OPINION:
While Senate Minority Leader Charles E. Schumer and Senate Democrats pat themselves on the back for keeping the government shut down, America’s families are paying the price. This shutdown is the clearest proof yet that President Trump and White House Office of Management and Budget Director Russell Vought are right to take a hammer to the bloated federal bureaucracy and return power to the people.
For decades, Washington has been overrun by professional politicians like Mr. Schumer and Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, who thrive on gridlock and use chaos as a strategy. They call it governing, but it’s really a cycle of endless power grabs disguised as principle. It’s what happens when a party loses sight of whom it serves.
Instead of fighting for parents, teachers and small-business owners, Democrats are fighting for headlines and control. The result? Fraud, waste and pain for working Americans who just want their government to function.
Mr. Trump is proving that leadership matters. He is not afraid to challenge a broken system or stand up to a bureaucracy that has forgotten whom it works for. Under his direction, leaders such as Mr. Vought and Education Secretary Linda McMahon are rebuilding government the right way: by cutting red tape, restoring accountability and empowering local communities to lead.
Mr. Schumer’s failure to lead has consequences far beyond the marble halls of the Capitol. Every day Washington stays shut down, American families are reminded of a painful truth: Democrats have forgotten how to serve the governed. They care more about political power than keeping programs running, paychecks flowing and families secure.
As a mother, former school board member and advocate for parental rights, I have seen what happens when Washington’s dysfunction spills into real life. Bureaucratic standstills waste money, destroy trust and hurt Americans. Take education, for example.
For years, Democrats have demanded more control from Washington: more programs, more mandates, more bureaucracy. The result is less flexibility for parents and teachers and more uncertainty when Washington grinds to a halt. That’s why Mr. Trump and Ms. McMahon are right in their fight to return education to states and local communities. The federal government doesn’t educate children. Families and teachers do.
Education is just one example. The same pattern repeats itself across government whenever Congress fails to act responsibly. Small businesses can’t plan, local projects stall, and families lose confidence — all because Democrats would rather fight for power than for the people who elected them to power.
That’s why dismantling the bureaucracy is a moral necessity. We need less Washington and more America, less political theater and more practical reform. Every time the federal government overreaches, communities grow weaker. Every time Democrats hold the country hostage for political points, the people they claim to champion are the ones who suffer.
The solution is simple: Trust the American people again and return power to parents, teachers, entrepreneurs and local leaders who know what their communities need. Mr. Trump’s “America First” approach is proving that principle in action. When power moves closer to the people, everything works better: schools, businesses and families alike.
No family should ever wonder whether a government shutdown means their paycheck, education, or future is at risk. Every time politicians fight over power, the next generation pays the price.
This shutdown should serve as a wake-up call. The more control Washington hoards, the more fragile our nation becomes. Every shutdown tells the same story, and we cannot rely on the federal government to protect what matters most.
When the government reopens, the conversation shouldn’t stop at funding; it should start with freedom: the freedom for states to innovate, for teachers to teach, for parents to choose, and for local leaders to decide what works best for their communities. Because this is about principle.
America was built on self-governance and the belief that families, not federal agencies or career politicians, should shape their futures. The left’s big-government mindset has failed because it never trusted the American people to begin with. The “America First” movement does.
Our children deserve classrooms driven by purpose, not politics. Our families deserve leaders who fight for their futures, not use them as leverage in a budget negotiation. Our nation deserves a government that serves the people, not one that shuts down while Senate Democrats pretend to care.
America’s revival will not be dictated from Washington. It will be born in the classrooms, churches and communities where faith is honored, families lead and truth is taught. From there, the nation will be saved.
• Erika Donalds is a senior adviser for America First Works and the founder and chairman of OptimaEd.
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