Politics & Government
Congressman Kennedy’s surprise visit at local forum: “Make Utah Bigger, D.C. Smaller”
Rob Shelton | Lehi Free Press
In an unexpected turn at a local meeting called “Pancakes and Politics” on Saturday, Representative Mike Kennedy (R-UT) joined state leaders at the head table of Intermountain’s American Fork Hospital’s education room. Initially blending in with the crowd at the annual Chamber of Commerce breakfast event, Kennedy was quickly invited to the panel by moderator Joe Phelon. Kennedy gave an impromptu message critiquing federal overreach and outlined an ambitious vision for increased state sovereignty. Kennedy represents Utah’s 3rd Congressional District, covering the southeastern portion of the state, including parts of northern Utah County cities American Fork and Lehi.
“My primary objective in Washington DC is to make Utah bigger and Washington DC smaller,” Kennedy declared to attendees. State legislators traditionally frequent the event, but rarely federal officials. The congressman, who previously attended as a state representative and senator, emphasized that states created the federal government, not vice versa, estimating current federal control encompasses “80% of everything,” leaving states with just 20% authority over their affairs.
Healthcare emerged as a central theme in Kennedy’s critique of federal oversight. Drawing from his experience as a family physician and former state legislator, he detailed Utah’s frustrated attempts to innovate within the Medicaid system. “As a state, we have wanted over and over to innovate in the case of health care delivery so that we can actually serve our people the way they should be,” Kennedy explained, describing repeated rejections of state initiatives.
“The ‘mother, may I’ experience,” Kennedy explained, likening states’ relationship with federal authorities to that of a child seeking parental permission, “is that over and over again in the state legislatures, we’d go to the federal government and say, we want to do this innovation.” He illustrated this frustrating dynamic with Utah’s attempts to improve prenatal care, where the state sought to provide car seats as incentives for Medicaid recipients to see doctors sooner. “And we ask [the federal government], and months later, the federal government comes back and says, no, you can’t do that. You have to keep delivering Medicaid exactly the way it’s always been done,” Kennedy said, his voice reflecting the frustration of dealing with the federal bureaucracy.
The mounting national debt drew particularly sharp criticism from Kennedy, who warned, “We’re thirty-six trillion dollars in debt right now. Our interest payments on our debt are greater than our spending on national defense.” While acknowledging widespread reliance on federal programs – “almost everybody in this room on some levels is receiving some government benefit” – Kennedy emphasized the urgent need for reform, particularly in Medicaid delivery.
Addressing the recent controversy over a federal spending freeze memorandum, he criticized specific expenditures, including “$50 million spent on Gaza for condoms,” which he characterized as “disturbing” while noting it represents mere “couch cushion change in Washington, D.C.”
Kennedy challenged Utah to confront the reality of state sovereignty, pointing to the state’s financial dependence on federal funding. “If we’re going to expect the state to be sovereign, you may have to start looking at 30 percent of our budget that’s coming out of the federal government,” he stated, emphasizing the need for fiscal independence. The congressman acknowledged this would require many innovations and adjustments but argued it was necessary for genuine state autonomy. “If you’re going to be treated like an adult, that’s going to mean the blandishments out of the federal government… they’re not coming the way they used to.”
Environmental regulations came under particular scrutiny, with Kennedy criticizing NEPA [The National Environmental Policy Act] requirements for infrastructure projects. “There are 40-year bridges; we need to replace them, and you need to do a NEPA study,” he explained, arguing that such studies often prevent necessary maintenance “until it collapses.” He added, “NEPA has gone overboard” while maintaining his support for environmental protection in principle.
Kennedy expressed frustration with federal control over increasingly granular aspects of daily life. “That all of our curriculum in our schools, all the food that we should eat, the types of roads that we should drive on, the types of cars that we should, I mean, goodness sake, the types of cars that we should drive and the light bulbs you should put in your fixture, they come out of Washington, D.C. from some bureaucrat,” he said.
The congressman also addressed workplace issues within the federal government, criticizing remote work policies. “We’ve got federal government employees that haven’t been to work in five years,” Kennedy claimed, expressing support for stricter return-to-office policies.
Throughout his remarks, Kennedy emphasized the long-term implications of current policy decisions. “Every decision that I’m making in Washington DC, I’m thinking about 50 to 100 years from now,” he said, pointing to a baby in the crowd as a reminder of future generations.
While acknowledging political differences, Kennedy said, “God bless you if you’re Democrats, that’s fine, I’m a Republican, I want to listen and learn.” He maintained his stance against federal overreach. “Some people believe that it should be the United ‘State’ of America, one big, humongous state, and the central capital is Washington, D.C.,” he said, opposing such centralization.
The congressman concluded by reaffirming his commitment to state sovereignty: “Utah should be bigger, and Washington, D.C. should be small, and when I can make decisions to increase that likelihood, those are the kind of decisions I’m going to make.”
