The Trump administration is partnering with conservative state legislators to codify the “Make America Great Again” agenda throughout the country.
The White House has met with lawmakers from states including Louisiana, Missouri, and Wyoming about how states can enact back home what President Donald Trump is doing on the federal level.
But because Republican state lawmakers often vote like Democrats once they’re elected, the White House’s most trusted friends in legislatures are members of the 13 State Freedom Caucus chapters, according to Andy Roth, president of the State Freedom Caucus Network.
“We are their biggest allies,” he told The Daily Signal about the relationship between the state chapters and the administration. “We are the ones that most closely believe in and most vocally support their efforts.”
The White House’s Office of Intergovernmental Affairs has proactively reached out to state lawmakers to share the administration’s priorities and how state lawmakers can help advance them.
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“I’ve never known another administration to reach out directly to state legislatures the way that the Trump administration is currently reaching out,” Louisiana Freedom Caucus Chair Beryl Amedée told The Daily Signal.
Louisiana Republicans met with members of Trump’s Domestic Policy Council and Cabinet members Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth, Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick, and Interior Secretary Doug Burgum on Aug. 12 at the White House.
Nick Schroer, a Missouri state senator who was part of his state’s delegation to the White House, said he thinks the president’s interest in state legislatures could pressure state-level Republicans who often vote with Democrats to get in line with the party platform, particularly when it comes to redistricting.
“I think if Trump engages on certain things like school choice, like returning the power back to the states, like election integrity, like the 7-1 map in the state of Missouri, you’re going to have a lot of these people that normally won’t vote the right way—pursuant to our party platform—all of a sudden they’re going to jump in line,” Schroer told The Daily Signal.
A 7-1 map for the state of Missouri refers to a proposed redistricting plan opposed by Democrats and some Republicans that would result in seven Republican districts and one Democrat district. Missouri currently has a 6-2 map favoring Republicans.
