OPINION:
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.
With President-elect Donald Trump’s looming return to the White House and Republicans regaining a majority in the Senate and maintaining one in the House, the temptation for Democrats to push their extreme agenda in the remaining months of the year is stronger than ever.
During this lame-duck session, Congress will face critical spending and policy decisions, and it’s up to conservatives to honor promises made to millions of Americans on the campaign trail who asked for common sense to return to Washington.
Before the election, House Speaker Mike Johnson stated he would not support a holiday omnibus bill, setting the stage for another continuing resolution to fund Congress into the new year. The Louisiana Republican reiterated his support for this approach after the election.
With the clock ticking on their waning leverage in Washington, Democrats hope to pass another massive omnibus spending bill with significantly higher spending, unpopular priorities and constraints that will last well into a Trump presidency.
But conservatives must hold the line. Both Senate and House Republicans must reject any attempts to pass a massive spending package before the holidays and instead pass a resolution that extends funding into the new year. This will allow Mr. Trump to hit the ground running on his budget priorities that will allow Congress to fulfill his promises to the American people.
Moreover, as Congress begins drafting a supplemental aid package in response to the administration’s request, lawmakers must assure hardworking Americans that their tax dollars will be used wisely, not squandered through government inefficiency and wasteful contracts.
The federal government’s failure to effectively respond in the aftermath of hurricanes Helene and Milton exposed a troubling pattern: prioritizing the needs of illegal immigrants over those of American citizens and bolstering divisive and discriminatory diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives through agency grants and mission-critical operations.
Mr. Trump’s proposed commission on government efficiency, led by Elon Musk and Vivek Ramaswamy, is an effort to address this problem. Still, in the meantime, congressional Republicans need to ensure that tax dollars are spent responsibly.
No more will tax dollars be allocated to support the settlement of illegal immigrants or to advance the DEI agenda. Resources should be directed toward border security, renewed American energy dominance, an end to bloated federal spending and a general reemergence of common sense.
Congress should use this time to pass a continuing resolution that funds the government through the new year, allowing Mr. Trump and his new administration the time to implement and pass his top priorities without tying his hands through funding direction from a Democratic-controlled White House and Senate.
In the next Congress, under the American people’s mandate for Mr. Trump, Congress must seize the moment to pass statutory changes into law, and members must remain clear-eyed and open-minded. In this lame-duck session, lawmakers must prove to the American people that it will complete what the American people sent them to Washington to do.
• Ryan Walker is executive vice president of Heritage Action for America.
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