Staff Reports
Washington might just become a little less bloated, thanks to efforts led by Representative Jodey Arrington, a Texas Congressman who seems to have finally found the flashlight to shine into the dark recesses of federal spending. This rural Texan, who’s been in the game since 2017, recently shared his thoughts on a proposed efficiency commission aimed at cutting the wasteful spending habits that have become the hallmark of the administrative state. And who better to back this initiative than the man himself, Donald Trump, the GOP’s 2024 presidential hopeful? If anyone can bring the axe to this bloated bureaucracy, it’s “The Donald.”
In a recent chat with the Washington Examiner, Arrington laid it all out on the table. His legislative love for this efficiency commission is no surprise, considering the dire financial landscape facing the nation. With a national debt creeping over $35 trillion and rising inflation to boot, it’s high time to dig deep and cleanse the federal budget. Arrington feels the proposed commission has the potential not just to prune the fat but to help steer the country back to fiscal stability. If trimming the government’s spending habits isn’t a priority now, one might wonder when it ever will be.
Elon Musk, the modern-day genius behind Tesla and SpaceX, first tossed this ball in the air during a conversation with Trump. Fast forward to a Trump speech at the Economic Club of New York, and voilà, it became crystal clear that the Efficiency Commission is more than just a fleeting thought. Arrington, ever the enthusiastic supporter, stands ready to play an instrumental role should the Republicans take the reins come November. A financial audit of the federal government feels a bit like waiting for your teenager to clean their room—it’s long overdue and desperately needed.
Speaking of bills piling higher than a Texas haystack, the Congressional Budget Office recently revealed the sobering news that the federal budget deficit for fiscal 2024 is projected to hit $1.8 trillion. That’s about $139 billion more than the previous year’s shortfall. How does one even begin to comprehend a $6.75 trillion spending spree in a nation that’s skirting on the brink of financial chaos? Arrington argues this madness has roots in the Biden administration’s reckless spending, citing the sky-high inflation that began its ascent around the same time Biden took office. One might say federal spending is the gift that keeps on giving—straight to the credit card companies.
This looming budget disaster is a direct result of the government’s insatiable appetite for spending, which has ballooned from $4.4 trillion in 2019 to an eye-watering $6.8 trillion today—a 55% increase in just a few short years. Arrington is keen to remind everyone of the monumental debt accumulation under Biden’s watch, which has topped out at over $7 trillion from federal spending alone. Throw in mounting interest expenses due to inflation and hiked interest rates, and those numbers spiral even further into the stratosphere.
Arrington believes the efficiency commission is not just a pie-in-the-sky notion but a necessary step to rein in the madness and promote accountability. The previous administration pushed for reducing regulations aggressively, and now Trump is taking it a step further—at a ratio of ten regulations off the books for each new one added. Between the financial audit and the regulatory rollback, Republicans are hoping to tackle the multi-headed monster that is government waste and restore order to the financial jungle that has overwhelmed the nation. Without a doubt, this is an endeavor the American public has been craving and one that, if executed, could lead to a more streamlined—and less costly—federal operation.
