Jeremy Alford and David Jacobs: Will officials' loyalty to President Trump help Louisiana?

By JEREMY ALFORD and DAVID JACOBS
Gov. Jeff Landry has been forging connections with President Donald Trump and the rest of Trumpworld since well before he was governor. 
 Don Jr. has been a guest at Landry’s annual alligator hunt fundraiser, reportedly jumping into the swamp in 2018 and helping to soft-launch Landry’s campaign for governor in 2022. 
 And while there’s plenty of competition in the GOP, few elected officials can claim to be a bigger supporter of the president. When Trump won a second term, Landry took a victory lap, raising a MAGA flag at the governor’s mansion. 
 Meanwhile, Louisiana’s own U.S. House Speaker Mike Johnson and Majority Leader Steve Scalise, who represent an unprecedented concentration of power for such a small state, also have been loyal foot soldiers for Trump.
 Elsewhere back home, whether they voted for Trump or not, Louisiana politicos hope those relationships pay off for the state over the next few years. 
 “I think we’re in an enviable position when it comes to helping craft policy,” said Sen. Jeremy Stine, who chairs the Republican delegation in his chamber. “It’s still important to bring home the bacon.”
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 From a policy standpoint, Landry and his Republican super-majority are almost entirely in lockstep with Trump, though Louisiana hasn’t necessarily been following in his footsteps. In fact, one could argue that the national political climate has shifted to reflect the conservative priorities of Louisiana and other Southern states, not the other way around. 
 “I believe that the Trump administration is inspired by a lot of what we’re doing,” Stine said. 
 When you look at the executive orders Trump has been issuing at breakneck speed, in many cases, from banning trans athletes in female sports to calling for “patriotic education,” Louisiana got there first. 
 Asked about Trump policies that have trickled down to Louisiana, lawmakers invariably cite DOGE, the Elon Musk-led effort to cut government spending that they say inspired Landry’s Fiscal Responsibility Program. Brent Littlefield, Landry’s longtime political advisor, tends to bristle a bit at that suggestion, saying the program’s roots go back to Landry’s efforts to find efficiencies in the attorney general’s office. 
 Legislators have not begun filing bills yet for the 2025 session, so it’s too soon to say how much Trump-inspired legislation we will see. 
 “I think there will be more tone-setting on the federal level that Gov. Landry will support and this Republican Legislature will support,” Sen. Blake Miguez said, adding that dealing with illegal immigration could be a potential subject area. 
 Rep. Mark Wright, who chairs the House Republican delegation, expects to see bills based on model legislation by conservative organizations as usual, but wasn’t sure of anything specific. He said he is working on cryptocurrency legislation that is similar to a proposal currently being considered on Capitol Hill.
 “I think Trump has a tendency to surprise people with policy occasionally,” Wright added. 
 To be sure, prominent voices in Louisiana have raised issues with some of Trump’s actions and statements, some more loudly than others. 
 Landry, State Treasurer John Fleming, Senate President Cameron Henry and House Speaker Phillip DeVillier issued a joint statement in late January following the announcement of a federal funding pause (which itself was paused by a federal judge) in which they expressed both support and concern, asking the administration “to develop a responsible runway to untangle us from any unnecessary and egregious policies without jeopardizing the financial stability of the state.”
Democratic Congressmen Troy Carter and Cleo Fields both blasted the administration’s pause as illegal. 
LSU President William Tate last week likewise warned that changes to National Institutes of Health funding, part of the administration’s efforts to cut spending, could lead to “crippling financial shortfalls” for research universities and jeopardize “critical research on cancer, metabolic diseases, brain injuries, and toxic exposure” at LSU. 
 Funding fears
 When it comes to social issues, you won’t see any daylight between Louisiana’s political establishment and Trump, said Robert Collins, a professor of urban studies and public policy at Dillard University who is a political analyst for WDSU and columnist for Verite News.
 “Louisiana was MAGA before Trump was MAGA,” Collins said. 
 But when it comes to fiscal matters, Louisiana is by some measures more dependent on federal dollars than any other state, Collins said. If Trump and Congress make deep spending cuts, some of that support could splinter. 
 In theory, Speaker Johnson and Majority Leader Scalise might be able to use their power to shield Louisiana from some of the impact of potential cuts, while also helping to deliver federal funding for Louisiana priorities. But Collins, who was a staffer for U.S. Sen. J. Bennett Johnston, has not been impressed so far with their ability to rapidly deliver federal dollars to Louisiana. 
“Back in the old days,” Collins said, “when a local parish president needed a levee protection project, we got the money for them, usually within a year.”
To be fair, the congressional earmark system isn’t what it used to be, and Johnson and Scalise have been toiling under a Democratic president until recently, so perhaps the next few years will be a different story. Stine argues the federal government should pay for a new I-10 Calcasieu Bridge, citing the importance of southwest Louisiana’s LNG sector to energy security for the U.S. and its allies. 
 “Cuts in federal spending have the potential to really handicap the state of Louisiana,” said Rep. Matthew Willard, who chairs the House Democratic Caucus. 
 Slashing Medicaid, for example, could be devastating for health outcomes in Louisiana, Willard said. And while Louisiana residents certainly have their frustrations with the Federal Emergency Management Agency, talk of eliminating FEMA entirely (an idea Trump has floated) without knowing what will take its place makes some officials in disaster-prone states nervous. 
 “If there’s anybody in Louisiana who could have the president’s ear and maybe soften the blow, I think we’re in a good position, given the leadership that we have right now,” Willard said. “My concern is that the president and his administration move forward with their plans, despite the concerns that they hear from even some of their allies.” 
State House Speaker Pro Tem Mike Johnson said he is worried about the potential loss of funding for the Louisiana National Guard Youth Challenge Program in Pineville. 
But he doesn’t think anyone is panicking, noting that we’re lonly a month into the new Trump administration. And he said the relationships Landry, Speaker Johnson and Scalise have with the president can only help. 
For more Louisiana political news, visit www. LaPolitics.com or follow Alford on X @ LaPoliticsNow.