-Originally published at The Hill- It’s been a week since Rep. Justin Amash declared his independence from the Republican Party, and his criticisms of how partisanship is destroying what should be a deliberative process in the House of Representatives appear to have struck a nerve with some of his colleagues. In this publication [The Hill], Rep. Paul Mitchell,…
Sloshed on spending
–Originally published in Washington Examiner Magazine– On Tax Day 2009, I stood on the banks of Boston Harbor clutching a bullhorn. I was mad as hell at both parties for the infamous Troubled Assets Relief Program, or TARP, bailout of the big banks and concerned that Democratic control of the White House and both houses…
A New Bill Would Rein in Executive Overreach and the Administrative State. But Does Congress Really Want That Power?
–Originally published at Reason- This week saw the reintroduction of the Regulations from the Executive in Need of Scrutiny (REINS) Act. Sponsored by Sens. Rand Paul (R–Ky.), Chuck Grassley (R–Iowa), Joni Ernst (R–Iowa), Todd Young (R–Ind.), and Ted Cruz (R–Tex.), the REINS Act tackles two major libertarian priorities: reducing burdensome regulations and reining in executive…
Can A Divided Congress Bring Us Smaller Government?
-Originally published at Arc Digital- January 3, 2019, marked the start of the 116th U.S. Congress. Democrats — led by Speaker Nancy Pelosi 2.0 — now control the House of Representatives for the first time since they lost it in the Tea Party wave of 2010; those halcyon days when Republicans campaigned on reducing the size of government and…
I can’t figure out what to do
It’s been three months since I left my job as Rep. Justin Amash’s Communications Director. Part of the reason I moved on was to start publishing under my own name again as I did for years before the transition to Capitol Hill. But I’m stuck. It’s not just writer’s block, although I think that’s part…