Who holds the keys, who makes the decisions -- Washington or you? AFP via Getty Images

Every election eventually becomes noise, a churn of endless polls, ads, debates, arguments about arguments and outrage about outrage.

Two years of governing gets flattened into 30-second clips until the people who actually have to live with the decisions can barely tell what’s at stake.

For me, it comes down to one question: Who holds the keys, who makes the decisions — Washington or you?

When Republicans took control of Congress 20 months ago, families were still feeling the effects of massive inflation.

The border was wide open, with hundreds of thousands of illegals jumping the border every month.

Parents were fighting to be heard in their own children’s schools.

Washington had spent years taking more control over what Americans could earn and build.

So Republicans immediately set about cutting government down to size and making it work for you. You can see it in your paycheck.

We put more of your money back in your pocket through massive tax cuts in the One Big Beautiful Bill Act.

We added relief for workers who earn tips and overtime pay.

We created a new deduction for seniors and restored incentives for businesses to invest here at home.

Americans claimed more than $82 billion in individual tax relief and 97% of filers received a bigger tax cut.

Every House Democrat voted against that bill. To me, that vote represented something bigger than tax policy: a disagreement over who should make the next decision with your money.

We think you should.

But limiting government’s reach doesn’t mean abandoning its most basic responsibilities; securing the border is one of them.

Under President Donald Trump’s leadership, we slammed the border shut, resulting in the most secure border in modern American history.

We’ve now gone 16 straight months without a single illegal immigrant being released into the country.

That’s a 180-degree turnaround, after Democrats’ dangerous catch-and-release policy flooded the country with foreigners — some, outright criminals — who shouldn’t be here.

That is government doing what only government can do.

Beyond those responsibilities, though, the monstrous federal footprint had to shrink.

Republicans used the Congressional Review Act to wipe 23 federal regulations off the books this term.

Every regulation eventually hits somewhere. First, on a factory floor or a permit application. Then, in the price of a product and around a kitchen table.

Washington treats every new restriction as progress; we proved removing one can matter just as much, especially when it cuts needless rules that raise costs.

And leaves more of the decision-making in the hands of Americans themselves.

Parents recognize how that governing mentality reaches far beyond their wallets and into issues that belong to families.

We made sure, for example, that federally funded schools obtained parental consent before making changes involving a child’s gender identity.

The vote was 217-198; at least a few Democrats had the common sense to join Republicans and let parents be parents.

Americans should also be able to walk through their communities without having to accept dangerous streets as the norm.

And Republican action helped cut violent crime 9.3% in 2025, murder 18.1%.

Make no mistake: Such good news won’t last if the GOP doesn’t maintain the majority in Congress.

Indeed, Democrats have already indicated they’ll defund police and empty prisons.

When they say they want to free violent criminals to roam the streets of our communities, believe them.

Voters will have an easy decision this November: Simply look at where we started, then at where we stand now.

The border is secure.

Americans are keeping more of what they earn.

Republicans put parents back into decisions involving their children.

Crime is down.

We’ve let people, instead of government, make their own decisions.

And then look at the alternative: True, a Democratic House majority by itself can’t, say, completely reverse the Trump administration’s immigration policies.

But it can block additional border legislation, change funding priorities and pave the way for violent illegals to flood into our country again.

The same is true about stopping fraud, safeguarding parental rights and ensuring women’s sports and private spaces are for biological women.

Voters need to ignore the election-season noise; what should cut through it is what Republicans have done, what has changed — and who we did it for.

We built a government that handles its responsibilities and leaves Americans free to handle theirs.

Washington was never supposed to hold the keys. Americans were.

Our job was to hand them back. And we did.

Lisa McClain, chairwoman of the House Republican Conference, represents Michigan in Congress.