After Trump’s speech, Congress needs to do this big thing next

On Tuesday night during his joint address to Congress, President Donald Trump reminded the American people that “the American Dream is unstoppable” and that “our country is on the verge of a comeback the likes of which the world has never witnessed and perhaps will never see again.” 

Congress spent the evening celebrating President Trump’s wins, but the American people will only continue to enjoy them if Congress does its job and passes a clean continuing resolution by March 14. Doing so will keep the government open, allowing the Trump administration to continue its excellent work and ensuring that America’s comeback does not come to a screeching halt.

The stakes couldn’t be higher. In just the first 43 days of the Trump administration, border crossings are down by 94%. Immigration and Customs Enforcement is arresting illegal aliens guilty of committing heinous crimes against American women and children.  The scourge of radical gender ideology, which is infecting so many American classrooms, is being brought to heel. Women and girls are being protected from the biological males who injure them in athletic activities. DEI is being eliminated from the federal government. Trillions of dollars are being invested back into the American economy. And billions of dollars in fraud and corruption are being exposed in almost every government agency. 

Now, predictably, more and more Democrats are gearing up to shut the government down, denying the will of the American people rather than standing up for them, as was on full display Tuesday night. Even though Democrats voted uniformly for these very same spending levels just three months ago, now that Trump is in charge, they’re changing their tune. Promoting LGBTQI ideology in Lesotho, wasting millions on male circumcision in Mozambique, and billions on illegal immigrant housing in the United States, is simply more important to these politicians than the hopes and dreams of American citizens.

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Some may criticize any budget that extends current spending levels, and as one of the most stalwart defenders of limited government on Capitol Hill for the past 15 years, Heritage Action for America certainly understands that concern. But supporting a clean continuing resolution doesn’t mean giving up on fiscal responsibility. Quite the opposite. President Trump’s DOGE team estimates that it has already saved the American people more than $105 billion — which comes out to $652.17 per taxpayer. Passing this clean continuing resolution will ensure that they can continue their work rooting out waste, fraud, and corruption.

It’s not just DOGE, either. Passing a clean continuing resolution and avoiding a government shutdown will allow every part of President Trump’s administration to continue advancing the commonsense policy agenda that Americans want. Moreover, doing so will allow Congress to move to the critical process of enacting budget reconciliation. 

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In reconciliation, Congress can provide additional funding to Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s efforts to deport criminal illegal aliens and protect American communities; make key provisions of the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act permanent and bring economic certainty back for all citizens; create a roadmap to begin closing the Department of Education; unleash American energy independence; and further dismantle the deep state.

Further, a clean continuing resolution will allow Trump administration officials to prepare the president’s first budget and lay the groundwork to bring fiscal sanity back by dramatically cutting the outrageous spending passed during the Biden administration. 

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Everyday Americans want these commonsense reforms, and they want President Trump to continue his vital work. That’s why we must make sure that these radicals don’t succeed. In the past, continuing resolutions have been used as an end-around conservatives in Congress fighting for reforms, but the current situation is different. Conservatives are in charge now under the leadership of President Trump and we cannot squander the historic opportunity we have to save our nation. It’s incumbent upon us to recognize the moment we’re in and take advantage of it with bold and decisive action.

Congress must pass a clean continuing resolution. In this particular moment, it is the best fiscal and political solution for policymakers to continue to undo the damage done by the previous administration and get results for the American people. It will not only allow President Trump to continue delivering on his historic mandate, but it will also set the stage for Congress to pass a reconciliation bill this spring and reassert itself as the primary lawmaking branch of government that our founders intended it to be. And that’s something every legislator ought to be able to support. 

Ryan Walker is the Executive Vice President of Heritage Action for America.

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