In Ronald Reagan’s stirring 1964 “A Time for Choosing” speech, he said: “No government ever voluntarily reduces itself in size. So governments’ programs, once launched, never disappear. Actually, a government bureau is the nearest thing to eternal life we’ll ever see on this earth.” 

Reagan’s words were as true 60 years ago as they are today.

And, just as Americans did in the 1980 election, voters chose a new direction in November to slash a wasteful and burdensome government. President-elect Donald Trump’s Department of Government Efficiency, or DOGE, and the accompanying DOGE caucuses in Congress are the antidote to D.C.’s bloat. 

A few weeks ago, entrepreneurs Elon Musk and Vivek Ramaswamy, Trump’s designated government slashers, met with House Republicans to outline ideas and receive feedback. Their advocacy is a welcome departure from the current administration, which has pushed the bigger government on the backs of hardworking Americans—sucking up more of their tax dollars and forcing unnecessary, burdensome regulations. 

The federal government was designed to be limited in scope, as highlighted in the Constitution and Bill of Rights. But over the years, especially the past 100 years, it grew bigger and bigger, adding more burdens to Americans.  

Efforts to scale back the size and scope of the federal government really aren’t anything new.

I introduced legislation to cut nondefense spending by a mere 1% in the last Congress, but it was blocked by Democrats. And the House passed the REINS Act on June 14, 2023, to establish a congressional approval process for major rules. (The Senate needs to act.)

My proposed Executive Action Cost Transparency Act—which would help increase transparency and accountability at the Congressional Budget Office)—cleared the House Budget Committee, yet most Democrats voted against it. 

The problem is that each time Republicans on the Hill have tried to make our government more lean and accountable over the past four years, the cries from the other end of Pennsylvania Avenue—and all the bureaucratic offices all around—have stopped our efforts. 

To provide a picture of how unbalanced our fight is, the executive branch employs close to 3 million people, not including members of the armed forces. Many are “working” from home—with only about 6% reporting in-person full time, per a recent report.

Yet the legislative branch, which consists of 535 voting members of the House and Senate, employs just over 1% of what the executive branch employs to carry out our duties in serving our constituents. 

So anytime Congress talks about reducing regulations, cutting spending, or just holding spending at current levels, there’s an army of entrenched bureaucrats and big-government Democrats ready to fight against our efforts. 

With Trump back in the White House as of Jan. 20 and Musk and Ramaswamy heading DOGE, there’s hope that Republicans in Congress will have allies in reforming our government to be leaner and constituent-focused. 

History shows us what we can expect. 

In his first term, Trump pledged to cut two regulations for every new regulation imposed. He outpaced his pledge. His administration actually eliminated eight regulations for every new regulation created.

That’s an incredible accomplishment. For small businesses, families, and state and local governments, rolling back the burdens of the federal government is welcome news.  

Unnecessary regulations not only add red tape but a real financial cost. Since taking office, President Joe Biden’s agency rulemakings have cost the federal taxpayer $1.37 trillion and counting. This is 45 times the regulatory costs accumulated under Trump and almost five times the regulatory costs added under President Barack Obama.

We need to reverse course. 

The recent Supreme Court decision in Loper Bright Enterprises v. Raimondo, which rolls back its 40-year-old Chevron deference ruling, also will aid in reining in Washington’s rulemaking, pulling back the power of federal agencies to interpret the laws they administer by ensuring that courts rely on the intent of Congress and not the interpretation of the agencies.

Just last year, the Environmental Protection Agency proposed a new rule that would negatively impact small meat processors in Kansas and across the country because of the steep costs of implementing major but unnecessary phosphate and nitrogen testing, which large-scale meat-processing operations can absorb and already conduct. I’ve introduced legislation to push back on this egregious overreach by the EPA. 

The bureaucrats in D.C. have held far too much power for far too long. And Congress has ceded too much authority to unelected pencil pushers who make decisions without considering the resulting burdens placed on hardworking Americans.

My colleagues and I are prepared to work with Musk, Ramaswamy, and Trump to reduce our government’s footprint. 

Ronald Reagan was right: Government agencies and their rules don’t ever disappear—voluntarily. But November 2024 was a time for choosing, and Americans chose a new direction to reduce the government waste, fraud, and abuse concentrated in the D.C. bubble and the burdens placed on Americans across the country.

Reagan offered more than rhetoric six decades ago. Every day, American workers and families are eager for Trump to deliver the same kind of results. 

Rep. Ron Estes, a Republican, is a fifth-generation Kansan who has served that state’s 4th Congressional District in the U.S. House of Representatives since 2017. A senior member of the Ways and Means Committee, Estes was one of the first House lawmakers to join the DOGE Caucus.

Reprinted with Permission from The Daily Signal – By Rep. Ron Estes

The opinions expressed by columnists are their own and do not necessarily represent the views of AMAC or AMAC Action.