“What a decade this year has been.” That’s how a friend in Washington described 2025 to me.
The last 12 months saw a flurry of activity as Republicans worked to enact President Donald Trump’s agenda before he reaches “lame duck” status. The result was a swirling mix of policy highs and lows that has rearranged the policy table heading into 2026.
First, the highs. The Southern border is secure: Crossings have dropped to their lowest in recent memory, from the record highs of the Biden administration. Trump campaigned on sealing the border and, by all practical measures, he has done it. That’s good.
Another high: Within days of reaching the Oval Office, Trump signed an executive order to eliminate 10 regulations for each new rule added.
That’s again in sharp contrast to his predecessor. The Biden administration had run a freight train of regulation right through the heart of the economy. In 2024, agencies added 3,248 new final regulations — the equivalent of a new one every two hours and 42 minutes, according to the Competitive Enterprise Institute.