward socialism, and the reason is painfully simple: It’s still the economy, stupid.

Economic pain drives voters left

Conservatives have not convinced enough Americans — especially voters under 40 — that their policies will improve daily life. Consumer prices remain high, grocery bills keep climbing, and inflation continues to outpace wage growth.

Housing costs are near record levels. The average home now costs seven times the median income, compared to roughly 5.5 times during Trump’s first term. Total household debt has topped $18 trillion for three consecutive quarters — another all-time high.

Millions of Americans feel trapped. And when voters are desperate, they make disastrous choices — like putting a socialist in charge of the nation’s largest city.

What Trump got right

The Trump administration has taken important steps to fight rising costs. Promoting affordable, domestic energy — especially natural gas — has reduced reliance on foreign suppliers. Cutting regulations has also delivered real savings.

In January, Trump ordered federal agencies to repeal 10 rules for every new one adopted. The White House estimates that his deregulation push avoided more than $180 billion in costs in 2025 alone.

He has also pledged to ease housing regulations to increase the supply of affordable homes, while Republicans in Congress have fought to preserve the 2017 tax cuts — a major victory for middle-class taxpayers.

These are important wins. But they lack the sweeping vision that socialists like Mamdani are offering to voters who want transformation, not tinkering.

Socialism’s empty promises

Mamdani’s platform reads like a socialist wish list: 200,000 city-built apartments, a citywide rent freeze, universal childcare, and even government-run grocery stores. It’s a fantasy financed by taxpayers and destined to collapse under its own weight — but it sounds big. It sounds bold.

Conservatives, by comparison, often sound procedural. Deregulation is important but abstract. Tax cuts matter but feel distant. To compete, conservatives must present a clear, moral vision — one that shows how free markets can improve life for working families faster and more permanently than socialism ever could.

So what can conservatives do to counter socialism’s siren song? Here’s a start.

1) Make housing affordable again
Congress should require states and cities to open up millions of lots for homebuilding as a condition of receiving federal funds. Vast stretches of usable land sit idle while housing prices explode. Opening that land to development would lower prices without touching national parks or sensitive ecosystems.

2) Reinvent higher education
The cost of college has soared because of government-backed student loans that inflate tuition and trap young people in debt. Washington should phase out federal lending and restore market discipline to higher education.

In the meantime, Congress can lower loan caps, expand skilled-trade training in high schools, and require public universities that receive federal loan funds to offer extremely low-cost online degrees. That would give students a path to higher education without lifelong debt.

3. Cut taxes — and waste
Lowering sales, gas, and business taxes would immediately ease the cost of living. But real fiscal discipline requires cutting government waste, not inflating the money supply.

The Biden administration admits the federal government has lost $2.4 trillion over the past two decades through payment errors alone. That’s not “spending” — it’s hemorrhaging. Conservatives should treat it as proof that vast savings can be achieved without touching vital programs.

RELATED: Explaining Mamdani’s appeal to the young, with polling

Photo by Andrew Lichtenstein/Corbis via Getty Images

Competing with the socialist vision

Socialists like Mamdani promise utopia through government control. Conservatives cannot counter that with spreadsheets and slogans. They must meet grand promises with grander purpose — rooted in freedom, self-reliance, and opportunity.

America needs a new conservative economic agenda that speaks to the anxieties of working families, not just to Wall Street or Washington. Deregulation and tax reform are essential, but they must serve a larger story: rebuilding an economy that rewards work, expands ownership, and restores faith in the American dream.

Until conservatives reclaim that moral high ground, voters will keep turning to the false hope of socialism.

Trump can’t call it ‘mission accomplished’ yet



With a divided Congress and the clock likely running out on GOP control, President Trump’s decision to forgo a second budget reconciliation bill is puzzling. Reconciliation is the only tool available to pass major priorities without a filibuster. So why refuse another chance to make the America First agenda permanent?

At a recent meeting with Senate Republicans, Trump told lawmakers, “We don’t need to pass any more bills. We got everything” in the big, beautiful bill earlier this year. “We got the largest tax cuts in history. We got the extension of the Trump tax cuts. We got all of these things.”

The first Trump presidency showed what executive courage can do. The second must prove what lasting law can achieve.

Really? That answer ignores reality. Tax cuts were never the full measure of the Trump revolution. The movement promised structural reform — from securing the border to dismantling bureaucracies. Limiting the victory to tax relief leaves unfinished the hard work of codifying executive policies into law before the next Democrat in the White House wipes them out with the stroke of a pen.

Biden’s first weeks in office in 2021 proved how fragile executive action can be. Nearly every Trump-era reform — on immigration, energy, education, and national security — vanished within days. The same will happen again if core policies remain tied to presidential discretion instead of actual statutes.

Immigration is the clearest example. Trump moved the country in the right direction, but many key policies remain blocked by courts or enjoined indefinitely. These include:

• Ending birthright citizenship for children of illegal immigrants,
• Defunding sanctuary cities,
• Cutting federal assistance for noncitizens,
• Requiring states to verify lawful status for benefits under the Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act,
• Expanding expedited removal of gang members under the Alien Enemies Act,
• Authorizing ICE arrests at state courthouses,
• Deporting pro-Hamas foreign students,
• Returning unaccompanied minors to Central America,
• Suspending refugee resettlement, and
• Ending “temporary” protected status for long-term illegal residents.

Each of these reforms can and should be codified through legislation. Courts can’t enjoin what Congress writes into law.

The same applies beyond immigration. Critical Trump policies remain trapped or reversible, including:

• Abolishing the Department of Education,
• Keeping male inmates out of female prisons,
• Blocking federal funding for hospitals that perform gender “transitions” on minors,
• Removing Federal Reserve governor Lisa Cook, and
• Requiring proof of citizenship to vote and restricting mail-in ballots in federal elections.

All of these measures would fulfill campaign promises. All of them will vanish the instant Democrats reclaim the White House — unless Republicans act now to make them permanent.

RELATED: While the lights are off, let’s rewire the government

Photo by Celal Gunes/Anadolu via Getty Images

Meanwhile, the economic front remains unsettled. Inflation continues to crush families, and Washington’s spending addiction keeps prices high. Health care remains broken, with no Republican alternative to stop Democrats from reinstating Biden’s Obamacare subsidies. The challenges are mounting, not receding.

The reconciliation process exists precisely for moments like this. It allows a governing majority to bypass the filibuster and pass budget-related priorities with a simple majority — the same procedure Democrats used twice under Biden to jam through massive spending and climate legislation. Refusing to use it again would be an act of political negligence.

Trump has accomplished much, but claiming “mission accomplished” now risks repeating the failures of his first term — executive orders that were erased within weeks and policies undone overnight.

The task ahead is to legislate the revolution. Codify the border. Dismantle bureaucratic strongholds. Rein in judicial activism. Secure election integrity. Cement economic reform.

The first Trump presidency showed what executive courage can do. The second must prove what lasting law can achieve. If Trump wants his achievements to outlive his term, he must act now — not by declaring victory, but by legislating it.

Main Street’s silent plea: Exempt us from the next tariffs



President Donald Trump just keeps proving his critics wrong.

This week, he announced a trade deal with the European Union that will bring in $1.35 trillion in new investment just days after securing $550 billion from Japan. The U.S. Treasury has pulled in a record-breaking $150 billion in tariff revenue this year. New GDP figures show the economy growing faster than inflation.

A rebate, carve-out, or full exemption would show Trump responds to market realities with precision.

Trump has reason to celebrate. But he also knows tariffs can hurt. In February, he warned about the pain tariffs might cause consumers and businesses. More recently, he backed Missouri Republican Sen. Josh Hawley’s proposal to send at least $600 in tariff rebate checks to working-class Americans.

That same logic should apply to the people who sign their paychecks: small business owners.

Since the government-imposed COVID restrictions, small businesses have faced brutal headwinds. The National Federation of Independent Business reports weak job creation plans. Bank of America says hiring costs are down but entrepreneurs are leaning harder on credit cards just to stay afloat due to tighter markets.

To ease the burden, the U.S. Chamber of Commerce has urged the Trump administration to create an automatic exemption from new tariffs for small businesses. These companies don’t have the cash reserves or supply chain flexibility to absorb cost hikes. They can’t just retool overnight. The Chamber also called for exemptions for any business that proves tariffs would threaten American jobs or that imports goods not produced domestically — like coffee or bananas.

That pitch should resonate with Republicans. America’s 34.8 million small businesses provide nearly half of all U.S. jobs and created 70% of new ones between 2019 and 2024. They make up 98% of all manufacturers, with payrolls topping $278 billion.

And they lean Republican. Last fall, small business owners favored Trump’s economic policies over Kamala Harris’ by 32 points. Five of the top 20 importing states — Michigan, Georgia, Pennsylvania, North Carolina, and Wisconsin — are swing states where small businesses are watching closely.

Democrats know it, too. They’ve already started highlighting tariff-related struggles in their appeals to Main Street voters. According to the FedEx Small Business Trade Index, one-third of all imports and exports come from small businesses. Two-thirds of small and midsize business leaders say imports are vital to their domestic operations. The National Retail Federation recently flagged the impact of tariffs on the nation’s 15.5 million retail workers.

Trump understands something his critics don’t: The economy depends on balance — between tariffs, taxes, incentives, and regulation. Targeted relief for small businesses fits perfectly with his broader economic vision.

It complements the SBA’s Made in America Manufacturing Initiative, which cut $100 billion in red tape, and the One Big Beautiful Bill Act's tax reforms that let domestic producers write off depreciation and R&D costs.

RELATED: Trump says he’s considering ‘a little rebate’ for Americans from tariff revenue

Photo by JIM WATSON/AFP via Getty Images

Sure, Trump could fold a small business rebate into Hawley’s legislation. But exemptions work faster — and speed matters when you’re operating on razor-thin margins. That’s why Chamber of Commerce CEO Suzanne Clark is right: Small businesses need relief now, not months from now — if and when Congress acts.

A rebate, carve-out, or full exemption would show Trump responds to market realities with precision. It would give small businesses breathing room to shift toward domestic suppliers. And it would help Republicans tie a policy win to the pro-growth momentum already under way.

Foreign onshoring, U.S. reshoring, and renewed consumer confidence are already reshaping the economy. Strategic relief for small businesses could help seal the deal — and give Republicans even more to smile about in 2025.

In 6 months, Donald Trump has done the impossible



President Donald Trump released a video highlighting his landmark accomplishments over the past six months — and the results speak for themselves. While the media fixates on negative polls and manufactured controversy, this period marks one of the most dramatic political turnarounds in recent memory. Now is the time to take stock of what conservatives have achieved — victories that once seemed unimaginable.

Reining in gender radicalism

Nowhere has the shift been more profound than in the fight against gender ideology. Just five years ago, opposing male athletes in women’s sports brought swift condemnation from corporate boards, activist groups, and political elites. Today, the momentum has flipped.

This is no time to coast. The next phase demands aggressive follow-through. Now it’s about willpower and execution.

Americans no longer feel compelled to nod along as ideologues insist that men can become women — or vice versa. This change didn’t happen because it polls well. It happened because we reclaimed a basic principle: truth.

The same country that once put a Supreme Court justice on the bench who couldn’t define “woman” now has a federal government unafraid to say, “That’s a chick.”

That shift marks a massive cultural victory. A few years ago, it felt impossible. Now, it reflects a growing national trend — a long-overdue return to reality in public life.

Securing the border

Border enforcement has taken a decisive turn. For years, Americans watched as federal officials failed to act, leaving the southern border wide open and allowing criminal networks to thrive. That era has ended.

Under President Trump, the government began doing what it should have done all along. Targeted enforcement raids have sent a clear signal: Illegal immigration won’t be ignored, and those here unlawfully face consequences. Self-deportation has increased. Illegal crossings have declined.

The policy works — and the message is unmistakable.

This marks more than just a policy shift. It’s a cultural and political turning point. Americans now recognize that a secure border isn’t just possible — it’s essential. National sovereignty is back on the table.

A resurgent economy

Trump’s economic agenda has delivered real results. When he returned to office, the nation was still stuck in the inertia of the post-COVID economy and the slow-growth legacy of the Obama-Biden years. That changed quickly.

Trump’s signature 2017 tax cuts, now made permanent, have sparked renewed business investment, job creation, and wage growth. These are the largest tax cuts in U.S. history — and they’re doing what they were designed to do: make American companies more competitive and American families more prosperous.

Meanwhile, the Trump administration has broken the regulatory chokehold that once blocked vital infrastructure and energy projects. Nuclear plants are coming back online. American energy is rising — without relying on foreign regimes.

This pro-growth agenda doesn’t just create jobs. It revitalizes the core of the American economy: workers, builders, producers, and risk-takers. By slashing taxes, limiting government overreach, and putting American interests first, the Trump administration has reignited prosperity — and buried the stagnation of the past.

Peace through strength

Trump has reshaped American foreign policy with bold, decisive leadership. For decades, presidents vowed to stop Iran from acquiring a nuclear weapon. None followed through. Trump did.

He launched targeted strikes, enforced crippling sanctions, and shattered the illusion that diplomacy alone would stop Iran’s ambitions. Critics warned of escalation. But Trump understood what past leaders refused to admit: Weakness invites aggression. Strength deters it.

His response proved the U.S. will defend its national interest — no matter the cost.

RELATED: Justice at last? Obama intel chiefs face fallout from Russia hoax

Photo by Alex Wong/Getty Images

Trump didn’t just contain Iran. He rewrote the rules of diplomacy in the Middle East. The Abraham Accords shattered decades of failed orthodoxy, establishing historic peace deals between Israel and its Arab neighbors. The foreign policy establishment said it couldn’t be done. Trump did it anyway.

He also forced NATO allies to pay their fair share — a long-overdue correction. For years, U.S. taxpayers carried the burden of Europe’s defense. Trump ended the freeloading and demanded real commitments.

Together, these achievements mark a dramatic departure from the weak, consensus-driven diplomacy of the Obama-Biden era. Trump hasn’t just restored credibility on the world stage. He’s proven that America leads best when it leads with resolve.

Just the beginning

These past six months have delivered a series of political and cultural victories many thought out of reach. A year ago, they seemed impossible. Today, they’re reality.

But this is no time to coast.

The next phase demands aggressive follow-through — especially on immigration. Trump must solidify the gains made on border security and ensure illegal immigration remains in retreat. The infrastructure exists. Now, it’s about willpower and execution.

Foreign policy also demands continued focus. The world remains volatile, and America needs a president who won’t hesitate to defend U.S. interests. Trump has shown he can meet that challenge. He must keep doing so — with clarity, strength, and resolve.

And then there’s spending. The left hasn’t let up. Democrats want more programs, more debt, more control. Trump’s tax cuts delivered real growth, but long-term stability means confronting the bloated federal bureaucracy and forcing Congress to spend less — not more.

The first half of 2025 brought a revolutionary shift. We reversed trends that once looked permanent. We reclaimed cultural and political ground that had been written off.

But none of it will last without vigilance. To secure lasting change, conservatives must stay engaged, focused, and relentless. The future won’t protect itself. We have to do it — now.

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Trump isn’t hiding a client list — he’s too busy saving the country



President Trump’s official repudiation of the Jeffrey Epstein conspiracy theory has caused considerable consternation and conflict on the right. But with that comes an opportunity to grow.

MAGA’s enduring fascination with this supermarket tabloid story represents one of the weaknesses of populism: namely, a tendency toward histrionic and grandiose speculation that leads to nowhere productive. To be blunt, the Epstein saga was a waste of bandwidth, and now that Trump and his team have ripped off the bandage, we can move on to bigger and more compelling issues like those on which Trump campaigned.

Neither Trump nor his Cabinet is at fault for failing to satiate those who were never going to accept anything less than a conclusion that Epstein was part of a grand conspiracy.

Suppressing the Epstein “client list” does not rank highly on the list of concerns of globalist elites, I wager, and it’s not the hill for MAGA to die on either.

For instance, the demographics of Western nations are obviously changing artificially — a change that appears to be politically motivated. Transnational elites care very much about keeping the Great Replacement moving along, and Trump is standing in their way. This is an example of a “conspiracy theory” that is both true and important. Thanks to Trump, we may finally have a chance of addressing it.

Another wild goose chase

Trump’s One Big Beautiful Bill Act delivers historic investments in immigration enforcement — progress that would have seemed impossible during his first term. That term, after all, was largely derailed by a different conspiracy theory peddled by the left: Russiagate.

Now, the same kind of baseless smears are coming from the right. Elon Musk, Trump’s newest rival, has insinuated — without evidence — that Trump was involved in Jeffrey Epstein’s crimes. On Musk’s platform, X, those accusations echo among conspiracy theorists and open anti-Semites (the term applies here), who claim, again without proof, that Epstein blackmailed Trump as part of an Israeli intelligence operation.

Some have twisted Trump’s curt response to an Epstein question during a Cabinet meeting into something sinister. But the simpler explanation is that he has more pressing matters. He’s negotiating trade deals, working to end two foreign wars, and responding to fresh political attacks over the Texas disaster.

Meanwhile, Democrats have eagerly seized on Musk’s smear. Rep. Jamie Raskin (D-Md.), who served on the January 6 committee, now demands that the administration “publicly release all documents in the Epstein files that mention or reference Donald Trump.”

Why should Trump spend a minute entertaining a baseless character assassination?

Foolishness doesn’t equal sinister

Attorney General Pam Bondi likely made a mistake when she pandered to the base with talk of a “client list.” But the blame doesn’t fall on Trump or his Cabinet for failing to satisfy people who were never going to accept anything short of a sweeping global conspiracy.

The belief that Epstein left behind a neatly organized archive of blackmail material implicating the world’s most powerful figures is a sensational claim — and sensational claims require actual evidence. Trump hasn’t released a “client list” because it almost certainly doesn’t exist. Yet in the minds of true believers, the absence of proof becomes proof of a cover-up.

RELATED: The Epstein files may be Trump’s biggest liability yet

Photo by Patrick van Katwijk/Getty Images

Epstein was an enigmatic and deeply corrupt figure. The public’s interest in his crimes and demand for justice are understandable. But the facts matter. His only known accomplice, Ghislaine Maxwell, is serving 20 years in federal prison. Epstein himself has been dead for six years.

That death came before COVID, before Trump’s supposed political downfall, and before his extraordinary comeback. Everything has changed since then. The right now holds real political power — thanks to Trump. But power only matters if we stay focused and use it.

Time to move on

Contrarian speculation isn’t virtuous on its own. Sometimes, the truth is just boring — and a serious movement should be willing to accept that. In our populist age, many reflexively reject anything that sounds conventional. But for a right-wing movement finally regaining strength, chasing ghosts is a good way to squander momentum.

It’s also unfair to Trump. Yes, he’s imperfect. But supporters often project their own agendas onto him, expecting him to fulfill missions he never promised to carry out. At no point during his campaign did Trump make the “client list” a top priority — and rightly so.

We’re fortunate to have him back in the White House. He’s using his time to govern, not indulge every conspiracy theory floating around online.

Media Fearmongering About Big Beautiful Tax Cuts Is The Same Nonsense They Peddled In 2017

Democrats heralded the same doomsday warnings in 2017 when Trump passed tax cuts that helped the middle class and were extremely popular with Americans.

EXCLUSIVE: Conservative Group ‘Club For Growth’ Releases Ad Praising GOP For ‘Big Beautiful Bill’

"They said it couldn’t be done. Too big. Too bold. But Trump did it."

One big, beautiful bill — one big, back-loaded disaster



Republicans have a bad habit of passing major legislation without thinking through the consequences. The “one big, beautiful bill” suffers from one big, ugly dose of shortsightedness. It’s an ambitious package loaded with short-term tax cuts and spending increases, followed by a cliff’s-edge drop into fiscal and political chaos just three years down the road.

That’s right. The expiration dates baked into the bill all but guarantee a showdown with Democrats during the 2028 election season, with Trump still in the White House, handing them enormous leverage and setting up Republicans for another round of fiscal self-sabotage.

Another fiscal cliff in the making

To keep the bill’s official price tag under control, drafters built in a series of sunset provisions. The goal: Limit the Congressional Budget Office’s estimate to just three years of deficits, even though they fully intend to extend those policies later. That gimmick allows Republicans to pretend the bill adds “only” $3 trillion to the national debt.

Republicans just built a bomb — and they are poised to hand over the detonator to their political enemies at the worst possible time.

But the policies don’t just disappear in 2028. If history is any guide — see the Bush and Trump tax cuts — most of the expiring provisions will be renewed. And when that time comes, Republicans will argue that these are now “current law” and therefore don’t count as new spending. It’s baseline budgeting sleight of hand, and everyone in Washington knows it.

Let’s look at what’s on the chopping block at the end of 2028:

  • $320 billion in extra defense and immigration spending
  • A larger standard deduction for all taxpayers
  • A $500-per-child bonus tax credit
  • A deduction for auto loan interest
  • $1,000 “Trump accounts” for newborns
  • A higher standard deduction for seniors
  • Exemptions from tax on overtime and tips
  • Immediate expensing for business structures

On top of that, several key business tax provisions — 100% bonus depreciation, enhanced interest deductions, and the R&D credit — will expire in 2029. That timing coincides with the possibility of a Democrat retaking the presidency, leaving Republicans with even less control over what happens next.

According to the Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget, extending the 2028-2029 provisions would add another $2 trillion to the national debt. That would push total costs above the original Trump tax cuts. And it would come just as the U.S. confronts mounting interest payments and an economy likely in no condition to absorb more debt.

A perfect storm in ’28

The timing couldn’t be worse. Democrats are already poised to take back the House in 2027. The GOP’s majority is razor-thin, and Democrats sit just a few seats away from regaining control. If recent special elections offer any clues, the midterms won’t be kind to Republicans.

That means Trump will likely face a Democrat-controlled House in 2028, as his administration scrambles to extend the bill’s most popular provisions: child tax credits, overtime and tip exemptions, baby accounts, business deductions, and elevated defense and homeland security spending — all of it set to disappear just as voters head to the polls.

Trump won’t want to campaign on tax hikes or cuts to defense and border security. He’ll push to renew the provisions — and Democrats will know it. They may agree with many of these policies, but they’ll still demand concessions, knowing Trump has no choice but to deal.

RELATED: I was against Trump’s ‘big, beautiful bill’ — Stephen Miller changed my mind

Photo by Kevin Dietsch/Getty Images

Expect ransom demands. Democrats could insist on undoing the repeal of Green New Deal policies. They might push to roll back modest Medicaid reforms included in the bill. They could demand changes to immigration enforcement or extract new spending commitments, especially if the economy continues to falter. Nothing would be off the table.

In short, Republicans have given Democrats the upper hand in a high-stakes negotiation just as Trump is trying to shape his legacy and tee up a successor. They didn’t just walk into the trap — they built it.

Lessons not learned

Republicans keep making the same mistake. Rather than structurally reforming the federal government, they pass short-term tax cuts and temporary spending increases while pretending deficits don’t matter.

This bill could have tackled the cost of health care, the explosion of federal spending, or the burden of inflation. It could have included structural reforms to entitlements, energy, or higher education. Instead, the GOP opted to pass a tax cut bill that tries to game the budget window.

If they believe growth will eventually offset the deficit — fine. But in that case, why not go all in? Make the cuts permanent. Expand them. Flatten the code and eliminate more deductions. Build a case for supply-side reform rather than hiding behind fiscal gimmicks.

Instead, they did the opposite. They chose a politically popular mix of spending and tax breaks and timed it to explode during an election that will determine Trump’s legacy, hoping no one would notice.

The bottom line

The one big, beautiful bill doesn’t reduce spending. It doesn’t rein in the bureaucracy. It doesn’t fix the structural problems crushing the middle class. It temporarily cuts taxes while baking in a debt explosion and surrendering future negotiating power to Democrats.

If Republicans think deficits don’t matter, they should at least have the courage to admit it. If they think Trump’s policies will spark enough growth to pay for themselves, then make those policies permanent. But don’t pretend to care about fiscal restraint while quietly handing the next Congress a multitrillion-dollar mess.

Republicans just built a bomb — and they are poised to hand over the detonator to their political enemies at the worst possible time.

I was against Trump’s ‘big, beautiful bill’ — Stephen Miller changed my mind



After the House narrowly passed President Trump’s “big, beautiful bill” — in true Washington fashion, it’s already been reduced to an acronym: BBB — the usual suspects sounded the alarm. Libertarians and deficit hawks recoiled. Elon Musk, the former DOGE chief, called it a “disgusting abomination.” He warned it would pile another $2.4 trillion onto the national debt over the next decade. Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ky.) slammed it as hypocritical, saying Republicans can’t keep pushing tax cuts without real spending cuts to match.

I sympathized. I flinched at the trillion-dollar price tag too. My immediate thought: “This is what Democrats and GOP sellouts do — not fiscal conservatives.”

The BBB is the first major Republican bill in decades that doesn’t bend to Democratic narratives. It doesn’t apologize for putting American citizens first.

Then Stephen Miller showed up.

While critics accused the bill of being just another bloated omnibus, Miller pushed back. He took to X to argue that the BBB isn’t some lobbyist-driven monstrosity. It’s a focused, unapologetic conservative package: secure the border, overhaul welfare, and revive the economic growth unleashed by the 2017 tax cuts. For the first time in a long time, I decided to hear the argument out.

Border security for real this time

I didn’t need much convincing on border security. But Miller pointed out something the corporate left-wing media barely mentioned: The BBB fully funds the border wall — both physical infrastructure and new tech. Republicans have promised that since 2016. Nearly a decade later, they finally have a bill that delivers.

— (@)

This isn’t more messaging fluff. The bill puts $45 billion toward border security — the largest commitment in U.S. history. It increases Immigration and Customs Enforcement detention capacity by 800% over the previous fiscal year, funding facilities to detain more than 100,000 people per day. It also includes $8 billion to hire 10,000 new ICE officers and staff.

If the bill ended there, it would be a no-brainer. But I still had concerns — starting with the deficit.

Does it add $2.4 trillion to the deficit?

We can’t call ourselves fiscal conservatives while borrowing like Democrats. Miller knows that, and he didn’t dodge the question.

The bill, he argued, enacts the most sweeping welfare reform in U.S. history. It includes over $2 trillion in net spending cuts. Programs like Medicaid and food stamps would be tied to citizenship and work requirements — policies conservatives have supported for years but rarely fought for seriously in Congress.

And then there’s the tax side.

The BBB extends the 2017 Tax Cuts and Jobs Act — one of the clearest drivers of economic growth during Trump’s first term. That’s what triggered the $2.4 trillion deficit estimate, according to the Congressional Budget Office.

But here’s the twist: The CBO’s figure isn’t based on new spending. It’s based on continuing tax relief. Miller’s argument is straightforward — there’s a world of difference between scoring a bill that way and actually running up the national credit card.

RELATED: Trump’s $9.3B rescission push faces a GOP gut check

Photo by Kevin Carter/Getty Images

Attributing the deficit to tax cuts is like blaming hydrogen peroxide for the wound it’s meant to treat. The real cause of the deficit isn’t lower taxes. It’s decades of spending on bloated welfare, bureaucratic waste, and corporate handouts that the DOGE identified — exactly the kind of garbage the BBB cuts.

Even ABC News, buried in the middle of a critical write-up, admitted that the bill would cut taxes by $3.7 trillion and reduce spending by $1.2 trillion. If that’s not a conservative win, what is?

Letting the 2017 tax cuts expire over CBO scoring fears would amount to a massive tax hike on the working and middle classes. Extending them strengthens the economy, boosts small businesses, and keeps the government from choking growth just to massage a deficit number.

Why not pass these reforms separately?

Border security — check. Welfare reform — check. Pro-growth tax cuts — check. So why cram it all into one bill? Why not pass each measure individually, on its own merits?

Miller addressed that too. In a perfect world, each item would pass as a clean bill. But in the real world, every one of these provisions would require 60 votes in the Senate — including Chuck Schumer’s. That’s not happening.

— (@)

The reconciliation process, however, only requires a simple majority. It’s the only legislative path available. For once, Republicans are using the rules the way Democrats do: to win.

I didn’t like it at first. It felt like a compromise. But now I see it as the only way to do what we’ve been saying we want to do for years.

Miller won me over

The BBB is the first major Republican bill in decades that doesn’t bend to Democratic narratives. It doesn’t water down core principles. It doesn’t apologize for putting American citizens first.

And unlike Louisiana Republican House Speaker Mike Johnson’s endless parade of “small ball” continuing resolutions, the BBB actually moves the ball down the field. It lays out a coherent conservative agenda — and the administration is determined to get it passed.

— (@)

I’m still a fiscal hawk. I still want smaller bills, much less spending, and a federal budget that doesn’t look like a summertime pig roast. But I also want results. And this might be the only chance we have to deliver the policy victories we’ve been promised for a generation.

Stephen Miller changed my mind. I hope other conservatives will give him a fair hearing too.

If Only Ukraine-Loving Senate Republicans Put Americans First For Once

While Senate Republicans rush to punish Putin, they dither on cutting taxes, shrinking government, and securing the border.