“Concentrated power has always been the enemy of liberty.”
This quote by former President Ronald Reagan reminds us of the dangers of abuse of power, as well as the threat one-party rule can be to the rights and liberties of the American people. Last week, unfortunately, we saw this danger become a reality.
Last Monday, the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) conducted a “raid” on President Donald Trump’s home in Florida, allegedly on the grounds that they were looking for “presidential records or any possibly classified material.” However, the nature of this raid remains dubious at best and, in many ways, appears to be a startling and unprecedented example of the political weaponization of the FBI and the Biden administration’s Justice Department. Never in our country’s history has such action been taken against a former president, yet the American people are still in the dark about the details of and justification for this raid. The FBI nor the Department of Justice have offered a full explanation of what happened that day. And while some Washington Democrats have voiced their opposition to this raid, many continue to ignore this clear abuse of power.
Our government exists to serve the American people and therefore has an obligation to be transparent and accountable to you and your family. The American people deserve an answer on what happened at Mar-a-Lago, and I call upon both the DOJ and FBI to fully explain their actions.
While Washington Democrats have failed in their obligation to be transparent with you and your family, they have also failed to address the issues most important to you. Data shows inflation remained at a 40-year high in July, with prices for goods and services continuing to batter hardworking families nationwide. Gasoline is up 44%, groceries 13.1%, electricity 15.2% and transportation 9.2%. Despite this, last week the House Democrats passed their “Inflation Expansion Act,” a bill that would raise your taxes, throw more than $350 billion of your tax dollars at radical Green New Deal climate initiatives, and make the cost of items you need every day from the grocery store to the gas pump even more expensive.
This bill would also needlessly expand federal bureaucracy, including adding an additional 87,000 new IRS agents to come after you. This would nearly double the size of the IRS and would give the agency more personnel than all the troops stationed at Fort Bragg, America’s largest military base. You couldn’t even fit all the IRS agents in the Carolina Panthers’ stadium!
Our government exists to serve the American people and therefore has the obligation to be transparent and accountable to you and your family.
Instead of doubling down on the reckless spending that helped start our economic crisis, Congress needs to be focusing on real solutions for you and your family. We should begin by stopping needless government spending, lowering taxes, and building an economic environment that encourages growth and shrinks costs.
Furthermore, we must take steps to secure our border. Last week, the Biden administration announced the end of the “Remain in Mexico” policy. This common-sense initiative required that immigrants attempting to enter our country wait in Mexico until their immigration court hearing. Since Biden took office, over 3.1 million migrants have attempted to enter our country illegally. Additionally, we have had 500,000 known “got-aways” at our southern border since October 2021. Ending “Remain in Mexico” will only make the ongoing Biden Border Crisis worse. Border security is vital to national security, and we must take real steps to secure our border. This includes keeping “Remain in Mexico” in place, as well as implementing other proven solutions, including maintaining Title 42 authority, giving Customs and Border Patrol the resources and support it needs, and finishing the wall.
Whether it’s securing the border, growing our economy, or holding government agencies like the FBI accountable, I continue to fight for what matters to you most. You deserve answers and solutions, and I’m proud to be standing up for you.
Richard Hudson is serving his fifth term representing North Carolina’s 8th Congressional District in the U.S. House of Representatives. He currently serves on the Energy and Commerce Committee and in House leadership as the Republican Conference Secretary.
