When presidents take power, they arrive with large ambitions. They will have to address everything, but typically the things they really care about and push can be counted on the fingers of one hand. It may be tax cuts or changes to health policy or rebuilding the military.
Donald Trump’s second term is already different. He’s taking on all of these issues and many more: immigration and higher education, crime and disaster response and practically everything else.
While many Americans applaud the president’s willingness to cast a fresh eye on federal approaches and spending levels, budget cuts will inevitably cause some pain for other governments.
“For state and local governments, everything is on the table,” says Matt Chase, the CEO and executive director of the National Association of Counties. “We don’t see any of our programs, any of our tax policies, any federal policy, as untouchable. There are no sacred programs or policies; whatever you care about, you better be advocating for in a smart way.” (You can read Alan Greenblatt’s interview with Matt here.)
But Matt notes this will also create new opportunities. With Washington taking, in some areas, more of a hands-off approach, this will be an era when states and localities can step in with bold ideas, while also being freed from many traditional regulatory burdens.
Governing is here to help policymakers navigate this almost-hourly evolving landscape. We’ve been attempting to help public officials face fresh challenges and learn from each other’s innovations for nearly 40 years now.
Matt has been reading for nearly that long. His stepfather, a district attorney and judge in Upstate New York, was a subscriber. When Matt was a little kid, interested in little else but sports, his stepfather left copies of this magazine around the house, hoping he’d take an interest.
He did.
We can’t promise the same results with your children, but we hope that you can find some inspiration and helpful ideas in these pages and in all our issues to come.
