“I do solemnly swear that I will support and defend the Constitution of the United States against all enemies, foreign and domestic; that I will bear true faith and allegiance to the same; that I take this obligation freely, without any mental reservation or purpose of evasion; and that I will well and faithfully discharge the duties of the office on which I am about to enter: So help me God.” That is the oath I stood, raised my right hand and swore to uphold before god and the American people this Tuesday as the 115th Congress convened.
This oath is something I take very seriously. Hearing those words this week reminded me that our 45th President, Donald J. Trump will very soon raise his right hand and take an oath of his own in less than 14 days. Soon thereafter he will layout his vision for rebuilding our economy, restoring personal freedoms and liberties and getting the government off the backs and out of the lives of so many families, farmers and small business owners.
This week started the congressional work needed to lay the groundwork for our new President to hit the ground running on day one. The very first action we took was to strengthen the balance of power outlined in our Constitution and give power back to the people by taking the authority to legislate and regulate out of the hands of federal bureaucrats. Over the past 8 years, unelected Washington bureaucrats have run amuck under the Obama Administration, imposing thousands of unnecessary federal regulations that are crushing American families, small businesses and all of rural America. Americans simply cannot continue to survive under the weight of the heavy hand of the federal government. In fact, the Obama administration has attempted to force through hundreds of “midnight regulations” on their way out the door. That is why I helped pass two pieces of legislation this week that will stop the outgoing administration from further hurting the American people. The passage of the Midnight Rules Relief Act and the Regulations from the Executive in Need of Scrutiny (REINS) Act paved the way for the restoration of the Constitution under the Trump administration.
President Trump will also hit the ground running on day one in the White House following his inauguration. Instead of spending Inauguration Day parading through the streets of Washington DC for hours before hopping from one celebrity filled Inauguration ball to the next as his predecessor did, Trump has promised to spend the first few hours of his presidency actually doing the job he was elected to do – changing the direction of this country for the American people. Trump has broken with tradition by requesting that his inauguration parade be shorter than presidents of the past and reducing the number of public events and appearances. In comparison, President Obama attended a whopping 10 balls following his second inauguration in 2009. In a meeting I had with Vice-President elect Mike Pence this week, I heard the same eagerness to get to work – the same refreshing zeal for putting the needs of Americans first, not the needs of a bloated government.
We have a lot of work to do to clean up the mess the Obama Administration created in our country, but President-elect Trump will waste no time on January 20th getting to work. You won’t see President Trump basking in the glory of his new title as commander and chief of the United States atop a float in Washington or rubbing elbows with celebrities at fancy inaugural balls. Instead his first hours in office will be behind a desk, repealing some of the worst unconstitutional regulatory overreaches President Obama and his liberal allies have concocted. Congress began the process of restoring the power of our Constitution this week, paving the way for President Trump once he takes the oath of office. Americans only need to hang in there for a few more days, then it'll be a matter of hanging on as we watch a President who is excited to get to work at a rapid pace to make America great again.
