Well, this week’s midterm election results were clearly a referendum on President Trump. While the President can spin it any way he wants, a lot of good, quality, moderate Republican candidates and incumbents in the House and Senate were soundly browbeaten on Tuesday night. So, what will this mean for ACD’s member companies?
First, I am curious to see what incoming Speaker Jeffries says on all the impeachment talk. From President Trump to War Secretary Pete Hegseth, there is a lot of noise that the House will launch impeachment proceedings into both. Jeffries, to his credit, has previously shied away from heading down the impeachment path, as ultimately these proceedings take time and become deeply political, partisan, and unpopular with the American electorate. The House Democrats could very well lose a lot of the support they just garnered during the mid-term election by trying to tackle impeachment instead of pushing back against the war with Iran, rising fuel prices, tariffs, and other issues that Democrats ran on during the campaign that catapulted them into the House and Senate majorities this week.
Second, we will see several investigations into the actions taken by the U.S. Department of War, U.S. Department of Energy, U.S. Department of Transportation, U.S. Department of Health & Human Services, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), and other agencies during Trump 2.0. These investigations will take a lot of time and will cast blame on the Trump Administration's decision-making and the various cabinet secretaries responsible for executing the President’s policy agenda. We are also reading that the EPA will come under fire for several proposals issued by the agency over the last 18 months. Investigations that stand to undermine meaningful progress to incentivize growth while ensuring environmental protection.
I mention both efforts as, historically, they have been seen as partisan and have frustrated the American public. The result is usually an election in which the majority party loses a number of seats, or the majority altogether. Will the new speaker take this path? Time will tell.
This week’s election also saw the defeat of several moderate members of Congress with whom ACD has built strong relationships over the years. Lawmakers including Ann Wagner, Monica De La Cruz, Mariannette Miller-Meeks, Gabe Evans, and others have been valuable partners in advancing important legislative priorities for the chemical distribution industry.
While losing trusted allies on Capitol Hill is an unfortunate reality of every election cycle, this year’s results serve as a particularly stark reminder of the challenges and unpredictability of the political landscape.
At the end of the day, as a nation, we can’t keep the political pendulum from swinging from one political extreme to the other much longer. The political environment is creating havoc for businesses and eliminating the certainty companies need to keep building and expanding.
So, will the next two years be challenging for our members? Absolutely. Were they the last two years? You bet. Washington remains the land of mud, crud, and disappointment. We need to see our electorate do better at a trying time in this country’s history.
Click here to read ACD's Post-Election Analysis.
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