New Year‘s Day inspires hope with the promise of a fresh start. In that spirit, we have identified five identifiable goals that we hope will be achieved in 2025. They can all be plausibly accomplished, and by setting them out as priorities now, we can help make them all a reality.
1. An end to the war in Ukraine
This is, assuredly, not a Day One item, but President-elect Donald Trump could swiftly end Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. He certainly cannot bring the conflict to a conclusion less effectively than President Joe Biden has. More than 80,000 Ukrainian troops have been killed, as have more than 200,000 Russian soldiers. Including those injured, there have been more than a million casualties among combatants alone. The civilian death toll could be higher.
Ideally, Russia would be pushed back, not just to its 2022 borders, but to where frontiers stood in 2014 when Russian President Vladimir Putin first annexed Crimea. However, the probability is that the war will end short of that ideal conclusion. Russia will most likely keep some of the territory it has taken. The Trump administration should do everything in its power to minimize Russian gains and make future aggression as difficult as possible. Talk of a demilitarized zone between the two countries suggests a continuing role for our European NATO allies, who want to show they can contribute to the alliance.
2. A deterred China in the Pacific
Just as Putin views the seizure of Ukraine as essential to the new Russian Empire he envisions, Chinese President Xi Jinping sees the return of Taiwan to mainland control as a crucial step toward Chinese global supremacy. Keeping Taiwan free is, therefore, a critical interest of U.S. national security. If Taiwan were to fall, it would put the entire Pacific alliance in doubt, disrupting trade and undermining democracy throughout the region.
Trump can help deter China in two ways: first, by bringing a swift end to the war in Ukraine, and then, by convincing the Taiwanese government to spend more on defense. As American admirals admit, as much as many in Washington may want to deny it, the war in Ukraine has hindered the deterrence of China in the Pacific. The quantity and quality of munitions to deter a Chinese invasion of Taiwan has fallen as they have been diverted to Ukraine. The sooner the war in Ukraine ends, the sooner American forces can rearm in the Pacific. While Taiwan’s 2.5% of GDP spent on defense is impressive compared to many European nations, it is nowhere near what is needed in a nation at the front line of conflict. Poland, for example, spends 4.1%. Trump should convince Taiwan to do the same.
3. Make the 2017 tax cuts permanent
Unless Congress acts before Dec. 31, 2025, most Americans will face higher taxes in 2026 as the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act expires. This would damage the economy as the public would cut spending and investment to give more to the federal government. It would be an even bigger disaster for the Republicans as voters would know which party to punish for higher taxes.
Republicans passing two reconciliation bills this year, one in the spring on border security and a second in the fall making the Trump tax rates permanent, would be great if they could do it. However, it is ambitious. The sooner the tax hike is prevented, the better. If Senate Republicans can pass a budget resolution before Trump is inaugurated, it makes two reconciliation bills seem most doable. If they can’t, the case for a tax bill immediately will get stronger.
4. Real permitting reform
Now that the 118th Congress has missed its opportunity for much-needed permitting reform, the Trump administration and the 119th Congress can set their sights on a more ambitious agenda.
The Barrasso-Manchin bill had some good elements, but most of the legislation’s best parts extended exemptions to the burdensome National Environmental Policy Act only for certain projects favored by Democrats, such as powerline transmission and geothermal energy. Republicans should not approach permitting reform by exempting favored projects but rather by rewriting the NEPA so the country can build things again.
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5. An orderly return to immigration enforcement
Biden ended Trump’s highly successful Remain in Mexico policy on his first day in office and suspended all deportations, ushering in unprecedented levels of illegal immigration and pushing the percentage of foreign-born people in the United States to record highs.
To restore order to the immigration system, Trump does not need to deport every illegal immigrant who arrived during Biden’s term in office. What he can do is shut down the border so the flow of new illegal immigration stops, then work with local law enforcement to identify and deport illegal immigrants who have committed crimes. These simple steps, with targeted raids of employers known to employ illegal immigrants, will send the right messages, and many illegal immigrants will end up going back on their own.
This article was originally published at www.washingtonexaminer.com
