Fellow Conservative,
On Friday, Heritage Action’s Executive Vice President, Ryan Walker appeared on Fox News’ Varney & Co to address two of the most pressing issues facing Congress and the second Trump administration: the upcoming government spending fight and President Trump’s Cabinet confirmations.
Ryan Walker Joins Fox Business
The average time it has taken for the Senate to approve Presidential Cabinet nominations has gone from around 65 days in the 1980s to 190 days under the Biden administration. This is far too long.
President Trump will only have 18 months at most to accomplish his legislative goals before Congress leaves DC to campaign for the midterm elections.
To deliver on the mandate voters issued in November, Congress must quickly and strategically use the legislative calendar to advance President Trump’s agenda. This means the current Congress must pass a continuing resolution into March 2025–allowing President Trump the opportunity to construct spending bills reflective of his priorities. In January, after the new Congress is sworn in, the Senate must quickly move through the confirmation process to swiftly advance President Trump’s nominees. This allows President Trump to be the most effective with a full team in place starting on inauguration day.
>>>Watch HERE<<< <[link removed]>
There are approximately 3,000 - 4,000 positions that need to be filled by the Office of the President. About 1,400 of those will require Senate approval. Fortunately, President Trump is ahead of historical norms on appointments . And he needs the Senate to keep pace.
Let's Talk Money
Ryan also reiterated the need for Congress to better control its spending.
His Washington Times <[link removed]> op-ed details the playbook for how Congress should immediately begin fixing Washington’s spending problem by passing a three-month continuing resolution (CR).
It’s no secret that members of Congress often take advantage of the window between the election and the holidays to ram through funding bills riddled with political pet projects that are unpopular with the American people.
But by passing a CR, a bill that extends funding at current levels, spending will expire early in 2025 after President Trump and the new Congress have taken office. Instead of Democrats passing an omnibus that will cement their agenda for another 9 months, a CR will allow the new government to set a spending agenda that cuts waste and reallocates government funds to put Americans first.
>>>Read the op-ed HERE<<< <[link removed]>
Conservatives must hold the line on fiscal responsibility and pass a CR.
The Principles of Immigration Policy
Also at the top of the priorities list will be to secure our nation’s border and reinstate immigration law enforcement. The Left has intentionally eroded the nation's borders and it has resulted in over 10.5 million border encounters since Biden took office, and another estimated 2 million who entered the country without detection.
- The entire posture of the immigration system needs to change. The Heritage Foundation released a new report outlining the 5 principles that should shape immigration policy going forward:
- As the government of a sovereign nation, our government must uphold the Constitution and rule of law
- Our immigration system exists to serve the American people
- Our country must be secure to keep Americans safe
- America’s immigration system should be simple and sustainable
We must eliminate incentives for foreign nationals and American organizations to break our laws
>>>Read the full report HERE<<< <[link removed]>
Each principle is accompanied by a litany of more specific policy recommendations. These will be the policies that we, along with all of you, will be working on in the new year.
Protecting America's Edge of National Defense
The House will likely vote on the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) next week. The NDAA is one of the only bills Congress typically passes every year and sets the budget and accompanying policy priorities for the Department of Defense.
One of the key provisions Heritage Action has been fighting for in the NDAA is a restriction on outbound investments <[link removed]> to China and the Chinese Communist Party. Greater scrutiny on outbound investments to China is a matter of protecting the United States’ remaining technological edge and preventing further erosion of our military superiority.
China has already leveraged U.S. financing and technology to conduct gain-of-function research in Wuhan, develop hypersonic weapons the United States cannot counter, and operate high-altitude surveillance balloons over the continental United States. China should not be allowed to exploit the U.S. economy against U.S. national security for a single day more.
Let us remain vigilant together as we tackle the challenges facing our country. Thank you for all that you do.
- Ryan and the Heritage Action team
Join the fight to advance the conservative agenda.
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