The Pendulum Has Swung, But The Fight Continues

The Pendulum Has Swung, But The Fight Continues

After four years of Joe Biden at the helm, the reigns have finally been given to the Republican Party as Trump prepares to become the 47th president of the United States. To sit back and believe the battle is won would be a mistake, however, for advocates of liberty ought to be more vocal now than they have ever been before. Liberty-orientated republicans and libertarians have grown used to playing the role of opposition throughout Biden’s presidency, but the fight they now face is holding accountable a politician which many of them helped get back on the throne.

The Republican Party will be heading into 2025 with control over the presidency, the house, and the senate. While legislative control presents a ripe opportunity to advance liberty in a meaningful direction, the prospect of complete control invites a very real danger. Of the many battles that will have to be fought, one of the most pressing is repelling the neoconservatives who will be similarly vying to influence the newly crowned Republican regime.

Repelling the neoconservatives

Although many of the newly elected Republican senators and representatives hold troubling interventionist positions, Americans should be particularly worried about are the ones Trump has either included, or is considering, into his cabinet. Some of these threats include the likes of Richard Grenell and Marco Rubio, who are both being considered for Secretary of State, Mike Rogers who’s in the running for Secretary of Defense, and Howard Lutnick who has been playing a role in Trump’s transition team. Lutnick, a Jewish Republican, has troublingly stated that Israel’s security is one of the “top reasons” that he is now aligning with Trump.

Alongside Lutnick, the recent acquiring of Susie Wiles as chief of staff and Brian Hook, who has been tasked to lead the State Department’s transition team, seems to be evidence of neocon influence already seeping its way into Trump’s administration, and the uphill battle that liberty advocates face to steer Trump’s upcoming presidency in the right direction. For those who are unfamiliar, Susie Wiles was on the Florida leadership team of John McCain’s 2008 campaign, co-chair of Mitt Romney’s 2012 Florida campaign, and co-chair for Mercury Public Affairs, a public strategy firm whose clients include Pfizer, Gilead, and Gavi, The Vaccine Alliance.

While it may be that Susie’s views have changed, as evidenced by backing Blake Masters for Senate in 2022 and warming up to libertarians during Trump’s 2024 presidential campaign, her resume warrants caution particularly as it relates to her views on foreign policy and ties to Big Pharma. Brian Hook, on the other hand, is a well-known Iran hawk and Mike Pompeo disciple who has said that Iran is “the chief driver of instability in today’s Middle East” and hopes that Trump will “isolate Iran diplomatically and weaken them economically.”

The Republican establishment, which is made up of neoconservatives who care more about playing world police and lining their pockets through foreign wars than they do about liberty for their own people, should be fervently rejected. If the time for liberty is now, then there must be no place for those who would send Americans to die on behalf of foreign governments like Israel, Ukraine, or Taiwan. While the previous Democratic regime was as interventionist as one can get, history has shown the dangerous foreign policy that Republican governments are capable of adopting.

The times have changed, however, and the discourse surrounding liberty is far more popular today if only on rhetoric alone. Talks of Thomas Massie being a candidate for Secretary of Agriculture, the courting of Ron Paul, RFK Jr.’s promised influence in the new administration, and Trump’s decision to reject Mike Pompeo and Nikki Haley may serve as a sign of these changing times, and the hope that things will turn out differently, if only by an inch.

Ensuring Trump keeps his word

While fending off the political influence of neoconservatives will be paramount, both before and after the Republican administration comes into power, ensuring that Trump follows through on his campaign promises remains the most crucial battle. Some of those promises include freeing Ross Ulbricht, ending the wars, abolishing the Department of Education, removing taxes on income and tips, and recruiting a libertarian into his cabinet. With sweeping legislative control, implementing many of Trump’s promises will be far less of a challenge, and this means that room for excuses will be largely nonexistent.

“If not now, then when,” is an adage that holds true in this moment. Faith in the political process rests on these next few years as liberty-loving Americans give Trump, and ultimately the Republican Party, one last chance. It will be important to speak up in the weeks leading up to the inauguration as decisions about cabinet personnel are made, which will indicate whether things turn out differently this time around. Once the colors of the regime officially swap, it will be even more imperative to reject the temptation of blind, tribal obedience and instead remain vigilant and critical of the policies that the Trump administration enforces both domestically and abroad.