Fellow Conservative,

This week the Senate confirmed three more Cabinet nominees, bringing the total of Cabinet positions filled to sixteen. Two of Trump’s picks who faced some of the stiffest resistance, Tulsi Gabbard and Robert F Kennedy Jr, have since been confirmed and sworn in.

This would not have been possible without the support of the American public, particularly the grassroots, who want to see Trump’s agenda implemented and who trust his Cabinet to execute the President’s agenda.

Cabinet Update

Here is where the confirmation process stands.

Confirmed

• NEW: Secretary of Health and Human Services - Robert F. Kennedy Jr.
• NEW: Director of National Intelligence - Former U.S. Rep. Tulsi Gabbard
• NEW: Secretary of Agriculture - Brooke Rollins

Out of committee and awaiting confirmation vote

• Administrator of Small Business Administration - Former U.S. Sen. Kelly Loeffler
• Ambassador to the United Nations - U.S. Rep. Elise Stefanik
• Secretary of Commerce - Howard Lutnick

For a more comprehensive list, check out our >>>Blog Post<<< where we detail the process and the status of nominees in real time.

Legislation in Progress

Reconciliation

Both the Senate and the House released their budget resolutions this week. Now it’s time for the two chambers to work together to find the best policies for the American people and the best strategy for achieving these policies.

As Congress debates and initiates the budget reconciliation process, they must recommit to fulfilling promises made to the American people including:

• Reducing wasteful government spending
• Providing resources to secure the border
• Making key provisions of the 2017 Tax Cuts and Jobs Act permanent
• Reducing, and eventually closing the Department of Education
• Reforming the regulations surrounding energy production
• Removing burdensome regulations from the marketplace

Heritage Action will keep you informed as this reconciliation process unfolds. If you’d like to read more about how reconciliation works, >>>Read this FAQ sheet<<< to learn more.

>>>Read our full Press Release HERE

Deregulation

Under the Congressional Review Act (CRA) of 1996 Congress had the ability to rescind an executive regulation provided that Congress acted within 60 days of the regulation’s publication. If the resolution is passed by both chambers of Congress and signed by the President, or the President’s veto is overruled, the regulation in question cannot go into effect.

The House is working to increase their ability to deregulate with the Midnight Rules Relief Act (H.R. 77), which would allow Congress to bundle regulations together and eliminate them in batches instead of just one at a time.

The American people have watched the government creep into their lives and needlessly strangle them with nitpicky regulations like the Biden administration’s “green” energy regulations that sought to regulate the production and use of household appliances like gas stoves, washing machines, and dishwashers.

Deregulating and removing federal presence from the everyday lives of Americans was part of the promise of the 2024 election. The Midnight Rules Act would allow Congress to work quickly, and closely with the President to eliminate harmful regulations.

The bill has already passed the House and now heads to the Senate. We look forward to its passage into law.

Border Security

After the passage of the Laken Riley Act, Congress continued to shore up border security with the Agent Raul Gonzalez Officer Safety Act (H.R. 37), which would add additional criminal penalties to any driver who intentionally flees from U.S. Border Patrol or other law enforcement officers operating within 100 miles of the U.S. border.

It also would create new immigration restrictions (deportation and inadmissibility) for noncitizens who are convicted of, or admit to, using motor vehicles to attempt to evade Border Patrol agents.

This is a step in the right direction. More will need to be done to make sure our border is secure, including ending sanctuary policies by withholding federal dollars from jurisdictions that refuse to cooperate with federal law enforcement agencies working to enforce the law of the land.

Movement in the States

Wyoming

Wyoming has landed a one-two punch in its fight to secure their elections by passing HB 0165 and HB 0337 which bans the use of ranked-choice voting (RCV) and prevents foreign funding of state ballot initiatives, respectively.

>>>Read our Press Release<<<

Ranked-choice voting undermines the democratic process by making it possible for the highest vote getter to lose an election, causes voter disenfranchisement because of its complexity, and is subject to greater rates of improperly tabulated ballots than the traditional system.

And naturally, foreign entities should not be allowed to spend money on local ballot initiatives concerning things like the state’s constitution. Both these bills are common sense policies and we urge the Senate to pass them as well.

New Hampshire

The Granite State is taking the lead this year in education freedom by working to expand their Education Freedom Accounts (EFAs). New Hampshire’s EFA is widely popular in the state and offers parents the opportunity to customize their child’s education by using EFA funds for private school tuition, tutoring, textbooks, special-needs therapies and more.

The program initially had a limited roll out, and now that it has proven to be successful and desirable, legislators are looking to make it universally accessible to all families.

>>>Read the full article HERE<<<

New Hampshire ranked first in the country in effective administration and popularity, but only 42nd in eligibility nationwide. Over the last three years, Arizona, Arkansas, Florida, Iowa, North Carolina, Ohio, Oklahoma, Utah, and West Virginia all either enacted new universal education choice policies or expanded existing choice policies to all K-12 students.

The results have been an increase in academic performance, improved education options including an improvement in public school performance, and an actual saving of money for the state.

There are currently three bills in the New Hampshire House that would expand access to the program. We hope to see the Granite State lead this year in the expansion of education freedom.

Thank you for your work.

- Ryan and the Heritage Action team

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