Trump and Musk are Doing What Congress Refuses to Do
Official 2025 Inaugural Portrait of Donald Trump by Daniel Torok (Public Domain)
Can you imagine House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries holding a news briefing to announce that Congress has agreed to shut down the Department of Education, and pass an amendment to the Constitution requiring a balanced budget? Me neither.
But that’s the job of Congress.
The fact that few in the House, where budget matters start, and the Senate that has to approve them, ever seem to notice the National Debt, is precisely why I support term limits.
There should come a time in the career of congresspeople when they have either two years or six years to do the right thing without worrying about reelection. That’s not where we are, and that’s why President Trump and Elon Musk are doing the heavy lifting.
If you have a better idea how to drain the swamp, reduce the size of government, and pay down the debt, I’d like to see it.
Video: Elon Musk explains the debt crisis
The debt grows where my congressman goes.
And your congressman too, in most cases. Bring home the bacon. Make certain that bridge in the district gets built. Fight for that VA Hospital that is outdated and could be consolidated with one nearby. My current Congressman, John Carter is an expert at bringing back money to the district. A former congressman of mine, Chet Edwards, raised hell when the VA wanted to close its Waco facility and merge it into a more modern and larger facility in Temple. Of course, the Waco VA survives to this day.
RELATED: Congressman John Carter’s pork spending rises to $225 million
Before he was elected governor of California, Ronald Reagan said:
“Governments’ programs, once launched, never disappear.” He added that the agencies running those programs are “the nearest thing to eternal life we’ll ever see on this Earth.”
Reagan knew what was likely to come from overwrought spending. Bill Clinton knew it too. But getting Congress to act on it is like pulling teeth. And yet, Congress ought to be doing this.
I remember back when I was a reporter at WACO AM 1460, Senator Lloyd Bentsen came to Waco. Most people remember Bentsen for his snappy comeback during a debate with Dan Quayle. I remember him for the glare he gave me when I asked a reasonable question.
At this time, in the mid-eighties, there was talk floating around Washington for a constitutional amendment that would force Congress to balance the national budget. The National Debt, in 1985, was standing at $1.82 trillion. Bentsen was speaking in favor of such an amendment, and when he came to Waco, I asked him about it. “Why do we need a constitutional amendment to force members of Congress into doing something that they should be doing anyway?” Of course, there is a reason for that. Simply put, such an amendment would provide cover to members if a local program or project were to be cut.
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It didn’t matter. No such amendment was ever seriously considered because of Congress’ spending addiction, and there is little talk of it today.
Today, we face a National Debt, at this writing, of $36,500,000,000,000.
You read that right. We are closer to $37t than $36t. My desk calculator doesn’t have that many zeroes on it. The former administrations, those of Trump and Biden, spent like drunken politicians – and regardless of the pandemic – we still spent way too much money, and would have spent far more if Republicans hadn’t forced some restraints.
Programs like “The American Rescue Plan,” “Build Back Better,” and “The Inflation Reduction Act,” ballooned the debt. The Democrats seem to have a theory that enormous deficits don’t matter. It’s called Modern Monetary Theory, and it amounts to a blank check for any spending they want to do – which is always a lot. Note the gnashing of teeth and pulling of hair at the mere mention of cutting anything – much less shuttering a complete department such as the Department of Education.
Video: Trump, asked by CNN’s Jake Tapper about the National Debt
And yes, our interest on the debt is now more than what we pay for our national defense. That’s money out the door for nothing, with zero return on investment. Dave Ramsey’s “Baby Steps” would come in handy here. But no; we keep spending . My own mantra about spending is this:
“What do I do with money I don’t have? I don’t spend it.”
Congress has not, and will not address the deficit and the National Debt. So, who will?
That where Trump and Musk and term limits come in.
Trump cannot run for reelection, and does not have to worry about that pressure, unlike members of Congress who always have reelection in mind unless they plan to retire.
With reelection off the table, Trump needed a budget czar that also has no need to worry about such things. Elon Musk is a billionaire who is not eligible to be president and who is not worried about money. In fact, news reports say he’s lost $100 billion dollars in net worth since accepting the job at DOGE.
RELATED: The National Debt Crisis Should be the Top Issue in our Elections
Of course, Democrats hate Musk for being rich, but they have no worries about Joe Biden selling influence or Nancy Pelosi allegedly using insider trading.
Someone please answers these questions:
- Will Congress, on its own, ever get our financial house in order?
- Would a Democrat such as Kamala Harris have addressed our massive debt?
- How many members of Congress would risk political capital on the debt?
- Could we better address the debt in Congress if we had term limits?
- If not a lame duck president like Donald Trump, then which president?
- If not a billionaire like Elon Musk to get it done, then who?
- If we’re not at the financial crisis point now, then when will we be there?
If anyone could answer these questions, we might get on the road to solvency. Who will answer? Not your local congressman in most cases.
That’s why Trump/Musk is our only serious hope of getting the government in shape. Our bloated bureaucracy will not do it. No president has done it or we wouldn’t be sinking in debt right now. Congress is for Congress, face it. We’ll never get term limits. Joe Biden will never face justice for his influence peddling. Our government is seriously broken, and pointing to “banana republics” is no help when we’re no better regarding spending.
Can Donald Trump constitutionally do the things he’s doing? In normal times, no, but we’re sinking fast and Congress refuses to do its job. I would prefer to fix the debt and downsize government in a calmer, more traditional way. But that is unlikely, given the state of politics in America. If you see a better way than the Trump/Musk bulldozer, I’d love to hear about it.
Meanwhile, this is what draining the Swamp looks like.
Lynn Woolley is a Texas-based author, broadcaster, and songwriter. Follow his podcast at https://www.PlanetLogic.us. Check out his author’s page at https://www.Amazon.com/author/lynnwoolley.
Order books direct from Lynn at https://PlanetLogicPress.Square.Site. Email Lynn at lwoolley9189@gmail.com.
Perhaps you cannot afford to purchase this book. Trump and Musk could. Then, why don’t they?
