Trey on the issues

Washington is distracted.

Too much time is spent on political fights that don’t help working families.

My focus is simple:

• Lower costs

• Better jobs

• Affordable healthcare

• A fair economy

Politicians shouldn’t be getting rich off the job. Billionaires and corporations shouldn’t be buying our elections.

I will:

• Ban stock trading by members of Congress

• Support term limits

• Refuse money from Corporate PACs and foreign interest groups like AIPAC

• Crack down on insider dealing and corruption

• Support a constitutional amendment to ban billionaires like Elon Musk from buying elections, overturning the Citizens United case 

Bottom line: If you’re making the laws, you shouldn’t be profiting from them, and you shouldn’t be beholden to anyone but your constituents.

Too many families are one illness away from financial ruin.

I know. It happened to mine.

I will:

• Fight for universal healthcare

• Lower prescription drug prices

• Expand access to care

• Reduce medical debt

• Protect Medicare, Medicaid, and Social Security

Bottom line: Every American deserves healthcare that should help you get better, not put you in debt. Healthcare should be a lifeline, not a scam. We need Medicare for all.

The system is backwards: working people and small businesses pay their share, while corporations find ways around it.

I will:

• Cut taxes for working families and small businesses

• Stop companies and people from hiding profits overseas

• Close corporate tax loopholes

• Break up monopolies

Bottom line: If you work for a living, you deserve a break. We can cut taxes for the middle class and small businesses, without increasing the deficit, by cutting wasteful spending and closing loopholes used by multi-nationals and the 1% to avoid paying taxes.

With neighboring states like Nebraska’s recent minimum wage increase, we must ensure that our wage and labor policies are designed in a way that keeps Oklahoma competitive for workers, employees, and people deciding where to build their lives.

I will:

• Raise the minimum wage to a living wage

• Strengthen unions and worker protections, with legislation like the PRO Act

• Expand trade and apprenticeship programs by supporting Vo-Tech schools like Francis Tuttle

Bottom line: If you’re working full-time, you should be able to live, and live well. The people who do the work should have more power than the bosses.

As an ironworker, I know that good jobs come from building things, supporting the next generation of builders.

I will:

• Invest in infrastructure like roads, bridges, and rural broadband

• Support major projects like the Heartland Flyer Rail Expansion

• Expand Oklahoma CareerTech and apprenticeship programs

• Ensure young Oklahomans can earn while they learn

• Support American workers and businesses over out-of-touch billionaires and foreign corporations

Working people are up against powerful interests:

• Big Pharma driving up drug prices

• Big Tech controlling markets

• Corporations squeezing workers

I will take them on.

Bottom line: No corporation is bigger than the American worker.

Oklahoma’s Fifth District includes Native citizens from across the state and overlaps with the jurisdiction and service areas of tribes including the Chickasaw, Citizen Potawatomi, Absentee-Shawnee, Iowa, Seminole, and Kickapoo Nations. It is also home to urban Native communities from all 39 tribes in Oklahoma.

Tribal Nations rights are guaranteed by treaty and upheld by federal law. We must treat tribes as governments—not stakeholders. This means respecting their authority over justice, healthcare, land, and economic development. 

I will:

• Uphold tribal sovereignty and treaty obligations

• Strengthen government-to-government relationships with tribal nations

• Support tribal control over healthcare, education, and economic development

• Protect sacred sites and cultural heritage

• Expand infrastructure and broadband in tribal communities

• Work collaboratively on shared priorities across Oklahoma

Bottom line: Tribal sovereignty isn't symbolic – it’s a legal and moral commitment that must be treated as a foundation of Oklahoma’s future, not an obstacle to it.   

We can be strong without being reckless. American power should protect our interests—not get us stuck in endless wars that don’t have a clear end or a clear benefit for working people at home.

I will:

• Keep America safe by focusing on real threats, not unnecessary foreign conflicts

• Support a strong military that is well-trained, well-equipped, and not overstretched

• End blank-check wars and demand clear goals, oversight, and accountability for military action

• Bring troops home when missions are undefined or complete

• Prioritize diplomacy and alliances that reduce conflict instead of expanding it

Bottom Line: We don’t weaken America by avoiding dumb wars—we weaken it by wasting lives, money, and focus on ones that don’t serve our security.

The people who stand up and fight for our freedom deserve to be supported fully by the government they are defending. As of October 10, 2023, more than 300,000 VA claims have been backlogged for more than 125 days. Many of our elected officials only pay lip service to supporting our veterans.

I support:

• Comprehensive job placement and job training for veterans

• Passing legislation like the Major Richard Star Act, which would ensure veterans who are forced to medically retire due to combat or combat-related injuries receive their full retirement from the Department of Defense, and their full disability compensation from the VA, is fully covered

The government should protect our rights and respect the dignity of every person. At the end of the day, most people in Oklahoma believe in minding their own business and letting their neighbors live in peace.

I will:

• Protect the right to make personal medical decisions without government interference

• Defend privacy from government and corporate overreach

• Oppose laws that single people out or target them for who they are or who they love

• Protect free speech and limit unnecessary surveillance and data collection

• Keep government focused on public safety, not policing personal lives

Bottom Line: In a free society, we look out for one another, but we don’t try to control each other’s lives.

Strong and well-funded public schools are the backbone of the American education system. Our schools should be our pride, yet Oklahoma has some of the worst education outcomes in the country. Those seeking to drive an ideological agenda through the schools are trying to divide us, through an institution that should brings us together and strengthen our future. While a lot of policy falls to the state, there are ways Congress can help in a big way.

I support:

• Increased funding through Title I (low-income schools), IDEA (special education), and Career & Technical Education grants

• Increased resources for teacher training. How can we expect world-class teachers when we saddle those seeking to enter the field with massive debt loads? Refusing to invest in teacher training is shortsighted

• Increased funding for transportation support for rural schools. Our rural schools have unique burdens, and sometimes the federal government needs to step in

• Better incentives for students seeking trade schools or community colleges

• Ending student hunger. Expecting our children to learn while they’re hungry is foolish. We need to fully fund school lunches

Guns

I am a gun owner who believes in responsibility.

• I’ll protect Second Amendment rights

• Support background checks and safety measures

Immigration

We need a system that is secure, fair, efficient, and actually works.

I support:

• A secure border

• Fixing legal immigration

• Treating people with dignity

Energy

Oklahoma is an energy state, and that matters.

I support:

• American energy production

• Investing in future technologies

• Creating jobs for today and tomorrow