Senator Ricketts’ Weekly Column: Restoring Strength and Prosperity for the American People

Americans elected President Trump to secure the border, unleash American energy, and restore American strength. This week, the President addressed a joint meeting of Congress. He laid out a vision for restoring the American dream. The days of open borders, overregulation, and appeasement have ended. President Trump is delivering strong leadership to get our country back on track. I will do all I can to help President Trump deliver prosperity and keep Americans safe.  

President Trump is fighting to secure the border. Our Border Patrol agents need more tools to stop drugs, crime, and illegal border crossings. The President made clear he will stand strong. His policies are already working. Last month saw the lowest number of illegal border crossings in recorded history. I also support dozens of Senate solutions to codify his policies in federal law. 

President Trump laid out a vision for unleashing American energy. Our country is blessed with incredible natural resources. By cutting red tape and streamlining processes, we can unleash those resources. We can make America energy dominant. We can lower energy prices and deliver prosperity for families across the country. Those are my priorities as a member of the Environment and Public Works Committee. 

The President also highlighted the work DOGE is doing to attack wasteful, fraudulent, and abusive federal spending. We did this when I was Governor. We improved the level of services to Nebraskans while saving taxpayer dollars. It’s refreshing to have a President who wants to do the same at the federal level. We need to bring both business sense and common sense to cut red tape and streamline the federal bureaucracy. 

I’m a member of the Senate DOGE Caucus. Last week, I introduced the Improper Payments Transparency Act. The Government Accountability Office estimates that the federal government has made at least $2.7 trillion in improper payments since 2003. My bipartisan bill will improve transparency and bring more accountability for this waste. I’ll keep working to save taxpayer dollars and make government work better. 

President Trump also spoke about restoring American strength on the world stage. Biden’s appeasement-first foreign policy made Americans less safe. The shameful pullout from Afghanistan led to new wars in the Middle East and Europe. Now, President Trump’s strong leadership is bringing the world closer to peace. Our enemies will no longer doubt our resolve. I’m working to support those priorities on the Foreign Relations Committee. We must revitalize our military and keep Americans safe. 

Lastly, we heard President Trump talk about extending his historic tax cuts. The Trump tax cuts brought prosperity to American families. I will work with the President and the administration to codify the Trump tax cuts so that all Americans can get ahead once again. We can restore the American dream. 

The days of open borders, overregulation, appeasement are over, and not a moment too soon. President Trump’s address to Congress was about restoring strength. That means restoring a strong border, a strong military, and a strong energy policy. I will continue doing all I can to support President Trump as he works toward those goals. 

My team and I are here to serve you. Contact us anytime by phone at 202-224-4224. You can also view my website at www.ricketts.senate.gov/contact.