Op-Ed: Holding the Line on Government Growth—Our Pledge to Idaho

By Christy Zito • February 12, 2025

The following Op-Ed was released by eight of Idaho’s lawmakers. (Sen. Christy Zito, Sen. Glenneda Zuiderveld, Sen. Josh Kohl, Rep. Lucas Cayler, Rep. Kent Marmon, Rep. Faye Thompson, Rep. Clint Hostetler, and Rep. David Leavitt). Op-Eds do not necessarily reflect the views and opinions of those at the Idaho Dispatch.

The federal government has blown past $36 trillion in debt—that’s over $106,000 for every single person in America. In response, President Trump and the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) are taking aggressive steps to cut federal spending and rein in Washington’s reckless financial habits. Idaho must do the same.

Unlike Washington, Idaho must balance its budget—but that doesn’t mean spending is under control. In the last five years, the state budget has grown by a staggering 55%. Yes, Idaho is a red state with a Republican-dominated legislature, but you wouldn’t know it from the spending spree at the Capitol. Much of this growth is propped up by borrowed federal dollars, deepening our reliance on D.C.’s unsustainable handouts. If this dependency isn’t confronted now, Idaho will be caught in a fiscal disaster when the federal dollars dry up.

Our Promise to Hold the Line on Spending

Fiscal responsibility isn’t just about balancing the budget—it’s about stopping the relentless growth of government. Every year, spending requests get bigger, and the pressure to approve them only increases. But Idaho can’t afford to keep going down this path. It’s time to draw a line.

We will support maintenance budgets, which provide the funding necessary to keep the state government operating at its current level without expansion. But we will not give a free pass to government growth disguised as a necessity.

Our Pledge to You!

We are committed to responsible budgeting, limited government, and protecting Idaho’s financial future.

By holding the enhancement budget to just 1.2% growth, we will cut nearly $900 million from last year’s budget. That’s not just a number—it’s nearly a billion dollars that stays in the hands of hardworking Idahoans instead of being swallowed up by government bureaucracy. This is the difference between a state that grows government and a state that respects its taxpayers.

President Trump is taking bold action to rein in Washington’s reckless spending, proving that fiscal discipline takes courage and conviction. Idaho must do the same. The fight for responsible budgeting starts now. Idaho’s future depends on controlling spending, not growing government.

We are ready to hold the line.