It has been widely reported that the Republican majorities in the Senate and particularly the House of Representatives are at risk in the 2026 midterm elections. This is hard to believe, given recent approval/disapproval polling on the Democratic Party. Last month Quinnipiac and other pollsters reported favorability in the low-to-mid 30s, with congressional Democrats hitting a record low job approval of 18 percent with 73 percent disapproval — the worst since tracking began in 2009.
Nevertheless, if the base of the Republican Party is not motivated to vote, there is a possibility that they could lose their Congressional majority. President Trump’s enthusiasm to get out and campaign for Republican candidates will help, but there are several more important things Trump needs to accomplish to get that vote out.
Most important, Trump needs to deliver on three major unfinished initiatives: First, fix the integrity of our national elections by mandating voter IDs, one day vote casting and counting, and replacing digital voting machines with paper ballots. Second, make sure public officials and powerful private sector figures who have committed felony crimes are visibly and successfully prosecuted in the next few months. Third, use all legal tools and precedents to arrest and prosecute perpetrators of mass felony crimes and reestablish law and order in blue cities and states that are experiencing urban lawlessness and industrial scale fraud.
Why fixing the integrity of U.S. elections is imperative
The fundamental reason why election integrity is of paramount importance is that the whole basis of the United States is the sovereignty of the people. It is the DNA of America. The legitimacy and moral authority of the country come only from the people who express their preferences for their local, state, and national government officials through free and fair elections. When there is vote fraud and election irregularities, the moral authority of government is compromised, causing the people to disrespect and distrust their own government.
The moral authority of the United States is also critical in maintaining regional and world order and peace. There are times when the most crucial factor in prevailing against corrupt regimes and dictatorial foreign governments is the moral authority of the United States. When the U.S. loses its moral authority, as it did during the Biden administration, the deterrent power of the United States is compromised and foreign adversaries are emboldened.
Why prosecuting felony crimes committed by private sector and public officials is imperative
One function of our law enforcement and justice system is to punish lawbreakers. However, the more important function of law enforcement is the deterrence and prevention of other lawbreakers and to prevent the continuation, broadening and escalation of crime.
What has most greased the skids of America’s decline toward the ways of banana republics is the emergence and acceptance of two-tiered justice and attendant cronyism and political corruption.
Nowhere is this more obvious than in the pass given to the Clintons, and particularly former First Lady and Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, who destroyed, concealed, and covered up records and documents on paper and digital devices with the intent to impede or obstruct the investigation of a matter about which she was subpoenaed and under investigation by the U.S. Congress. Hillary’s crimes were felonies, punishable by fines and imprisonment up to 20 years, according to 18 U.S. Code 1519. Then, FBI Director James Comey let Hillary off with no sanction or penalty.
In the last year of Barack Obama’s first presidential term, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton failed to respond to the militant insurrection at the U.S. Embassy’s diplomatic compound in Benghazi, Libya, that resulted in the death of four Americans, including then U.S. Ambassador Christopher Stevens. In fact, Hillary succeeded in deflecting accountability, failure, and penalty by sending then Obama National Security Advisor Susan Rice to promote and repeat a fabricated story of causality for the Benghazi humiliation and tragedy on all the major T.V. network Sunday talk shows.
When Donald Trump succeeded in the 2016 upset presidential election against favored candidate Hillary Clinton, a cabal to undermine President elect Trump was organized by President Barack Obama. Included in that cabal were FBI director James Comey, CIA director John Brennan, DNI Director James Clapper and National Security advisor Susan Rice. It could be argued that this unthinkably bold seditious act was undertaken by these very people because of the legacy of prior unaccountability and the two-tiered justice system that had become the norm.
Why restoring law and order in American cities is imperative
The term "sanctuary city" was first used in 1971 in Berkeley, California, for the purpose of giving a safe haven to U.S. soldiers resisting the Vietnam War. The modern sanctuary city movement to provide a safe haven to illegal immigrants began in the 1980s during the surge of Central American refugees into the U.S.
According to radical left training manuals from the Conference on Alternative State and Local Policies in the late 1970s and 1980s, there was an agenda to radicalize city and state governments to transform America. The radicalization of targeted “blue” cities and states dovetailed with the sanctuary city movement. And today there are about twenty large cities and thirteen states that have adopted sanctuary status with policies, laws and regulations that impede the enforcement of federal law and federal immigration laws in particular.
In addition to huge sums of money funding radical political change at the state and city levels, what has happened over the last few decades and even accelerated into the present is that radicalized state and city government leaders have embraced defunding the police and been corrupted through public funding kickbacks while also becoming increasingly militant in using their authority to violate, obstruct, and defy the enforcement of Federal Immigration laws.
The pent-up frustration with unaccountability for questionable elections, seditious high crimes by the political class against the American people, and the radicalization and breakdown of law and order in a growing number of cities demoralizes American citizens. President Trump needs to make sure these three areas are dealt with promptly and decisively to ensure that America remains an independent constitutional republic.
Failure to deliver in visible ways on these three problem areas—securing the integrity of U.S. elections, prosecuting seditious and traitorous crime, and ending urban violence and crime—would surely demoralize the Republican base, depress voter turnout, and could end up putting Republican Congressional majorities at risk. A Democrat majority in the House would not only derail the Trump agenda but would lead to impeachment 3.0 and conditions that would threaten the integrity and continuity of the United States.
Scott S. Powell is a senior fellow at the Discovery Institute and a member of the Committee on the Present Danger-China. His timeless book, "Rediscovering America," was a #1 Amazon New Release in the history genre for eight weeks. Reach him at scottp@discovery.org.