Rep. Bryan Steil on Government Shutdown, Proxy Advisors, and Global Security

Government Shutdown Standoff

• 📌 The government shutdown continues as Senate Democrats have failed to pass legislation to reopen it for the tenth time, potentially extending into the next week.
• ⚠️ A House-passed bill to keep the military paid also failed in the Senate, with Speaker Mike Johnson warning service members could miss paychecks.
• 💡 Congressman Steil states that Senate Democrats are beholden to the radical base of the Democratic Party, which is driving their agenda.
• 💰 President Trump has implemented extraordinary measures to ensure essential federal employees and troops are paid, but these are temporary solutions.

Proxy Advisor Influence and Conflicts

• 🎯 Steil is working on legislation to address the duopoly of proxy advisors ISS and Glass Lewis, which control 95% of the market and influence shareholder votes.
• 🏦 These foreign-owned entities advise US publicly traded companies on how shares should be voted, impacting investors' 401ks and pension funds.
• ⚖️ A massive conflict of interest exists as these companies advise shareholders while also taking money from corporations for advice.
• 📈 The legislation aims to break up this duopoly, end conflicts of interest, and regulate these entities to expose their influence on the ESG agenda.

Global Security and Defense Spending

• 🇺🇸 President Trump is credited with driving peace through strength, as seen with Hamas's surrender to Israel and strong support for Ukraine against the Russian invasion.
• 🤝 Trump has also been effective in getting European allies to increase their defense spending to meet NATO's 2% obligation, moving towards 5%.
• 🚀 This increased defense spending by European nations is seen as a significant action that will be credited to President Trump in the long term.
• ⚠️ Concerns were raised about potential threats from Russia regarding the US sending Tomahawk missiles to Ukraine, with Medvedev issuing a veiled threat about nuclear armament.