Don't stop at DOGE: Trump can be the transformative president America needs now | Opinion
President Donald Trump and Congress must extend his first-term tax cuts, tame our massive federal deficit, modernize the federal government and rebuild our manufacturing base.
President Donald Trump has changed the national conversation in America in less than a month.
Ever the provocateur, Trump has issued a rash of executive orders that range from cutting the size of the federal workforce to halting the production of pennies. The tentacles of DEI (diversity, equity and inclusion) have been stripped from federal agencies. And even Google Maps has bowed to Trump's influence, now labeling the Gulf of Mexico as the Gulf of America.
What a time to be alive.
But these are for the most part small-scale adjustments. I hope the best is yet to come, with transformative changes that really matter and that America needs.
Trump and Congress, for example, must extend his first-term tax cuts, tame our massive federal deficit, modernize the federal government and rebuild our manufacturing base.
Trump can do more than DOGE
I've made a big deal out of what Elon Musk has done so far via the Department of Government Efficiency, and those efforts to cut waste and fraud are important.
Nonetheless, Trump needs to do even more to make government work for the American people on a large scale. Does anyone really believe that government agencies are as efficient and effective in delivering services to the public as we should expect?
In yet another executive order, Trump on Tuesday vowed to "remake the federal workforce" by cutting it significantly. The federal government employs about 3 million workers and operates more than 400 agencies.
The sheer size and reach of the government helps drive an annual deficit that hit $1.8 trillion last year and a national debt that now tops $36 trillion.
It's not just about cuts, however. The government also needs to make better use of technology, including artificial intelligence.
Trump also should take a transformative approach to the tax system. Extending his 2017 tax cuts, set to expire this year, is a no-brainer. More than 60% of taxpayers benefit from those cuts, according to the Taxpayers Protection Alliance.
And because they've helped small businesses, the cuts have fostered stronger economic growth.
Trump has the chance to transform our economy
It's fine I suppose for Trump to rename bodies of water, but there are bigger oceans to explore.
Can Trump and Congress balance the budget, a feat not accomplished in more than 20 years?
Can they overhaul the tax code?
And rebuild an economy that has left behind millions of working-class Americans?
How great would those accomplishments be for all Americans.
I understand Trump's decision to take on DEI and to stop making pennies. I don't even mind renaming the Gulf of Mexico.
But he must resist the urge to splash about in shallow waters just to make waves.
Nicole Russell is a columnist at Paste BN and a mother of four who lives in Texas. Contact her at nrussell@gannett.com and follow her on X, formerly Twitter: @russell_nm. Sign up for her weekly newsletter, The Right Track, here.