Eric Schmitt: 1 year in, President Trump restored law and order and put America first | Opinion
One year ago, President Donald Trump swept back into office with the bold promise to reverse the decline of the last four years and restore law and order. Under the Biden administration, the American people were subjected to lawlessness, open border destruction, violent anti-police riots and activist prosecutors who treated criminals like victims and law-abiding citizens like criminals. The American people were sick and tired of being forced to accept rampant chaos and fear as the new normal.
Last November, Missourians marched to the ballot box and rendered their verdict. They believed in President Trump’s promise to Make America Great Again and restore law and order — a promise he is fulfilling every single day.
President Trump’s first year back has been a decisive return to law and order. From Day 1, his administration started dismantling radical Biden-era policies that fueled disorder, jeopardized public safety and undermined parental rights. In his first weeks back in office, the Department of Justice reversed Merrick Garland’s disgraceful memo that cast concerned parents at school board meetings as domestic terrorists. President Trump knows parents have a fundamental right to be informed and engaged about their children’s education, a right I fought hard to defend as Missouri attorney general. Exercising this basic right never should have led to intimidation from the federal government, but it did under the Biden administration. President Trump corrected that mistake, freeing law enforcement to focus on real issues like violent crime rather than the First Amendment-protected speech of parents.
For years, the radical left and their allies in the federal government waged a campaign against the very law enforcement officers who protect life and property and keep our communities safe. They demonized our law enforcement officers, called to “defund” the police, allowed criminals to riot and loot our cities and pushed nonsensical policies like cashless bail that let repeat offenders and violent criminals walk free. President Trump’s return stopped the downward spiral and is making our streets safe again.
The administration’s relentless focus on crime-fighting and promoting public safety is yielding results. We are currently witnessing a drop in crime rates nationwide, including in Kansas City. Violent crime is down, and homicides hit a seven-year low. Thanks to the efforts of local law enforcement here in Kansas City, and with the full support of our president, our communities are safer.
This year, I worked directly with President Trump, the Department of Justice and FBI Director Kash Patel to surge FBI resources and personnel into St. Louis to combat violent crime. Now, I’m inviting FBI Director Patel to visit Kansas City to discuss ways our federal partners can work with local law enforcement leaders to continue fighting crime. Ensuring Kansas City has the tools, manpower and backing it needs to take dangerous criminals off the streets, dismantle violent gangs and restore safety to neighborhoods that have been ignored for far too long is a priority of this administration, and I’m thankful for President Trump’s focus on our communities in the Show-Me State.
Under Joe Biden, record amounts of fentanyl and other deadly drugs flooded into our homeland, killing roughly 100,000 Americans a year. From the day President Trump took office for his second term, the Drug Enforcement Administration has seized 45 million fentanyl pills and over 4,200 kilograms of fentanyl powder — enough powder to load four pickup trucks to capacity. Drug overdose deaths fell by around 20% in President Trump’s first year back in office. At the president’s direction, his administration designated the criminal drug cartels that manufacture and traffic this poison as Foreign Terrorist Organizations, including Tren de Aragua, Sinaloa Cartel MS-13, and others that seek to harm the American people.
One year into President Trump’s second administration, the results are clear: America is safer, our justice system is regaining its backbone and focus on law enforcement and the federal government is firmly on the side of Missourians, not criminals.
As President Trump continues fulfilling his promise to make America safer, I stand ready to continue advancing policies that back the blue, punish repeat offenders, end soft-on-crime bail policies and hold radical prosecutors and judges accountable.
Law and order are not the enemy of freedom. In fact, law and order are the necessary prerequisites that make freedom possible.
One year in, President Trump’s law-and-order polices are making our streets safer, protecting Missouri families, and holding criminals accountable. We’re just getting started.
Eric Schmitt represents Missouri in the U.S. Senate.