Unbeknownst to some, Washington, D.C. was an actual swamp long before shady, self-serving politicians made it home. Politicians being classified as such isn’t a partisan issue, although anyone familiar with my opinion knows I’m more sympathetic to conservative thought.
Throughout his campaign, President Donald Trump made “drain the swamp” a rallying cry at his raucous assemblies, which made his opponent’s poorly attended gatherings seem like an unenthusiastic version of Romper Room. He gave no quarter to the political establishment on either side, laying waste to Democrats and Republicans alike. This prompted political pundit Joe Scarborough to claim that Trump must be wary of doing so because, “Washington always wins.” Except when it doesn’t, like on Nov. 8.
Since his inauguration on Jan. 20, Trump has addressed certain bureaucratic issues that created the modern-day cesspool that is Washington. Executive orders have been issued that ban administrative lobbying on behalf of foreign governments, as well as instruct federal agencies to identify two regulations for elimination for every one they enact, a common sense measure to increase government efficiency.
But the “swamp” is full of creatures, not ideas. In order to effectively drain it, the discreditation and removal of contemptible figures like Nancy Pelosi, Maxine Waters and Chuck Schumer must take place. They can wait, however.
President Trump must begin to set the example within his own party, and two prominent members of the “Cheesehead Mafia” should be targeted — Speaker of the House Paul Ryan and White House Chief of Staff Reince Priebus.
It’s no secret Ryan doesn’t like Trump. An audio recording exists of him declaring, “I am not going to defend Donald Trump. Not now, not in the future.” Therefore, he has no purpose as Speaker other than to undermine and undercut the policies put forth by our president. This has prompted many conservatives to declare Ryan a “RINO,” an acronym for “Republican In Name Only,” despite his claims to be a fiscal conservative.
There’s truth to it. Ryan actually supported many of former President Barack Obama’s asinine policies, like the time he funded VISAs for 300,000 refugees. Refugees are estimated to cost American taxpayers $4.1 billion this year, and historically an inordinate amount of them receive food stamps (91.4 percent) and cash welfare (68.3 percent) meant for American citizens.
The infamous “Ryancare” debacle in which Paul Ryan pushed a health care bill that would insure citizens and increase costs for consumers was a political dud after seven years of “repeal and replace” threats. Now, he’s stalling funds to build a wall on our southern border to keep criminal aliens out — one of the larger Trump campaign promises. Ryan has been a complete failure in every facet of his role as a Republican Speaker.
Reince Priebus, on the other hand, is the definition of an establishment Republican. As former chairman of the Republican National Committee, it’s not a stretch to conclude his primary concern is the short-term survival of said establishment. Like Ryan, he effectively rolled over and played dead during the Obama presidency — and now we’re supposed to believe he’ll change? Even worse, alleged leaker and Priebus’ former Deputy Chief of Staff Katie Walsh was ousted in March. The question remains as to whether she was leaking information at the behest of Priebus or for personal gain.
Trump will be surrounded by wolves in sheep’s clothing his entire stay in Washington, and it’s best for him not to blend in. Being the wolf is what got him elected and any changes just might lead to Washington winning next time.
Christopher Godail is a 27-year-old interdisciplinary studies junior from Kenner, Louisiana.