As a proud Kentuckian with conservative leanings, it’s disheartening to witness the ongoing discord between Rand Paul, Thomas Massie, and Donald Trump. Despite their shared end goals, their differences seem to overshadow their commonalities. However, if Trump’s objective to “drain the swamp” and reduce the federal government’s size is genuine, there might be a solution that could unite all parties.
Thomas Massie and Rand Paul could consider supporting the Big Beautiful Bill, provided Trump, citing the unconstitutional use of the Commerce Clause, signs an Executive Order to close the EPA, BATFE, USDA, and FDA.
The Commerce Clause (Article I, Section 8, Clause 3 of the US Constitution) was designed to regulate interstate monetary policy and address specific issues. During its inception, states were imposing tariffs and restrictions on goods crossing state lines, often leading to retaliatory measures. The clause grants Congress the power “to regulate Commerce with foreign Nations, and among the several States” to resolve these issues. However, several things currently regulated under the commerce clause do not align with its original text. These include the air vent on your lawn mower gas can, the design of your firearm’s trigger, the food you produce on your land for personal consumption, the antibiotics you’re allowed to have, the type of fuel you can use in your vehicle, and the safety equipment required at job sites.
One might wonder how we could function without these Federal agencies. The reality is, most of these agencies have counterparts at the state level which could duplicate these efforts if they are not already doing so. As an example Kentucky already has the following entities in place:
Department for Environmental Protection
Department of Agriculture
Food Safety Branch of the Department for Public Health
Drug Enforcement and Professional Practices Branch
This Executive Order would likely have legal teams ordering new ink for the lawsuit printer before the weekend, pushing this issue to the Supreme Court’s forefront. If Mike Johnson wishes to support this effort, he could clarify Congress’s understanding of the Commerce Clause by passing a bill stating, “We believe the Commerce Clause was created solely to regulate Monetary Policy such as tariffs between the states, not related activities; all acts that do not fit this narrow definition are now null and void.”
This solution could potentially align Trump, Massie, Rand Paul, and possibly even Elon Musk, ending much of the infighting currently plaguing the Republican Party.
By Ben Putnam
Op-eds represent the views of the author and are not the views of AC Media.