President Donald Trump has made it very clear: Americans can be excited about Christmas again.

His policies are feverishly working to fight inflation, which has been a stubborn problem to address, skyrocketing under former President Joe Biden’s stewardship.

He’s making the world safer. Look no further than the ceasefire he has managed to pull off in Gaza and help work towards peace for the Jewish and Palestinian people. He has also sought to end persistent fighting across Africa and Asia.

And here at home, he is seeking common sense deals that make America greater and stronger. Lowering prescription drug costs, bringing investment back into the United States, and fighting to rebalance trade deals that have long put American companies at a disadvantage.

As Americans pull boxes from the attic, string lights, and plan to give their kids a Christmas they’ll remember, they can look forward to a merry Christmas season.

There’s one issue to consider, however, and that is higher prices on seasonal décor, many tied to tariffs, which have the potential of turning a joyful season into a budgeting headache.

According to a recent nationwide survey, 84% of Americans say decorations have gotten more expensive and 63% worry that China’s failure to engage at the negotiation table fully will push costs even higher. When you’re stretching a paycheck between heating bills and a tree for the kids, an extra 10 or 20 dollars to deck the halls isn’t minor. It’s the difference between doing Christmas right and doing without.

There’s a conservative, common‑sense fix: targeted tariff relief on Christmas décor. We can keep pressure on bad actors abroad while easing pressure at home: around the kitchen table, under the tree, and at the checkout line. A timely holiday exemption would honor both our economic interests and our family priorities.

Trump understands this balance. During his last presidency, he delayed certain tariffs ahead of the holidays so American families wouldn’t feel the squeeze at Christmastime. That was smart, pro‑family leadership and it worked. We need him to save Christmas again this year and institute tariff relief on seasonal décor.

Some will worry about “mixed signals” or “policy complexity.” But there’s a clear difference between a narrow holiday exemption and a broader retreat. We can do both: defend American workers, push back on unfair practices abroad, and still give families a little breathing room during the season of giving. Christmas is the right moment to show that balance.

Let’s not make the most cherished season of the year more costly. Christmas should be about family, redemption, and generosity, not sticker shock. As the survey mentioned earlier reminds us, Americans treasure classics like “A Christmas Story,” “Home Alone,” “Elf,” and “It’s a Wonderful Life”… stories of resilience, joy, and community. Those values are worth protecting and highlighting this time of year.

I am confident that Trump agrees. We saw him save Christmas in 2019. Rolling back the tariffs on Christmas décor with a targeted holiday can save Christmas by making it more affordable. Turn the lights on, not the prices up.

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Debbie Dooley is a prominent Georgia-based conservative activist and one of the founders of the Tea Party movement.

A measure aimed at incentivizing private large-scale landowners to set aside conservation lands has cleared its first Committee stop, the Intergovernmental Affairs Subcommittee, with one minor amendment.

Rep. Lauren Melo’s measure (HB 299) aims to encourage Florida’s largest private landowners to serve as long-term stewards of both the natural and built environments. It would establish “Blue Ribbon” projects for landowners who control or own at least 10,000 contiguous acres. The measures would require participating landowners to conserve at least 60% of the property.

The adopted amendment to the House bill adds language granting easements to the Rural and Family Lands Protection Program through the Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services and similar government entities to the definition of “reserve area,” the space that would be conserved under the program.

The bill would allow landowners to bypass the usual local government approval processes typically undertaken for development projects. However, landowners would still need approval from local governments based on compliance with applicable statutes, including development orders and concurrency requirements.

The stated Blue Ribbon project goals are to protect wildlife and natural areas; limit urban sprawl; provide a range of housing options, including missing middle and affordable housing; create quality communities designed to reduce vehicle trips and promote multiple mobility options; and enhance local economic development objectives and job creation.

The proposal is driven by a desire to implement smart growth strategies, ensuring growth occurs only where it can be supported. The proposal requires phased planning for water, wastewater, transportation, schools and utilities.

It also emphasizes sustainability beyond conservation lands by ensuring that new development supports population density in compact, multi-mobility-focused communities.

The measure also seeks to ensure the state is a good steward of taxpayer dollars by allowing conservation lands to be secured without public dollars.

“HB 299 creates a framework that secures large-scale private land conservation for the long term — without requiring state purchase or taxpayer subsidies,” Melo previously told Florida Politics of the bill.

Sen. Stan McClain is sponsoring an identical bill (SB 354) in the upper chamber. It has not yet been heard in Committee. The House version has two more Committee stops: Commerce and State Affairs.

Days after lawmakers greenlit Republican Rep. Fabián Basabe’s request for a sweeping audit of Miami Beach’s governance, local officials are preparing to denounce what they describe as “false, misleading, and unsubstantiated public claims” he’s made about the city and its leaders.

In a new resolution filed for the panel’s Dec. 17 meeting, Mayor Steven Meiner and Commissioners Tanya Bhatt, Laura Dominguez and Alex Fernadnez assert that the city operates with “transparency, ethical governance, responsible public communication, and evidence-based oversight.”

But for years, the resolution says, Basabe has repeatedly undermined public trust by publicly accusing the city of corruption, mismanagement, favoritism, improper contracting and unethical behavior — none of which, the item says, has been backed by evidence.

The resolution highlights Basabe’s initial request in October for an audit of Miami Beach, which, among other things, raised concerns of “financial mismanagement, procurement irregularities,” “inflated contracts, diversion of funds, and questionable budget allocations.”

Basabe has yet to provide substantiation for any of those claims, according to the resolution, which also cites Basabe’s amplification of social media claims alleging that Commissioners are controlled by insiders or engaged in improper dealings, calling those assertions “completely without evidence.”

Similarly, the item says Basabe’s criticism of Miami Beach’s homelessness ordinance has been “factually and legally baseless,” contradicting census data from the Miami-Dade Homeless Trust showing homelessness at “historic lows.” His claims regarding misuse of voter-approved general obligation bond funds are also “categorically false,” according to the resolution.

The Miami Beach Commission is a seven-member body, meaning that if Meiner, Bhatt, Dominguez and Fernandez all vote for the measure they sponsored, it will pass. Commissioner Joseph Magazine, who was traveling when contacted Thursday, said he’d heard the gist of the resolution but won’t decide whether he’ll be supportive until he reads it.

Commissioner David Suarez, who this year lodged accusations against Dominguez similar to those Basabe intimated, responded to a query from Florida Politics about the issue, but did not say whether he’d support or oppose the resolution.

Commissioner-elect Monica Matteo-Salinas, a former Fernandez staffer who is to be sworn in Dec. 15, did not immediately respond.

Meiner, Magazine and Suarez have no party affiliation. Bhatt, Dominguez, Fernandez and Matteo-Salinas are Democrats.

Senators and Representatives in the Joint Legislative Auditing Committee voted unanimously on Monday to direct Florida Auditor General Sherill Norman to examine Miami Beach’s operations.

Norman will now set the scope of the review, and auditors will coordinate with the city in the coming weeks to begin document requests and on-site work. A final report is expected roughly one year after the audit formally begins.

In a lengthy statement, Basabe accused the resolution’s sponsors of “trying to turn a basic oversight measure into a political fight,” noting that the measure was placed on the Commission’s consent agenda, “where it can be passed in a batch without discussion unless a Commissioner pulls it.”

“This alone tells you how uncomfortable they are with transparency. Challenging an independent audit is never in the best interest of residents, and trying to bury a political attack inside a procedural shortcut should concern anyone who cares about honest government,” he said.

“It is defensive and calculated to serve as a shield to their calculated ecosystem of donors, lobbyists and contract-holders who rely on secrecy and confusion to operate. Residents deserve clarity, clean bookkeeping and honest government. They also deserve leaders willing to collaborate in good faith.”

This isn’t the first time Basabe has sought potentially punitive action against local officials in cities he represents. In August, he successfully pushed for Bay Harbor to fire its Town Attorney, Democratic Miami-Dade School Board member Joe Geller. The action, effectuated by a 6-1 Town Council vote, prompted one of Geller’s law firm partners to opine that the number of municipalities Basabe has scrutinized “probably correlates to the number of political enemies he has.”

Fernandez said in a brief phone interview that he welcomes the audit, noting that the city operates at a surplus, has reduced its millage rate in recent years, and enjoys strong bond ratings. Miami Beach also has an independent Inspector General who regularly checks the city’s books for waste and abuse, Fernandez said before accusing Basabe of both.

“We have a public official that is lying to his colleagues about one of his cities, and now we have public resources being dedicated to looking into falsehoods,” he said. “Everything that he has alleged is false and misleading, and now it’s leading to an audit that wastes taxpayers’ money.”

Fernandez added that Basabe may have also engaged in a “criminal misuse of public office” by including his official Florida House letterhead in communications accusing him and Dominguez of wrongdoing and calling for candidates to challenge them.

In one letter addressed to “the Residents of Miami Beach,” he asked, “WILL ANYONE RUN AGAINST FERNANDEZ OR DOMINGUEZ? Step up to and help to save our city!” In another that did not include their names, the lawmaker wrote, “If you vote for any of these incumbents, you’re endorsing deceit and rewarding incompetence.”

Florida Statute 104.31 provides that a public official may not use their authority or influence “for the purpose of interfering with an election or nomination of office or coercing or influencing another person’s vote or affecting the result thereof.”

Miami Beach resident Jo Manning cited that statute and others in September ethics complaints she filed against Suarez, who used the city’s seal and letterhead in communications aimed at defeating Dominguez in the city’s November election.

Fernandez won re-election last month with a record-breaking 84% of the vote, while Dominguez took 61% of the vote to defeat a Republican challenger that Suarez backed.