My hopes for the next two years

[mrkelley23]

Some of you may remember that I once posted three things I thought the first Trump administration did that were (or could be) good. On the eve of the second coming of Trump, then, I publish my wish list for three things that I wish would happen that the new administration could achieve that would still align with their stated goals.

1. Reboot the entire immigration process, beginning with ending the entire Temporary Protected Status program. TPS is just one more manifestation of how we Americans have allowed our Executive branch to legislate. For all the brouhaha over the last 50 years about the Supreme Court "legislating from the bench," nobody is talking about legislating from the Oval Office. A President's duty is not to make the laws, but to execute them. And just as only Nixon could go to China, let Trump take the credit for essentially doing what Congress tried to do a year ago. And TPS was never going to work in the long run. Allowing people to basically show up and say, "they're persecuting me," is a recipe for disaster. Streamline the application process, fix what needs fixing, and figure out what you're going to do with people already in the pipeline. And then pass it before 2026, so we can quit accusing the other side of hate.

2. Make Congress Legislate Again. For too long, Congress has been allowed to make their purpose to get re-elected, rather than legislating. Instead of issuing hundreds of Educational Decrees (sorry, Executive Orders), let the office of the Presidency return to its Constitutional roots. Both parties have been guilty of this dereliction of duty, but as long as no one calls them on it, it will continue.

3. Continue the momentum in the Middle East. There is no question the Middle East is being re-shaped right now, for good or ill. I still don't have enough knowledge or background to predict what will happen, but I can see that big, structural changes are taking place. I hope that the incoming administration will retain its focus on American interests there.

2026 is the deadline, the clock is ticking. Because just as I predicted that Trump would win in 2024, and that at least the Senate would be controlled by Republicans, I will make a similar prediction here: at least one of the two houses of Congress will flip again in 2026. And a lame duck president with a divided Congress doesn't accomplish any significant legislation.

[Beebs52]

Well said, Mrk