Our country is facing an energy crisis. No, not because of new demand from data centers or AI. Instead, it’s because utilities in nearly every state, due to government imposed “renewable” mandates, self-imposed mandates, and the supercharging of the Green New Scam under the so-called “Inflation Reduction Act,” have been shutting down vital coal resources and building out almost exclusively intermittent and costly resources like solar, wind, and battery storage.
For years, Arizona has been an emerging bastion of conservative leadership. Recently the AZ Republic called the Legislature the “most conservative” ever. Over the last decade it has passed landmark policies and defended critical laws around the country, setting an example for the rest of the nation to emulate.
This conservative advantage was threatened a few short years ago, when Katie Hobbs and Kris Mayes assumed their positions as Arizona governor and attorney general, respectively, after an extremely volatile election cycle. These two have stopped at nothing to insert their radical agenda as they seek to transform our state into a liberal utopia to please their friends in California and New York.
While Hobbs has sought to remake Arizona’s policies from her perch as the state’s chief executive, Mayes has been busy on the legal side. Throughout her tenure in office, Mayes has either done the bare minimum or nothing at all to defend key Arizona or national laws. Instead, she has spearheaded the left’s efforts to undermine President Trump’s work to make America great again.
Thankfully, however, the Arizona Legislature, under my leadership as Senate President, has stepped in the gap to uphold laws of great importance to our citizens. Despite our state’s top prosecutor missing in action as she seeks affirmation from her colleagues in New York and California, we have led or joined dozens of lawsuits and legal briefs to preserve conservative laws across our state and nation. These efforts have largely been unprecedented, as legislatures typically defer to their state attorneys general or other government prosecutors on the legal fronts. From early on, though, in Arizona’s divided government, I determined that our state could not afford to sit on the sidelines as Mayes hijacked our legal apparatus for her extremist ways. As a result, Arizona has again asserted itself as a national example, showing other states how to maintain the rule of law in the face of divided governments.
Here are some of the highlights of the cases:
Protecting Election Integrity
In the absence of the state’s attorney general taking action, the Arizona Legislature has been engaged in a prolonged legal battle to protect the integrity of our state’s elections, defending two laws that restrict voters who do not provide documentation that confirm their American citizenship. After I filed an emergency stay application at the U.S. Supreme Court, the Justices affirmed Arizona’s right to reject state form registrations that do not include proof of citizenship. This case is ongoing because of activist judges on the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals who are attempting to circumvent the Supreme Court’s ruling. Arizona will continue to defend our own law, and we will come to the aid of any state working to require proof of citizenship.
Protecting the Integrity of Women’s Sports
Over half the states in America have enacted legislation to preserve fairness in sports, including Arizona, which passed the Save Women’s Sports Act, to ensure that girls’ athletic events at public schools are reserved for biological females. Arizona’s law, like most other states, remains tied up in federal litigation, with the Legislature itself stepping in to defend the statute after Mayes declined to do so. We defended Arizona’s law up to the U.S. Supreme Court, in addition to filing briefs of support for other states’ fights. We cannot allow activist judges and radical groups to erase protections that women and girls have fought for generations to secure.
Protecting Children
The Arizona Legislature defended the state’s lifetime registration and reporting requirements for convicted sex offenders, giving families and law enforcement greater abilities to track high-risk offenders. Despite the importance of the protections, Mayes failed to defend the law, abandoning the state’s responsibility to safeguard communities. However, we refused to allow the safety of our children to be jeopardized, and we recently won in federal court. The judge’s ruling in this case was a victory for every parent in Arizona.
Protecting the Second Amendment
The Arizona Legislature joined a national coalition to urge the U.S. Supreme Court to end Mexico’s frivolous lawsuit against U.S. firearm manufacturers for crimes committed by Mexican cartels in that country. Earlier this year, the Court agreed with our position, ruling that the lawsuit infringes on U.S. sovereignty by trying to impose restrictions on Second Amendment rights and to control how the American firearms industry is regulated. We were proud to work with other states to uphold our nation’s sovereignty, protect Americans’ right to bear arms, and safeguard lawful gun manufacturers from those attempting to destroy this industry. I will always engage in legal battles to protect our Second Amendment rights when Mayes refuses to do so.
Protecting Against Federal Land Grabs
Two years ago, the Biden-Harris administration confiscated nearly a million acres of land in northern Arizona, designating this space as a “national monument.” This unlawful designation will result in fewer jobs, diminished state trust land values, and billions in lost tax revenues. I sought to overturn this action in federal court to free our state from the grasp radical environmentalists had over the previous administration. As we argued throughout this case, Biden’s maneuver had nothing to do with protecting actual artifacts, but halting all mining, ranching, and other local uses of federal lands that are critical to our independence from adversary foreign nations, our food supply, and the strength of our economy.
Protecting America’s Energy
After the Arizona Legislature joined a national coalition to challenge a radical and costly rule imposed by California requiring trucking companies to retire their diesel-fueled models, the state agreed to repeal its ‘Advanced Clean Fleets’ mandate. This rule would have created dire impacts to the supply chain, raising costs for local trucking companies and their customers. For years, California has operated with near impunity as its leaders passed unconstitutional regulations that brought great harms to Arizona consumers. In the absence of our attorney general holding California accountable to the rule of law, the state Legislature gladly stepped up to protect our citizens from this egregious abuse of power and emerged victorious.
Warren Petersen is the President of the Arizona State Senate and represents Legislative District 14.
What a difference a year makes. As President Trump highlighted in his speech in Pennsylvania Tuesday, by any number of metrics, the economy is barreling full steam ahead. The sign he stood in front of said it all: “lower prices, bigger paychecks.” And the data backs him up. As he said Tuesday: “Pennsylvania is winning again.” Those words are no hollow rallying cry, they reflect real results.
Just weeks ago, the Bureau of Economic Analysis (BEA) revised its estimates for second-quarter 2025 economic growth, and the results were dramatic. Real gross domestic product surged at an annualized 3.8 percent rate, far stronger than the 3.0 percent estimate given just months earlier. It’s a stunning rebound after the last six months of the Biden era, when growth came in at 3.3 percent for the third quarter of 2024 and a truly anemic 1.9 percent for the fourth quarter.
That isn’t just chump change – that kind of growth doesn’t happen when consumers and businesses are on edge. It happens when Americans are confident, when households are spending, and when businesses are investing. As the BEA itself noted, this uptick came largely from rising consumer spending and a drop in imports (imports are subtracted from GDP).
What’s more, the “real final sales to private domestic purchasers” (which strips out the wild swings from trader and inventories and zeroes in on actual domestic demand) – one of the metrics economists use to compare one quarter to another – rose 2.9 percent in Q2. That’s a full percentage point stronger than previously believed.
This is no small rebound. After a rough start in 2025, with a slight contraction in Q1, the second quarter delivered a burst of energy, and proved that policies set in motion by the Trump administration are working.
You don’t have to stare at macroeconomic spreadsheets to sense the shift. Many Americans are now spending dollars, investing in their kids’ futures, stocking up the pantry, and buying gifts.
The 2025 Black Friday weekend delivered record-breaking numbers. According to Adobe Analytics, which tracks e-commerce, “U.S. consumers spent a record $11.8 billion online … marking a 9.1% jump from last year,” reported the Associated Press. And it wasn’t just Black Friday that set a record – consumers spent $6.4 billion online on Thanksgiving Day itself, another record.
That’s not just digital “click traffic;” that’s real money moving – money that represents families who feel secure enough to spend, businesses stockpiling inventory, and entrepreneurs launching new ventures. That kind of consumer vitality ripples outward.
As President Trump put it Tuesday in Pennsylvania: “We are bringing back real value to the American people.” That resonates – because people across income levels just proved with their wallets that they believe in this comeback.
Beyond holiday shopping and GDP headlines lies another signal of confidence and strength: retirement. Per the latest data from Fidelity Investments, the number of Americans with at least $1 million in their 401(k) accounts just hit a new record. About 654,000 Americans are now 401(k) millionaires – up sharply from 595,000 at the end of June, and up from 544,000 a year ago, representing a 20% surge from the Biden years.
This isn’t just financial fluff for the wealthy – this is a genuine barometer of middle-class Americans putting faith in the markets, stocks, and long-term saving. It means that working people who stashed cash through decades of effort are now seeing those savings efforts rewarded.
The rising number of 401(k) millionaires couldn’t have come at a better time. With traditional pensions disappearing, millions of Americans are forced to rely on defined-contribution retirement plans. The climb in 401(k) balances signals that people are adapting and succeeding.
Put together – the 3.8 percent GDP growth, the Thanksgiving/Black Friday spending splurge, the record-high 401(k) millionaires – and one conclusion becomes clear: the Trump economy is booming.
When families feel confident enough to save, invest, and spend, that’s when you know the recovery has legs. President Trump and his administration have laid the groundwork – lower regulation, pro-growth policies, and a renewed sense of optimism.
Tuesday in Pennsylvania, President Trump didn’t just talk about jobs and tariffs, he talked about restoring American dignity and opportunity. “We’re bringing back real value,” he said. And with the data now piling up, “real value” isn’t just a slogan. It’s a restoration of America’s economic foundation.
At this moment, for Americans across the board, the comeback isn’t merely a promise. It’s happening. And you can feel it, see it, and invest in it.
Despite Halloween being long over, Katie Hobbs has decided to spend the Christmas season playing dress-up as a Trump-loving, tax-cutting, leader of the middle and working class.
On November 20th, Governor Hobbs released her so-called “Tax Cuts for Middle-Class Arizonans” plan. If some of these concepts sound familiar, that’s because every single provision in her plan was word-for-word copied straight out of the One Big Beautiful Bill (OBBB) tax package signed into law by President Trump on July 4th:
Increase the standard deduction from $15,000 to $15,750 for single filers, $31,500 for joint filers – straight from the One Big Beautiful Bill (OBBB)
Adding an additional $6,000 deduction for seniors over 65 – straight from the OBBB
Deducting tipped income from taxable income – straight from the OBBB
Deducting overtime income – straight from the OBBB
Deducting car-loan interest on new American-made vehicles – again, right out of the OBBB
So, after spending months opposing the OBBB, trashing Congressional Republicans, and urging its defeat, Hobbs has now decided to pretend that it was her idea all along…
During the latest marathon cabinet meeting on Dec. 2, Energy Secretary Chris Wright made news when he told President Donald Trump that “The biggest determinant of the price of energy is politicians, political leaders, and polices — that’s what drives energy prices.”
He’s right about that, and it is why the back-and-forth struggle over federal energy and climate policy plays such a key role in America’s economy and society. Just 10 months into this second Trump presidency, the administration’s policies are already having a profound impact, both at home and abroad.
While the rapid expansion of AI datacenters over the past year is currently being blamed by many for driving up electric costs, power bills were skyrocketing long before that big tech boom began, driven in large part by the policies of the Obama and Biden administration designed to regulate and subsidize an energy transition into reality. As I’ve pointed out here in the past, driving up the costs of all forms of energy to encourage conservation is a central objective of the climate alarm-driven transition, and that part of the green agenda has been highly effective.
President Trump, Wright, and other key appointees like Interior Secretary Doug Burgum and EPA Administrator Lee Zeldin have moved aggressively throughout 2025 to repeal much of that onerous regulatory agenda. The GOP congressional majorities succeeded in phasing out Biden’s costly green energy subsidies as part of the One Big Beautiful Bill Act, which Trump signed into law on July 4. As the federal regulatory structure eases and subsidy costs diminish, it is reasonable to expect a gradual easing of electricity and other energy prices.
This year’s fading out of public fear over climate change and its attendant fright narrative spells bad news for the climate alarm movement. The resulting cracks in the green facade have manifested rapidly in recent weeks.
Climate-focused conflict groups that rely on public fears to drive donations have fallen on hard times. According to a report in the New York Times, the Sierra Club has lost 60 percent of the membership it reported in 2019 and the group’s management team has fallen into infighting over elements of the group’s agenda. Greenpeace is struggling just to stay afloat after losing a huge court judgment for defaming pipeline company Energy Transfer during its efforts to stop the building of the Dakota Access Pipeline.
350.org, an advocacy group founded by Bill McKibben, shut down its U.S. operations in November amid funding woes that had forced planned 25 percent budget cuts for 2025 and 2026. Employees at EDF voted to form their own union after the group went through several rounds of budget cuts and layoffs in recent months.
The fading of climate fears in turn caused the ESG management and investing fad to also fall out of favor, leading to a flood of companies backtracking on green investments and climate commitments. The Net Zero Banking Alliance disbanded after most of America’s big banks – Goldman Sachs, J.P. Morgan Chase, Citigroup, Wells Fargo and others – chose to drop out of its membership.
The EV industry is also struggling. As the Trump White House moves to repeal Biden-era auto mileage requirements, Ford Motor Company is preparing to shut down production of its vaunted F-150 Lightning electric pickup, and Stellantis cancelled plans to roll out a full-size EV truck of its own. Overall EV sales in the U.S. collapsed in October and November following the repeal of the $7,500 per car IRA subsidy effective Sept 30.
The administration’s policy actions have already ended any new leasing for costly and unneeded offshore wind projects in federal waters and have forced the suspension or abandonment of several projects that were already moving ahead. Capital has continued to flow into the solar industry, but even that industry’s ability to expand seems likely to fade once the federal subsidies are fully repealed at the end of 2027.
Truly, public policy matters where energy is concerned. It drives corporate strategies, capital investments, resource development and movement, and ultimately influences the cost of energy in all its forms and products. The speed at which Trump and his key appointees have driven this principle home since Jan. 20 has been truly stunning.
David Blackmon is a contributor to The Daily Caller News Foundation, an energy writer, and consultant based in Texas. He spent 40 years in the oil and gas business, where he specialized in public policy and communications.
Despite the noble work of Republican lawmakers over the past five years to reduce the state’s burden on taxpayers (lowering and flattening the income tax, eliminating tax on renters, and addressing taxes on food,) cities and towns are constantly undermining this progress through rampant tax, fee, and utility rate increases.
Arizona’s affordability is being eroded through the insatiable tax-hungry decisions of city and town councils and their year-over-year spending sprees. If taxpayers have not noticed already, surely, they are feeling the pinch as these tax and fee hikes continue to stack one on top another. Red or blue, no city is immune, most likely your costs are going up…
