Fellow Conservative,

America is in crisis and unfortunately many in the GOP are twiddling their thumbs. But conservatives are not giving up.

Indiana Republicans have failed to do their part to save the country. But the fight doesn’t end here.

Despite the inroads that the America First movement has made, broadly speaking the Republican establishment — at both the national and state level — is still filled with feckless Republicans who aren’t prepared to defeat the Left.

Why is redistricting so important?

This is a setback, but it’s not the end of the road. There are other states that represent pick up opportunities for the GOP.

It’s important to remember that these redistricting efforts are meant to ensure fair representation and address census mistakes and liberal gerrymandering. The difference between Republican redistricting and Democrat redistricting is that Republicans are playing by the rules, while Democrats change the rules, or just ignore them all together. Just this cycle:

  • California changed their own constitution to allow the legislature to add five new Democrat seats.

  • Virginia’s new Democrat super majority is poised to illegally erase four GOP seats from their map by attempting to bypass the Commonwealth’s constitution.

  • New York is using dubious legal strategies to circumvent its constitutional restriction on mid-decade redistricting to net Democrats another two districts.

This is on top of the flawed 2020 census which gave blue states extra seats in Congress at the expense of red states.

Shouldn’t Republicans just govern better?

Yes, they should. If Republicans want to retain control of Congress, redistricting alone isn’t the answer. Voters need to see results after giving Republicans a mandate in 2024.

President Trump is doing his best, but as we have said repeatedly, he can only do so much, and he needs the support of Congress to bring about lasting change. For example, his work to secure the border was by and large done through executive action. If Gavin Newsom wins in 2028, he will single handedly reopen the border. That’s why Congress must start codifying these executive orders and provide further reinforcement for the Trump administration.

How do we fight?

There are more states that will be redistricting soon, so Indiana’s failure to pass accurate maps is not a death sentence, but it makes the margin for error that much slimmer. At the state level, weak-willed Republican legislators need to wake up and understand that this is a street fight for the future of America. If we lose in 2026, we lose perhaps the last best chance to preserve America for future generations.

Meanwhile, our elected officials in Washington have to get it together. The country is no longer sprinting towards collapse like we were during the last four years, but we are still jogging towards that collapse. Republicans in Congress must have results to run on, not more promises.

>> If you want to stay updated on redistricting and how you can help hold lawmakers accountable, join Sentinel! It’s our FREE resource to equip you to fight for America. www.heritageaction.com/about-sentinel

Obamacare Showdown

The main demand from Democrats throughout the shutdown was an extension of COVID-era Obamacare subsidies. To secure the votes to pass a temporary funding solution, Senate Majority Leader John Thune promised to hold a vote to extend these subsidies — which resoundingly failed this week. Meanwhile, the House is trying to figure out their next steps and may have a bill on the floor next week.

President Trump is right to want to fix fraud-ridden Obamacare and make the health care system more affordable for Americans. His basic idea of giving recipients a health account is a step in the right direction. There are even more ways to make these accounts more accessible and increase patient control over health care dollars and decisions. In addition to expanding access to health accounts, patients need radical transparency in health care prices.

Americans — not the health care industrial complex — should have more control over how and where they spend their health care dollars.

Congress should reject any legislative efforts that would perpetuate the catastrophic failures of Obamacare. More subsidies are part of the problem, not the solution. They should repeal — not extend Obamacare subsidies.

>> Read more: Repeal, Don’t Extend Biden-Era Health Policies

NDAA Fight

How did the NDAA turn out this year? Well, it improves America's national defense by shutting down DEI offices, helps secure the border, and refocuses resources on war-fighting capabilities and the promotion of merit.

Importantly, the bill also does NOT include a federal AI preemption over critical state protections against harmful online content. Such a broad policy, like a federal AI standard, must be considered thoughtfully and deliberately to ensure that any framework protects kids, prevents woke censorship, and assures American victory in the AI race with China.

That said, we are disappointed that the final bill failed to include several grassroots priorities, such as the inclusion of the Anti-CBDC Surveillance State Act, stopping the military from funding sex-rejecting procedures, and other reforms included in the House-passed bill to further remove woke ideologies from the military. The bill would also attempt to tie the President's hands on troop levels, requiring over 100,000 troops between Europe and the Korean Peninsula, which contrasts with the President's America First posture.

Heritage Action will continue fighting to ensure America’s military is at its strongest and most lethal, and remains aligned on its critical mission to protect the American people.

The mass influx of foreign nationals into our country is continuously one of the top issues on the minds of voters. Under the Biden administration, over 10 million illegal immigrants crossed the border, straining the resources and cohesion of our local communities. However, the problem of mass migration isn’t restricted to illegal immigration.

In 2023 alone, there were around 450,000 approved H-1B applications — a work visa for skilled labor. The majority of the recipients were young men in their mid-twenties from India and China.

Aside from exacerbating the housing crisis and the cultural clashes mass migration brings, the H-1B program is locking American citizens (typically the younger generation) out of well-paying jobs and careers. This is because companies have discovered that in many cases it is cheaper to import foreign nationals to perform entry-level jobs than to hire our own college graduates. These foreign nationals will accept lower wages, which also artificially lowers the wages that entry-level employees earn across the board.

Simply put, the H-1B program was designed to fill workforce gaps in high skill positions — not replace jobs that can be filled by our own labor. We can and must do better. Heritage Action supports Rep. Chip Roy’s (R-Texas) PAUSE Act (H.R. 6225) which would halt all legal immigration until we get our immigration system in order, including reforming the H1-B visa program. It also would prohibit illegal immigrants from relying on taxpayer funded entitlements, block our adversaries like the CCP from infiltrating our nation, and would do away with chain migration, among other things.

>> Read more from the Heritage Foundation: The H-1B Visa Needs Drastic Reform to Put Americans First

We are at a critical time for our country, and the only solution is radical change from the status quo. Thank you for being in the fight with us.

- The Heritage Action Team

Join the fight to advance the conservative agenda.