4 days ago
Stop Posting, and Start Legislating—A Message to the GOP from Gen Z
We remember.
We remember the Paul Ryan years. We remember the lofty promises, the press conferences with tax cut charts, the selfies with Trump in the Roosevelt Room. And we remember the disappointment—because when Republicans controlled the House, Senate, and White House, barely anything bold got done. The border wasn't secured. Obamacare wasn't repealed. The swamp wasn't drained. The only thing that moved quickly was the clock—and opportunity slipped away. The bills stalled. The hearings dragged. The excuses piled up. And in the end, the status quo won. Again.
A Make America Great Again (MAGA) baseball hat supporting President Donald Trump is pictured.
A Make America Great Again (MAGA) baseball hat supporting President Donald Trump is here we are again. President Donald Trump is back in the Oval Office. Conservatives have momentum. The political stars are aligned like they haven't been in years. And yet? The same old D.C. inertia is setting in. Congress is snoozing through a once-in-a-generation opportunity to deliver real change. There's no sense of urgency. No fire. No strategy. Just more performative politics as usual. The difference is: this time, we're paying attention.
Gen Z conservatives didn't get off the couch and show up to the ballot box to watch history repeat itself. We're tired of politicians who post more than they produce. House and Senate Republicans—stop acting like influencers and start acting like lawmakers. You don't get to post selfies with Elon Musk or tweet your appreciation to DOGE if you won't even codify basic spending cuts like the DOGE Act. You can't coast on vibes while the country's on fire. You were sent to legislate, not livestream. You weren't elected to trend on X—you were elected to fix what's broken.
Brilyn Hollyhand and President Donald Trump are pictured at the University of Alabama on May 1, 2025.
Brilyn Hollyhand and President Donald Trump are pictured at the University of Alabama on May 1, 2025.
Photo Courtesy of the White House
Despite facing one of the most pivotal moments in modern political history, Congress still isn't working full weeks. Many lawmakers fly in Tuesday afternoon and are wheels-up by Thursday. Three-day workweeks in the middle of a national crisis? That's not leadership—that's laziness. Meanwhile, families across America are grinding five, six, even seven days a week just to stay afloat. Blue-collar workers don't get to call it a week by Wednesday night. Neither should the people writing our laws. If our representatives can't even put in a full week's work during a make-or-break presidency, maybe they don't deserve the job.
I will never forget my first ever dinner with a U.S. senator. It was my 12th birthday, and we were in D.C., eating downtown after I had recorded some episodes of my podcast on Capitol Hill. He leaned across the table to me and said, "Brilyn, the first thing you're going to learn in this business is that in politics there are work horses and show horses. The work horses bring home the pork for the state that sent them there. The show horses run to the TV cameras. Be a work horse, and only join a cable show when you have an accomplishment to tout." That stuck with me—and I'm reminded of it right now more than ever. Because D.C. is overflowing with show horses. They gallop into every hearing, prance onto every panel, and leave before the hard work begins.
This isn't just about optics. This is about outcomes. Republicans were given a second chance to do what they promised the first time. It's not enough to give speeches about the border. Close it. It's not enough to post videos in front of the IRS. Defund it. It's not enough to warn about weaponized government. Dismantle it. This is the moment to act, not admire the problem. Stop playacting reform—deliver it. The base isn't looking for another firebrand quote; we're looking for a signed bill.
We're not asking for the moon—we're demanding that you work. Get off the couch. Get off cable news. And get legislation on the president's desk. Defund the weaponized bureaucracy. Close the border. Cut the waste. Stop acting like your job is to coast to retirement and start acting like your job is to represent us. If you need inspiration, look outside the Beltway—real Americans are hustling every day without fanfare. Why can't Congress?
Gen Z is watching. And we have receipts. We're the most online, most informed, and most fed-up generation to ever engage in politics. We can see through the talking points. We recognize when someone's all flash and no follow-through. And we're not afraid to call it out—publicly, loudly, and often. You can't gaslight us with headlines. You can't distract us with Instagram posts. We see the floor schedule. We track the votes. We know the difference between working and pretending.
If the GOP wastes another Trump term, it won't just be a policy failure—it'll be a generational betrayal. My generation won't forget. We didn't come this far just to watch you do nothing, again. We showed up because we believe in a different future—one that isn't dictated by lobbyists, legacy institutions, and leadership that loves the camera more than the country.
Clock in, Congress. Or clock out—and make room for someone who will.
Brilyn Hollyhand is an 18-year-old political commentator, chairman of the Republican National Committee's Youth Advisory Council, and bestselling author of One Generation Away: Why Now is the Time to Restore American Freedom. For more of his hot takes you can follow him on socials @BrilynHollyhand or visit
The views expressed in this article are the writer's own.
