This essay is a part of The Right Way Forward, Restoring America’s new think tank debate series in which leading conservative institutions argue the defining questions of the post-Trump era. Read about the series here.For years, Republicans warned voters that Democrats wanted the federal government to run the economy. The concern was well-founded, but too many Republicans now seem comfortable with Washington micromanaging the economy, so long as it’s President Donald Trump in charge.Republicans have long portrayed themselves as defenders of free enterprise against government encroachment. To vote for Democrats would be to vote for socialism, they said. But the second Trump administration is going well beyond the Biden administration’s industrial-planning schemes by inserting the federal government directly into the corporate bedroom.
Many of the issues that Trump-style economic nationalism seeks to address are not trivial matters. China is a serious strategic competitor. Supply chains for semiconductors, critical minerals, and weapons systems are important to national security and economic resilience. And conservatives are right to be frustrated by a federal government that cannot permit projects quickly, buy weapons efficiently, or maintain a serious industrial base without drowning it in red tape.
