WASHINGTON, DC – Exactly two weeks after the Republican Party maintained its majority in the U.S. House of Representatives and claimed both the U.S. Senate and the White House, The Ripon Society hosted a lunch meeting featuring the remarks of U.S. Senator Todd Young (R-IN).
“I see a lot of opportunity for our great Republican Party,” stated Young in his opening remarks. “I see a lot of opportunity for a bipartisan group of United States senators to help shape in a positive direction the course of history, and I intend to play an important role in the next couple of years in those efforts.”
“Today, the Republican Party is being transformed. After the 2024 election, it's clear the Republican Party is now the party of working people – something that folks like myself have long sought. After years of working to broaden our appeal as a party to win the votes of Americans of all backgrounds, all races and ethnicities, the GOP is finally earning the trust and support of new adherents.
“So today we see a glimpse – I don't want to overstate it though, because this is an opportunity; this is not yet a guarantee – we see a glimpse of a future Republican party, a diverse party of regular Americans, wage earners, and workers, urban and rural. The gains made in one election can't guarantee future victories. At some point you have to deliver, but this coalition right now, it defies the tired, old definition of who a Republican is and what they look like, if we can keep it. Keeping this coalition is contingent on formulating a clear policy agenda that addresses the concerns of the folks who placed their faith in this party.”
The Hoosier native then shared that in order to keep this new Republican base, Republican legislators must make good on the promises they made on the campaign trail: securing the border, fixing the economy, reestablishing American deterrence, and boosting American energy independence, among other items.
“There's plenty on my plate to help the team and to help the country,” he continued, “but one area of particular concern I really like to highlight today is abroad. The world is dangerous.
“There's a band of malevolent actors and [Ann] Applebaum called this band The Axis of Autocracy – Iran, Russia, North Korea, China, Venezuela. They're driven by a perpetuation of their own rule, and they seek to undermine any semblance of international order that still exists, to undermine the so-called rules-based international order.
“We have to continue to make the case for smart engagement by, with, and through allies and partners around the world. This will be an enduring challenge, but generation after generation of American leaders have made it. And there are a number of us Republicans who will be committed to making the case for continued smart engagement in the world.”
And in order to combat this Axis of Autocracy, the Senator shared, the U.S. will need to “efficiently” invest in its military.
“This is a hard conversation for many Republicans. There are some things that we should be divesting or disinvesting in. Establishing priorities – this is what people do when they govern as opposed to campaign. We absolutely, in this environment of limited fiscal resources, need to be identifying areas of savings as we make the case for more investment.”
One of these worthwhile investments, he noted, is Artificial Intelligence (AI) as it presents both military and economic opportunities for the United States.
“We need to ensure that America continues to lead the way in development of AI platforms, military and non-military. This is a dual-use capability for a nation. If we have the world's greatest tech companies, the world's greatest developers, we will almost certainly have the best AI capabilities in the U.S. military. It's essential that we preserve that capability.
“We don't want our war fighters to ever have to fight a fair fight. There is a connection between our continued role in leading the development of AI and our prosperity as well.”
In addition to protecting American interests globally, there is also a great opportunity for the United States to dominate its adversaries in the developing technological field, he added.
“China is not going to develop techno authoritarian privacy impinging systems. Instead, they'll have to adopt our systems and our standards in order to stay up with us with respect to technology. That's a key diplomatic point.”
In his closing remarks, Senator Young further reflected on the changing world, and what the Republican Party must do to ensure its longevity.
“As there are new challenges and opportunities, the economy changes, as there are changes in our culture, the demands of the American people will change, and our party should be responsive to that. We are a new political coalition, and we're starting to see the workings of a policy agenda underneath that political coalition. It's an exciting time. It's an exciting opportunity.”
To view Senator Young’s remarks to The Ripon Society Tuesday afternoon, please click the link below:
