This column was written the day that Judge Neil Gorsuch was sworn in to the Supreme Court. The moment seems somewhat anti-climactic; the outcome of his nomination has not been in doubt ever since Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) vowed to deploy the “nuclear option” if necessary to overcome resistance from Democrats. In the end, only three Democrats crossed party lines to vote for Gorsuch, so McConnell did not hesitate to order up the rule change and steamroll the intransigent Democratic opposition. In the process, he obviated the filibuster as a tool for blocking nominations to the Court and paved the way for easier confirmation of any subsequent nominations that may occur in Trump’s term.
But the moment is a keen reminder of the difference between today’s reality, versus what might have happened if the 2016 election had played out according to conventional wisdom. And don’t believe for a minute that the Democrats would not have done the same thing if they were in the same position. But Donald Trump won the election, albeit narrowly, and now the 49 year-old Justice Gorsuch will likely sit on the Court for decades. We are not even done with President’ Trump’s first 100 days, but his legacy has already begun to cement its place in the history books.
Even though we are still several weeks short of the 100-day mark, which will come on April 29, the media would have us believe that the early going of the Trump administration is already a foregone conclusion and unmitigated disaster. The smug commentators of the pundit class are willfully ignoring the long term impact the new administration is already having, in favor of their arbitrary judgment day that will quickly be forgotten.
Like much in the fake news category, it boils down to a question of focus. The media’s unrelenting obsession with the initial inability of leading Republicans to garner a House majority behind legislation to repeal and replace Obamacare is quite intentional. Certainly, that process marked a profound underestimation of the resistance that “moderate” politicians would display toward defunding Obamacare’s new taxpayer-funded entitlement. After all, people have now had time to become accustomed to their new federal handout, and taking away government freebies is always politically perilous. But recent history is also replete with examples of past administrations demonstrating a similar learning curve in their opening months. In fact, it would have been historically remarkable if the Trump White House had not had a setback in one of its earliest legislative maneuvers. And rest assured you haven’t heard the last of the health care debate just yet.
What the media refuses to cover are the legislative victories of the Trump White House, the most recent of which was also a tremendous victory for hunters. On April 4, the president signed into law House Joint Resolution 69, which overturned a rule from the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS) that prohibited certain forms of hunting on wildlife refuges in Alaska. The rule interfered with Alaska’s ability to manage its wildlife, and marked an expansion of the Obama anti-hunting agenda when it was promulgated. It was wholly contrary to Alaska’s very clear state law regarding its wildlife management objectives, and also set an ugly precedent for federal usurpation of state conservation prerogatives.
SCI has a strong presence in Alaska, and your Washington team was pleased to work with SCI’s Alaska and Alaska Kenai Peninsula chapters to strongly support the state’s federal delegation of Rep. Don Young and Senators Lisa Murkowski and Dan Sullivan in overturning the rule. It’s worth noting that the effort to nullify this grotesque example of federal overreach was also joined by the Alaska Department of Fish and Game and Alaska’s Board of Game, as well as numerous other sportsmen’s groups, both in Alaska and elsewhere. SCI is very appreciative of the valuable work of this focused coalition in returning wildlife management authority to the state where it rightfully belongs.
The nullification of this rule is not a singular event – it sends a clear message to deter even future administrations from enacting similar rules elsewhere in the country. So in the enactment of this resolution, we have another example of building a legacy for future generations. SCI has filed a lawsuit to challenge similar regulations adopted by the National Park Service for National Preserves in Alaska and another FWS rule that prohibits forms of hunting and denies access for hunting and hunting-related opportunities on the Kenai National Wildlife Refuge. Rest assured that your Washington team will continue to exploit all available avenues to remedy these remnants of the Obama anti-hunting agenda.
Enactment of the resolution is not the only positive legislative development for hunters. This month we also saw the introduction of S. 733, the Sportsmen’s Act of 2017. This compendium of worthy measures is this session’s version of the comprehensive pro-hunting legislation that has unfortunately foundered in the last three sessions of Congress. But the notable difference it has already received in this year’s proceedings is that the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee speedily approved the bill on a voice vote within a week of its introduction. While the bill doesn’t contain all of SCI’s legislative priorities for the year, its fast start in the legislative process bodes well for the consideration of this bill and others that have been stuck in legislative logjams in the past few sessions.
The bottom line? Hunters are already winning in the Trump era, with achievements running the gamut. Some of these victories are not ours alone, of course; the confirmation of Judge Gorsuch is a victory for all who treasure our Constitution and the freedoms that we are guaranteed under the Bill of Rights. But we have already seen legislative victories that are specific to hunting and are already quite substantial.
Your Washington SCI team will soon be joined by dozens of members of SCI leadership for the annual May Lobby Day, and we will take to Capitol Hill to press our agenda for even more progress in the months ahead. But don’t waste your time looking for evidence of our progress in the mainstream media doom and gloom. As always, you will have to watch this space as well as SCI’s other communications, publications and social media to hear the real news about hunting.
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