Unchecked power has a price, and Idahoans are paying it
June 10, 2026
By Lauren Necochea Reader Contributor
Two hundred and 50 years ago, we declared our independence from a king who abused his power. Our founders knew what unchecked authority could become: a president who answers to no one can drag a nation into danger, raid the public coffers and treat the government as his personal property.
Congress exists, in part, to stop reckless power from going unchecked.
From war and higher costs to health care cuts and billion-dollar ballrooms, Idaho Republicans in Congress keep enabling the most dangerous whims of the Trump regime while the people they represent pay the price.
Trump has taken this country into war with Iran with no clear objective, no honest explanation and no plan for how it ends. Every day raises the risk of retaliation, a wider conflict and more lives lost. American service members are in danger. Families at home are paying more as the conflict drives up everyday costs, with gas in Idaho now hovering around $4.60 a gallon.
Idaho Reps. Mike Simpson and Russ Fulcher just had a chance to rein in Trump’s war. Instead, they voted against the War Powers resolution. It passed the House because four Republicans joined Democrats to affirm that the president cannot wage war without congressional approval.
Lauren Necochea. File photo.
Idaho Sens. Jim Risch and Mike Crapo made the same disappointing choice in the Senate instead of listening to Idahoans who do not want another open-ended war.
Trump has made clear how little that concerns him. Asked about negotiations with Iran, he said he did not care if they were over. Asked about rising oil prices, he said he does not worry about them.
As families lose health coverage and pay more for nearly everything, Trump is steering public dollars toward himself, his allies and his image. He wants $1 billion to build a ballroom after bulldozing the East Wing and $100 million for the so-called Arc de Trump, another taxpayer-funded tribute to himself. When a Democrat brought an amendment to block spending on this vanity project, Simpson killed it.
Take the $1.8 billion political slush fund. Trump allies want to reward his followers with cash payouts, including people convicted for their crimes on Jan. 6, 2021. The regime appears to be backing down after public outrage, but Idaho’s Republican delegation refused to speak out against this gross misuse of taxpayer dollars.
The corruption is just as blatant. Government contracts that benefit the Trump family should trigger oversight. So should a president making market-moving statements and personally profiting from stock market chaos.
Risch, Crapo, Simpson and Fulcher have shown us who they work for, and it is not the people they were elected to serve. This November, let’s vote for a delegation that will stand up for Idaho.
Lauren Necochea is chair of the Idaho Democratic Party and a former District 19 legislator. Necochea spent a decade leading nonprofit programs dedicated to research and advocacy in tax policy, health care and children’s issues.
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