Susan Brooks: "People want to see a change"
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Challenging, but exciting — that's how former U.S. Congresswoman Susan Brooks describes our political moment.
The big picture: It's hard to overstate the upheaval in the federal government.
- President Trump is pushing Congress to make a major dent in spending, proposing a 2026 budget that would dramatically reduce federal funding for things like health care, education and housing.
- At the same time, Congress is debating Trump's tax plan, which would raise the debt ceiling, extend 2017 tax cuts, provide additional tax cuts, supply hundreds of billions of dollars in border and defense money and slash federal spending.
What she's saying: "I do think that a lot of citizens have lost their faith in government, the federal, state and local levels, and so it is a time to change the way government works," Brooks told Axios.
- "I think we have not paid enough attention to issues around our country's debt and around how large the federal government has gotten. So I think people want to see a change, but it's going to be painful — and I wish it was more bipartisan."
Between the lines: Brooks, who represented Indiana's 5th District from 2013-2020, was a rare moderate voice in the GOP when she left Congress. She was known for reaching across the aisle — something she admitted that fewer of her former colleagues are doing these days.
- "Although, whenever I worked on something together (with a Democrat) — and it hasn't been that long ago — people liked it," she said.
State of play: Among those things that are top of mind for many Americans is what all this means for the future of Social Security, Medicare and Medicaid.
- A recent KFF poll found that a majority of Americans, regardless of political party, oppose cuts to the three programs.
- House Speaker Mike Johnson said on Fox News last month that lawmakers would protect the programs but that they "have to root out fraud, waste and abuse."
Brooks told Axios Indianapolis last week she wants to see that "the most vulnerable are not hurt" and Medicaid, Medicare and Social Security are preserved and protected. But she agrees with her Republican colleagues that there is fraud in the programs.
- "There always has been," she said. "We need to make sure we have the resources to root that fraud out, because that type of fraud then takes away dollars from the people who really need it."
The latest: Brooks serves on several boards and is a distinguished scholar and ambassador at large with Indiana University's McKinney School of Law in Indianapolis.
- A former U.S. attorney, Brooks said she has "tremendous faith" in the country's legal system and judges. Unlike some legal scholars, Brooks said she does not think Trump's actions will lead to a constitutional crisis.
- "I believe the president respects the Supreme Court and will abide by Supreme Court rulings. And I would certainly encourage the administration to do that, because that is how our government works. We are a rule-of-law country."