The platform of the

Republican Party of the United States The Republican Party, also known as the Grand Old Party (GOP), is a right-wing political party in the United States. One of the two major parties, it emerged as the main rival of the then-dominant Democratic Party in the 1850s, and the tw ...

has historically been based on

American conservatism Conservatism in the United States is one of two major political ideologies in the United States, with the other being liberalism. Traditional American conservatism is characterized by a belief in individualism, traditionalism, capitalism, ...

, contrasting with the modern liberalism of the Democratic Party. The positions of the Republican Party have evolved over time. Until recently, the party's

fiscal conservatism In American political theory, fiscal conservatism or economic conservatism is a political and economic philosophy regarding fiscal policy and fiscal responsibility with an ideological basis in capitalism, individualism, limited government, ...

included support for lower taxes, gun rights, government conservatism,

free market In economics, a free market is an economic market (economics), system in which the prices of goods and services are determined by supply and demand expressed by sellers and buyers. Such markets, as modeled, operate without the intervention of ...

capitalism Capitalism is an economic system based on the private ownership of the means of production and their use for the purpose of obtaining profit. This socioeconomic system has developed historically through several stages and is defined by ...

free trade Free trade is a trade policy that does not restrict imports or exports. In government, free trade is predominantly advocated by political parties that hold Economic liberalism, economically liberal positions, while economic nationalist politica ...

deregulation Deregulation is the process of removing or reducing state regulations, typically in the economic sphere. It is the repeal of governmental regulation of the economy. It became common in advanced industrial economies in the 1970s and 1980s, as a ...

of corporations, and restrictions on

labor unions A trade union (British English) or labor union (American English), often simply referred to as a union, is an organization of workers whose purpose is to maintain or improve the conditions of their employment, such as attaining better wages ...

. However, starting under the

first presidency of Donald Trump Donald Trump's first tenure as the president of the United States began on January 20, 2017, when Trump First inauguration of Donald Trump, was inaugurated as the List of presidents of the United States, 45th president, and ended on January ...

and dramatically accelerating in the

second presidency of Donald Trump Donald Trump's second and current tenure as the president of the United States began upon Second inauguration of Donald Trump, his inauguration as the List of presidents of the United States, 47th president on January 20, 2025. On his first ...

, there has been a major realignment towards

protectionism Protectionism, sometimes referred to as trade protectionism, is the economic policy of restricting imports from other countries through methods such as tariffs on imported goods, import quotas, and a variety of other government regulations ...

through the imposition of large-scale tariffs on the U.S. import of goods from countries around the world. The party's

social conservatism Social conservatism is a political philosophy and a variety of conservatism which places emphasis on Tradition#In political and religious discourse, traditional social structures over Cultural pluralism, social pluralism. Social conservatives ...

includes support for

gun rights The right to keep and bear arms (often referred to as the right to bear arms) is a legal right for people to possess weapons (arms) for the preservation of life, liberty, and property. The purpose of gun rights is for self-defense, as well as ...

outlined in the

Second Amendment The second (symbol: s) is a unit of time derived from the division of the day first into 24 hours, then to 60 minutes, and finally to 60 seconds each (24 × 60 × 60 = 86400). The current and formal definition in the International System of Un ...

, the

death penalty Capital punishment, also known as the death penalty and formerly called judicial homicide, is the state-sanctioned killing of a person as punishment for actual or supposed misconduct. The sentence ordering that an offender be punished in s ...

, and other

traditional values Traditionalist conservatism, often known as classical conservatism, is a political and social philosophy that emphasizes the importance of transcendent moral principles, manifested through certain posited natural laws to which it is claimed ...

, often with a

Christian A Christian () is a person who follows or adheres to Christianity, a Monotheism, monotheistic Abrahamic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus in Christianity, Jesus Christ. Christians form the largest religious community in the wo ...

foundation, including restrictions on abortion.Paul Gottfried, ''Conservatism in America: Making Sense of the American Right'', p. 9, "Postwar conservatives set about creating their own synthesis of free-market capitalism, Judeo-Christian morality, and the global struggle against Communism." (2009); Gottfried, ''Theologies and moral concern'' (1995) p. 12 In foreign policy, Republicans usually favor increased

military spending A military budget (or military expenditure), also known as a defense budget, is the amount of financial resources dedicated by a state to raising and maintaining an armed forces or other methods essential for defense purposes. Financing militar ...

, strong

national defense National security, or national defence (national defense in American English), is the security and defence of a sovereign state, including its citizens, economy, and institutions, which is regarded as a duty of government. Originally conceived ...

, and

unilateral __NOTOC__ Unilateralism is any doctrine or agenda that supports one-sided action. Such action may be in disregard for other parties, or as an expression of a commitment toward a direction which other parties may find disagreeable. As a word, ''un ...

action. Other Republican positions include opposition to

illegal immigration Illegal immigration is the migration of people into a country in violation of that country's immigration laws, or the continuous residence in a country without the legal right to do so. Illegal immigration tends to be financially upward, wi ...

drug legalization Drug liberalization is a drug policy process of decriminalizing, legalizing, or repealing laws that prohibit the production, possession, sale, or use of prohibited drugs. Variations of drug liberalization include drug legalization, drug releg ...

, and

affirmative action Affirmative action (also sometimes called reservations, alternative access, positive discrimination or positive action in various countries' laws and policies) refers to a set of policies and practices within a government or organization seeking ...

, as well as support for school choice.

Economic issues

The Republican Party since the 1920s has adhered to an ideology of

. Republicans strongly believe that

s and individual achievement are the primary factors behind economic prosperity. To this end, they historically advocated in favor of

laissez-faire ''Laissez-faire'' ( , from , ) is a type of economic system in which transactions between private groups of people are free from any form of economic interventionism (such as subsidies or regulations). As a system of thought, ''laissez-faire'' ...

economics,

limited government In political philosophy, limited government is the concept of a government limited in power. It is a key concept in the history of liberalism.Amy Gutmann, "How Limited Is Liberal Government" in Liberalism Without Illusions: Essays on Liberal ...

s and

tax cut A tax cut typically represents a decrease in the amount of money taken from taxpayers to go towards government revenue. This decreases the revenue of the government and increases the disposable income of taxpayers. Tax rate cuts usually refer ...

s, reduced

government spending Government spending or expenditure includes all government consumption, investment, and transfer payments. In national income accounting, the acquisition by governments of goods and services for current use, to directly satisfy the individual or ...

privatization Privatization (rendered privatisation in British English) can mean several different things, most commonly referring to moving something from the public sector into the private sector. It is also sometimes used as a synonym for deregulation w ...

, and the reduction of government run welfare programs in favor of private-sector nonprofits and encouraging personal responsibility. However, beginning with the

, some Republicans have switched their support of free trade to

trade protectionism Protectionism, sometimes referred to as trade protectionism, is the economic policy of restricting imports from other countries through methods such as tariffs on imported goods, import quotas, and a variety of other government regulations. ...

in the lead-up to the imposition of nearly global tariffs in 2025 during the

. Historically, the party always had strong bases in the local business community, as well as the national Big Business corporations that emerged in the

Gilded Age In History of the United States, United States history, the Gilded Age is the period from about the late 1870s to the late 1890s, which occurred between the Reconstruction era and the Progressive Era. It was named by 1920s historians after Mar ...

after the Civil War. That has been changing in the 21st century, as much of Big Business has moved left.

Ross Douthat Ross Gregory Douthat ( ; born November 28, 1979) is a conservative American author and ''New York Times'' columnist. He was a senior editor of '' The Atlantic''. He has written on religion, politics, and society. Early life and education Ross Gr ...

explains the shift:

The Republican Party in the Trump era remained a mostly pro-business party in its policies but its constituencies and rhetoric have tilted more working class and populist, with many Romney Republicans drifting into the Democratic coalition....much of corporate America has swung culturally into liberalism’s camp. That process was well underway a decade ago, but it’s been accelerated by anti-Trump backlash, the more left-leaning commitments of big business’s younger customers and (especially) younger employees, and the relative ease with which the radical-sounding language of identity politics can be assimilated to corporate management techniques. As a consequence, today’s G.O.P. is most clearly now the party of local capitalism — the small-business gentry, the family firms.... Much of the party elite wish to continue doing business with big business as before. But the party’s base regards corporate institutions — especially in Silicon Valley, but extending to more traditional capitalist powers — as cultural enemies, with too much consolidated power and too much interest in pressuring, censoring, and propagandizing against socially conservative views and policy.

Taxes

A leading economic theory advocated by modern Republicans is

supply side economics Supply-side economics is a macroeconomic theory postulating that economic growth can be most effectively fostered by lowering taxes, decreasing regulation, and allowing free trade. According to supply-side economics theory, consumers will ...

. Some fiscal policies influenced by this theory were popularly known as

Reaganomics Reaganomics (; a portmanteau of ''Reagan'' and ''economics'' attributed to Paul Harvey), or Reaganism, were the Neoliberalism, neoliberal economics, economic policies promoted by United States President, U.S. President Ronald Reagan during the ...

, a term popularized during the

Ronald Reagan Ronald Wilson Reagan (February 6, 1911 – June 5, 2004) was an American politician and actor who served as the 40th president of the United States from 1981 to 1989. He was a member of the Republican Party (United States), Republican Party a ...

administration Administration may refer to: Management of organizations * Management, the act of directing people towards accomplishing a goal: the process of dealing with or controlling things or people. ** Administrative assistant, traditionally known as a se ...

. This theory holds that reduced income tax rates increase

GDP Gross domestic product (GDP) is a monetary measure of the total market value of all the final goods and services produced and rendered in a specific time period by a country or countries. GDP is often used to measure the economic performance o ...

growth and thereby generate the same or more revenue for the government from the smaller tax on the extra growth. This belief is reflected, in part, by the party's long-term advocacy of tax cuts. Many Republicans consider the income tax system to be inherently inefficient and oppose graduated tax rates, which they believe are unfairly targeted at those who create jobs and wealth. They also believe private spending is usually more efficient than government spending. Republicans generally oppose the

estate tax International tax law distinguishes between an estate tax and an inheritance tax. An inheritance tax is a tax paid by a person who inherits money or property of a person who has died, whereas an estate tax is a levy on the estate (money and pr ...

. Between the 19th century and the early-20th century,

Republicans Republican can refer to: Political ideology * An advocate of a republic, a type of government that is not a monarchy or dictatorship, and is usually associated with the rule of law. ** Republicanism, the ideology in support of republics or agains ...

favored tariffs to protect and encourage American industry and industrial workers. In 1896, the GOP platform pledged to "renew and emphasize our allegiance to the policy of protection, as the bulwark of American industrial independence, and the foundation of development and prosperity. This true American policy taxes foreign products and encourages home industry. It puts the burden of revenue on foreign goods; it secures the American market for the American producer. It upholds the American standard of wages for the American workingman."

Welfare

The Republican Party opposes government run welfare programs for the poor, believing that it encourages laziness and dependence on the government. They instead advocate personal responsibility and self-reliance to empower citizens to take responsibility for their own lives. Republicans introduced and strongly supported the welfare reform of 1996, which was signed into law by Democratic President

Bill Clinton William Jefferson Clinton (né Blythe III; born August 19, 1946) is an American politician and lawyer who was the 42nd president of the United States from 1993 to 2001. A member of the Democratic Party (United States), Democratic Party, ...

and limited eligibility for welfare for thousands of American households.

Education

Most Republicans support

school choice School choice is a term for education options that allow students and families to select alternatives to traditional public schools. School choice options include scholarship tax credit programs, open enrollment laws (which allow students to att ...

through

charter school A charter school is a school that receives government funding but operates independently of the established state school system in which it is located. It is independent in the sense that it operates according to the basic principle of autono ...

s and

school voucher A school voucher, also called an education voucher in a voucher system, is a certificate of government funding for students at schools chosen by themselves or their parents. Funding is usually for a particular year, term, or semester. In some cou ...

s for private schools; many have denounced the performance of the public school system and teachers unions. The party has insisted on a system of greater accountability for public schools, most prominently in recent years with the

No Child Left Behind Act The No Child Left Behind Act of 2001 (NCLB) was a 2002 United States Act of Congress promoted by the presidential administration of George W. Bush. It reauthorized the Elementary and Secondary Education Act and included Title I provisio ...

of 2001. The act received bipartisan support in Congress and was signed by President

George W. Bush George Walker Bush (born July 6, 1946) is an American politician and businessman who was the 43rd president of the United States from 2001 to 2009. A member of the Bush family and the Republican Party (United States), Republican Party, he i ...

. Many Republicans, however, opposed the creation of the

United States Department of Education The United States Department of Education is a cabinet-level department of the United States government, originating in 1980. The department began operating on May 4, 1980, having been created after the Department of Health, Education, and ...

when it was initially created in 1979.

Health care

The party opposes a government-run

single-payer health care Single-payer healthcare is a type of universal healthcare, in which the costs of essential healthcare for all residents are covered by a single public system (hence "single-payer"). Single-payer systems may contract for healthcare services from pr ...

system, claiming it constitutes

socialized medicine Socialized medicine is a term used in the United States to describe and discuss systems of universal health care—medical and hospital care for all by means of government regulation of health care and subsidies derived from taxation. Because of ...

. It favors a personal or employer-based system of insurance supplemented by Medicare for the elderly and

Medicaid Medicaid is a government program in the United States that provides health insurance for adults and children with limited income and resources. The program is partially funded and primarily managed by U.S. state, state governments, which also h ...

which covers approximately 40% of the poor. In 2003, Congress passed the

Medicare Modernization Act The Medicare Prescription Drug, Improvement, and Modernization Act, also called the Medicare Modernization Act or MMA, is a federal law of the United States, enacted in 2003. It produced the largest overhaul of Medicare in the public health pro ...

with bipartisan support creating

Medicare Part D Medicare (United States), Medicare Part D, also called the Medicare prescription drug benefit, is an optional United States federal-government program to help Medicare beneficiaries pay for self-administered prescription drugs. Part D was enact ...

covering prescription drugs. It was signed into law by President

. Republicans have a mixed record of supporting

Social Security Welfare spending is a type of government support intended to ensure that members of a society can meet basic human needs such as food and shelter. Social security may either be synonymous with welfare, or refer specifically to social insurance ...

, Medicare, and Medicaid. Congressional Republicans and the Bush administration supported to reduce Medicaid's growth rate; however, congressional Republicans expanded Medicare, supporting a new drug plan for seniors starting in 2006.

House A house is a single-unit residential building. It may range in complexity from a rudimentary hut to a complex structure of wood, masonry, concrete or other material, outfitted with plumbing, electrical, and heating, ventilation, and air c ...

Republicans overwhelmingly voted for a proposal known as

The Path to Prosperity ''The Path to Prosperity: Restoring America's Promise'' was the Republican Party (United States), Republican Party's budget proposal for the federal government of the United States in the fiscal year 2012. It was succeeded in March 2012 by "The ...

and for major changes to Medicare, Medicaid, and the Affordable Care Act. Many Republicans support increased health insurance portability, laws promoting coverage of pre-existing medical conditions, a cap on malpractice lawsuits, implementing a streamlined

electronic medical records An electronic health record (EHR) is the systematized collection of electronically stored patient and population health information in a digital format. These records can be shared across different health care settings. Records are shared thro ...

system, an emphasis on preventative care rather than emergency room care, and tax benefits aimed to make health insurance more affordable for the uninsured and to promote universal access. They generally oppose government funding for elective abortions. By 2020, Republican officials have increasingly adopted

anti-vaccine activism Anti-vaccine activism, which collectively constitutes the "anti-vax" movement, is a set of organized activities expressing opposition to vaccination, and these collaborating networks have often sought to increase vaccine hesitancy by dissem ...

and policy.

Labor unions

Since the 1920s Republicans have generally been opposed to

, which comprise a major component of the Democratic

New Deal coalition The New Deal coalition was an American political coalition that supported the Democratic Party beginning in 1932. The coalition is named after President Franklin D. Roosevelt's New Deal programs, and the follow-up Democratic presidents. It was ...

. Although unions have lost membership in the private sector since the 1970s, they have gained among public sector unions (such as school teachers). Republicans at the state level generally support various

right to work The right to work is the concept that people have a human right to work, or to engage in productive employment, and should not be prevented from doing so. The right to work, enshrined in the United Nations 1948 Universal Declaration of Human Ri ...

laws that weaken unions. At the national level, Republicans supported the

Taft–Hartley Act The Labor Management Relations Act, 1947, better known as the Taft–Hartley Act, is a Law of the United States, United States federal law that restricts the activities and power of trade union, labor unions. It was enacted by the 80th United S ...

of 1947, which gives workers the right not to participate in unions, as opposed to a

closed shop A pre-entry closed shop (or simply closed shop) is a form of union security agreement under which the employer agrees to hire union members only, and employees must remain members of the union at all times to remain employed. This is different fr ...

, which prohibits workers from choosing not to join unions in workplaces. Most Republicans are opposed to increases in the

minimum wage A minimum wage is the lowest remuneration that employers can legally pay their employees—the price floor below which employees may not sell their labor. List of countries by minimum wage, Most countries had introduced minimum wage legislation b ...

, believing that such increases hurt many businesses by forcing them to cut jobs and services, export jobs overseas, and raise the prices of goods to compensate for the decrease in profit. As Taylor Dark has emphasized in his analysis of the enduring alliance between labor unions and the Democrats, the unions' "most virulent opponents have moved into the Republican Party". Republicans elected with

Tea Party A tea party is a social gathering event, typically held in the afternoon, featuring the consumption of tea and light refreshments. Social tea drinking rituals are observed in many cultures worldwide, both historically and in the present day. A ...

support in 2010, most notably Governor Scott Walker of Wisconsin, have launched major efforts against

public sector unions A public-sector trade union (or public-sector labor union) is a trade union which primarily represents the interests of employees within public sector or governmental organizations. History and recent developments Costa Rica In the late 1800s, ...

due in part to state government

pension A pension (; ) is a fund into which amounts are paid regularly during an individual's working career, and from which periodic payments are made to support the person's retirement from work. A pension may be either a " defined benefit plan", wh ...

obligations along with the allegation that the unions are too powerful. Walker was challenged by a coalition of unions and Democrats, but beat back a recall effort and was reelected in 2014.

Environment

Historically, more progressive leaders in the Republican party supported

environmental protection Environmental protection, or environment protection, refers to the taking of measures to protecting the natural environment, prevent pollution and maintain ecological balance. Action may be taken by individuals, advocacy groups and governments. ...

. For example, Republican President

Theodore Roosevelt Theodore Roosevelt Jr. (October 27, 1858 – January 6, 1919), also known as Teddy or T.R., was the 26th president of the United States, serving from 1901 to 1909. Roosevelt previously was involved in New York (state), New York politics, incl ...

was a prominent conservationist whose policies eventually led to the creation of the modern

National Park Service The National Park Service (NPS) is an List of federal agencies in the United States, agency of the Federal government of the United States, United States federal government, within the US Department of the Interior. The service manages all List ...

. Republican President

Richard Nixon Richard Milhous Nixon (January 9, 1913April 22, 1994) was the 37th president of the United States, serving from 1969 until Resignation of Richard Nixon, his resignation in 1974. A member of the Republican Party (United States), Republican ...

was responsible for establishing the

Environmental Protection Agency Environmental Protection Agency may refer to the following government organizations: * Environmental Protection Agency (Queensland), Australia * Environmental Protection Agency (Ghana) * Environmental Protection Agency (Ireland) * Environmenta ...

in 1970. In 2006,

Arnold Schwarzenegger Arnold Alois Schwarzenegger (born July30, 1947) is an Austrian and American actor, businessman, former politician, and former professional bodybuilder, known for his roles in high-profile action films. Governorship of Arnold Schwarzenegger, ...

, then the Republican

Governor of California The governor of California is the head of government of the U.S. state of California. The Governor (United States), governor is the commander-in-chief of the California National Guard and the California State Guard. Established in the Constit ...

, signed into law a set of carbon emission regulations that were the country's first cap on

greenhouse gases Greenhouse gases (GHGs) are the gases in the atmosphere that raise the surface temperature of planets such as the Earth. Unlike other gases, greenhouse gases absorb the radiations that a planet emits, resulting in the greenhouse effect. T ...

, and included vehicle emissions standards higher than those of the Federal Government. These regulations were opposed by the Bush administration. President

publicly opposed ratification of the

Kyoto Protocol The was an international treaty which extended the 1992 United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) that commits state parties to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, based on the scientific consensus that global warming is oc ...

on the claim that they unfairly targeted Western industrialized nations such as the United States while favoring major polluters such as

China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. With population of China, a population exceeding 1.4 billion, it is the list of countries by population (United Nations), second-most populous country after ...

and

India India, officially the Republic of India, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, seventh-largest country by area; the List of countries by population (United Nations), most populous country since ...

. In 2000, the Republican Party adopted as part of its platform support for the development of market-based solutions to environmental problems. According to the platform, "economic prosperity and environmental protection must advance together, environmental regulations should be based on science, the government's role should be to provide market-based incentives to develop the technologies to meet environmental standards, we should ensure that environmental policy meets the needs of localities, and environmental policy should focus on achieving results processes." The Bush administration, along with several of the candidates that sought the Republican presidential nomination in 2008, supported increased Federal investment into the development of clean

alternative fuel Alternative fuels, also known as non-conventional and advanced fuels, are fuels derived from sources other than petroleum. Alternative fuels include gaseous fossil fuels like propane, natural gas, methane, and ammonia; biofuels like biodies ...

s, increased

nuclear power Nuclear power is the use of nuclear reactions to produce electricity. Nuclear power can be obtained from nuclear fission, nuclear decay and nuclear fusion reactions. Presently, the vast majority of electricity from nuclear power is produced by ...

, as well as fuels such as

ethanol Ethanol (also called ethyl alcohol, grain alcohol, drinking alcohol, or simply alcohol) is an organic compound with the chemical formula . It is an Alcohol (chemistry), alcohol, with its formula also written as , or EtOH, where Et is the ps ...

, as a way of helping the U.S. achieve energy independence, as opposed to supporting less use of carbon dioxide-producing methods of generating energy. The Republican party rejects

cap-and-trade Carbon emission trading (also called carbon market, emission trading scheme (ETS) or cap and trade) is a type of emissions trading scheme designed for carbon dioxide (CO2) and other greenhouse gases (GHGs). A form of carbon pricing, its purpose ...

policy. Some Republicans support increased

oil drilling An oil well is a drillhole boring (earth), boring in Earth that is designed to bring petroleum oil hydrocarbons to the surface. Usually some natural gas is released as associated petroleum gas along with the oil. A well that is designed to produ ...

in protected areas such as the

Arctic National Wildlife Refuge The Arctic National Wildlife Refuge (ANWR, pronounced as “''ANN-warr''”) or Arctic Refuge is a national wildlife refuge in northeastern Alaska, United States, on traditional Inupiaq, Iñupiaq and Gwichʼin, Gwich'in lands. The refuge is of ...

, a position that has drawn sharp criticism from some environmental activists. Republican voters are divided over the human causes of climate change and global warming. Since 2008, many members of the Republican Party have been criticized for being anti-environmentalist and promoting

climate change denial Climate change denial (also global warming denial) is a form of science denial characterized by rejecting, refusing to acknowledge, disputing, or fighting the scientific consensus on climate change. Those promoting denial commonly use rhetor ...

in opposition to the general

scientific consensus Scientific consensus is the generally held judgment, position, and opinion of the majority or the supermajority of scientists in a particular field of study at any particular time. Consensus is achieved through scholarly communication at confer ...

, making them unique even among other worldwide conservative parties. Younger Republicans express higher levels of concern about climate change. When the College Republican National Committee proposed an anti-carbon tax resolution at its 2019 annual meeting, 25 presidents of statewide college Republican groups responded by forming "an advocacy organization to lobby Congress for conservative solutions to the climate crisis."

Green conservatism Green conservatism is a combination of conservatism with environmentalism. Environmental concern has been voiced by both conservative politicians and philosophers throughout the history of conservatism. The distinguishing feature of green conse ...

manifests itself as a movement in groups such as

ConservAmerica ConservAmerica, formerly known as Republicans for Environmental Protection (REP), is a national nonprofit organization formed in 1995. REP's stated purpose is to strengthen the Republican Party's stance on environmental issues and support effor ...

, which seeks to strengthen the Republican Party's stance on environmental issues and support efforts to conserve natural resources and protect human and environmental health. Nevertheless, because it requires two-thirds of the Senate to agree, the US is the only UN member state which has not ratified the

Convention on Biological Diversity The Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD), known informally as the Biodiversity Convention, is a multilateral treaty. The Convention has three main goals: the conservation of biological diversity (or biodiversity); the sustainable use of its ...

Social issues

The Republican Party has generally associated with

socially conservative Social conservatism is a political philosophy and a variety of conservatism which places emphasis on traditional social structures over social pluralism. Social conservatives organize in favor of duty, traditional values and social institu ...

policies, although it does have dissenting centrist and

libertarian Libertarianism (from ; or from ) is a political philosophy that holds freedom, personal sovereignty, and liberty as primary values. Many libertarians believe that the concept of freedom is in accord with the Non-Aggression Principle, according ...

factions. Social conservatives advocate for laws that uphold traditional

family values Family values, sometimes referred to as familial values, are traditional or cultural values that pertain to the family's structure, function, roles, beliefs, attitudes, and ideals. Additionally, the concept of family values may be understood ...

, often rooted in

Christianity Christianity is an Abrahamic monotheistic religion, which states that Jesus in Christianity, Jesus is the Son of God (Christianity), Son of God and Resurrection of Jesus, rose from the dead after his Crucifixion of Jesus, crucifixion, whose ...

. Such laws include opposition to

abortion Abortion is the early termination of a pregnancy by removal or expulsion of an embryo or fetus. Abortions that occur without intervention are known as miscarriages or "spontaneous abortions", and occur in roughly 30–40% of all pregnan ...

same-sex marriage Same-sex marriage, also known as gay marriage, is the marriage of two people of the same legal Legal sex and gender, sex. marriage between same-sex couples is legally performed and recognized in 38 countries, with a total population of 1.5 ...

transgender rights The legal status of transgender people varies greatly around the world. Some countries have enacted laws protecting the rights of transgender individuals, but others have criminalized their gender identity or expression. In many cases, transg ...

comprehensive sex education Comprehensive sex education (CSE) is an instructional approach aimed at providing individuals, particularly young people, with accurate, holistic information about sexuality, relationships, and reproductive health. Unlike abstinence-only education, ...

, and

recreational drug use Recreational drug use is the use of one or more psychoactive drugs to induce an altered state of consciousness, either for pleasure or for some other casual purpose or pastime. When a psychoactive drug enters the user's body, it induces an Sub ...

. Most conservative Republicans also oppose

gun control Gun control, or firearms regulation, is the set of laws or policies that regulate the manufacture, sale, transfer, possession, modification, or use of firearms and ammunition by civilians. Most countries allow civilians to own firearms, bu ...

critical race theory Critical race theory (CRT) is an academic field focused on the relationships between Social constructionism, social conceptions of Race and ethnicity in the United States census, race and ethnicity, Law in the United States, social and political ...

, and

Abortion and embryonic stem cell research

A majority of the party's national and state candidates are at the very least moderately

anti-abortion Anti-abortion movements, also self-styled as pro-life movements, are involved in the abortion debate advocating against the practice of abortion and its Abortion by country, legality. Many anti-abortion movements began as countermovements in r ...

and oppose elective

on religious or moral grounds. However, many hold exceptions in the case of

rape Rape is a type of sexual assault involving sexual intercourse, or other forms of sexual penetration, carried out against a person without consent. The act may be carried out by physical force, coercion, abuse of authority, or against a person ...

incest Incest ( ) is sexual intercourse, sex between kinship, close relatives, for example a brother, sister, or parent. This typically includes sexual activity between people in consanguinity (blood relations), and sometimes those related by lineag ...

or the mother's life being at risk while others may accept early-stage abortions (firmly opposing "partial-birth" abortion still). When Congress voted on the

Partial-Birth Abortion Ban Act The Partial-Birth Abortion Ban Act of 2003 (, ,
''(HTML)''; *

in 2003, congressional Republicans voted overwhelmingly to support the ban. Recently, many Republicans have shifted their position and now hold exceptions only if the mother's life is at risk. Although Republicans have voted for increases in government funding of scientific research, some members actively oppose the federal funding of

embryonic stem cell Embryonic stem cells (ESCs) are Cell potency#Pluripotency, pluripotent stem cells derived from the inner cell mass of a blastocyst, an early-stage pre-Implantation (human embryo), implantation embryo. Human embryos reach the blastocyst stage 4� ...

research beyond the original lines because it involves the destruction of human

embryo An embryo ( ) is the initial stage of development for a multicellular organism. In organisms that reproduce sexually, embryonic development is the part of the life cycle that begins just after fertilization of the female egg cell by the male sp ...

s, while arguing for applying research money into

adult stem cell Adult stem cells are undifferentiated cells, found throughout the body after development, that multiply by cell division to replenish dying cells and regenerate damaged tissues. Also known as somatic stem cells (from Greek σωματικóς ...

or amniotic stem cell research. The stem cell issue has garnered two vetoes on research funding bills from President George W. Bush, who said the research "crossed a moral boundary". The text of the 2012 party platform specifically stated that "the unborn child has a fundamental individual right to life which cannot be infringed." It also opposed using public revenues to promote abortions, to perform them, or to fund organizations that do either such things. Not all Republicans support abortion restrictions and the human life amendment. Though anti-abortion planks have been part of the party platform since 1976, before 1988 there was little difference between Republicans and other voters regarding abortion, and in 2015, 40 percent of Republicans supported legal abortion. Despite their divergence from the party platform, pro-abortion rights Republicans are unlikely to switch parties. Pro-abortion rights ideology has been present in the Republican Party since before the ''

Roe v. Wade ''Roe v. Wade'', 410 U.S. 113 (1973),. was a List of landmark court decisions in the United States, landmark decision of the U.S. Supreme Court in which the Court ruled that the Constitution of the United States protected the right to have an ...

'' decision in 1973, and the pro-abortion rights ideology is still present today. According to some pro-abortion rights Republican groups, the Republican belief in limited government and individualism should extend to social issues, such as abortion rights. Research indicates that supporters of pro-abortion rights Republican organizations are motivated by

libertarianism Libertarianism (from ; or from ) is a political philosophy that holds freedom, personal sovereignty, and liberty as primary values. Many libertarians believe that the concept of freedom is in accord with the Non-Aggression Principle, according t ...

. Supporters of pro-abortion rights organizations may hold less conservative views on abortion, but tend to hold relatively conservative views on other political issues. Support for abortion rights ranges. The 1992 American National Election study asked respondents about their support for the legal rights of abortion. Respondents either believe abortion should only be allowed in cases of rape, incest, and to save the mother's life, abortion should be allowed if there is a "clear need," or that abortion should not be restricted in any way. There are several organizations and Political Action Committees that support pro-abortion rights republican candidates. The most prominent are

Republican Majority for Choice The Republican Majority for Choice (RMC) was a Republican organization in the United States dedicated to preserving legal access to abortion. The group also supported federal funding for all kinds of stem cell research, including embryonic stem ce ...

Republicans for Choice Republicans for Choice is an American political action committee (PAC) composed of members of the United States Republican Party who support abortion rights. History Republicans for Choice was founded in 1989 by conservative fundraiser and acti ...

, and The Wish List. These organizations provide money, endorsements, and training to candidates who support abortion rights.

Republican Main Street Partnership The Republican Main Street Partnership is a nonprofit organization that was founded to raise funds to support politicians in the moderate wing of the Republican Party. As of 2024, the organization seems to be leaning away from its original cent ...

has shown support for pro-abortion rights legislation. The Republican Party's shift to an anti-abortion stance was a gradual change and was not caused by one election or event.

1970s and 1980s

Early abortion laws only allowed the procedure when the woman's life was in danger. At this time many Republicans and Democrats supported less strict abortion laws. Between 1974 and 1978, studies showed that political ideology had a very weak correlation with support for abortion rights. The correlation between political party identification and support for abortion rights was even weaker. Mary Louise Smith, the chairwoman of the

Republican National Committee The Republican National Committee (RNC) is the primary committee of the Republican Party of the United States. Its members are chosen by the state delegations at the national convention every four years. It is responsible for developing and pr ...

from 1974 to 1977, was pro-abortion rights. Justice Harry Blackmun wrote the Supreme Courts decision on ''Roe v. Wade.'' Blackmun had been conservative Justice appointed by President Nixon, who came out against abortion. After ''Roe v. Wade'', though, Blackmun gradually evolved into a liberal. Some say this issue was the symbolic move of Blackmun to becoming a liberal. During his presidency, President Gerald R. Ford took a moderately conservative stance on abortion, despite First Lady

Betty Ford Elizabeth Anne Ford (; formerly Warren; April 8, 1918 – July 8, 2011) was First Lady of the United States from 1974 to 1977, as the wife of President Gerald Ford. As first lady, she was active in social policy, and set a precedent as a politi ...

's urges for him to take a liberal stance on the issue. Ford believed abortions should be allowed in certain circumstances, such as rape and incest, and opposed a human life amendment to the Constitution. After winning the primary, Ford stated he was also unconditionally anti-abortion and fully supported the Republican platform in 1976. Still, Ford later stated that he was pro-abortion rights after he had left office and

was supportive of the decision made by the court in ''Roe v. Wade''. The 1976 Republican Party Platform was the first to include an anti-abortion stance. This came during the same year that the

Hyde Amendment In U.S. politics, the Hyde Amendment is a legislative provision barring the use of federal funds to pay for abortion, except to save the life of the woman, or if the pregnancy arises from incest or rape. Before the Hyde Amendment took effect in ...

was passed.

's run in the primary for the nomination played a role in getting an anti-abortion plank along with some other positions on other issues into the platform. Democratic and Republican Party elites and elected officials became more divided on the issue of abortion in the 1980s. Still, Ronald Reagan ran and won the election in 1980, stating he was against all abortions except for saving the life of the mother. He firmly supported ''Roe v. Wade'' being overturned and a constitutional amendment banning abortion.

Bob Dole Robert Joseph Dole (July 22, 1923 – December 5, 2021) was an American politician and attorney who represented Kansas in the United States Senate from 1969 to 1996. He was the Party leaders of the United States Senate, Republican Leader of th ...

, who ran in the primary for president in 1980, also firmly opposed abortion.

George H. W. Bush George Herbert Walker BushBefore the outcome of the 2000 United States presidential election, he was usually referred to simply as "George Bush" but became more commonly known as "George H. W. Bush", "Bush Senior," "Bush 41," and even "Bush th ...

, who also ran in the primary, was firmly pro-abortion rights. Bush wound up being Reagan's vice presidential running mate and after that, he distanced himself from that issue. It was not until after Republicans in Congress started consistently voting against abortion in the 1980s that polls showed Republican opposition to abortion.

1990 to current

Until 1988, there was little difference in pro-abortion rights attitudes among Democratic and Republican voters. George H.W. Bush entered politics with a reputation as a moderate on social issues. However, during a 1988 presidential debate he stated after some reflection he came to the conclusion abortion was morally wrong and should only be legal for rape, incest, and to save the life of the mother. He chose

Dan Quayle James Danforth Quayle (; born February 4, 1947) is an American retired politician who served as the 44th vice president of the United States from 1989 to 1993 under President George H. W. Bush. A member of the Republican Party (United States), ...

as his running mate, who also opposed abortion. During the 1992 election, President Bush and Vice President Quayle tended to downplay the importance of abortion during the election so they would not risk turning away Republican voters who supported abortion rights. A substantial number of Pro-abortion rights republicans in the 1992 election did not vote for President Bush because of his stance on abortion. Most of these pro-abortion rights Republicans voted for Perot. While President Bush and the Republican Party took an anti-abortion stance in 1992, First Lady Barbara Bush stated that she believed abortion to be a "personal choice." In an interview in 2001, First Lady

Laura Bush Laura Lane Welch Bush (née Welch; born November 4, 1946) is an American educator who was the first lady of the United States from 2001 to 2009 as the wife of George W. Bush, the 43rd president of the United States. Bush was previously the fir ...

stated that she believed ''Roe v. Wade'' should not be overturned and later stated that abortion should remain legal because she believes "it's important for people, for medical reasons and other reasons." George W Bush though stated he was still anti-abortion and while he would be appointing conservative judges abortion would not be used as a litmus test. In 2005, The

Stem Cell Research Enhancement Act Stem Cell Research Enhancement Act was the name of two similar bills that both passed through the United States House of Representatives and Senate, but were both vetoed by President George W. Bush and were not enacted into law. Stem Cell Researc ...

was passed by congress with the help of the

. However, President George W. Bush vetoed this legislation in 2006. After the 2012 election, Senator

John McCain John Sidney McCain III (August 29, 1936 – August 25, 2018) was an American statesman and United States Navy, naval officer who represented the Arizona, state of Arizona in United States Congress, Congress for over 35 years, first as ...

, who is anti-abortion, advised his fellow Republicans to "leave the issue bortionalone." He warned against going beyond stating one's anti-abortion belief and actions could hurt the Republican party with women voters and young voters. Like Bush I & II, Dole, Reagan, and Ford, McCain promised conservative constructionist judges but again stated he would not use abortion as a litmus test.

Mitt Romney Willard Mitt Romney (born March 12, 1947) is an American businessman and retired politician. He served as a United States Senate, United States senator from Utah from 2019 to 2025 and as the 70th governor of Massachusetts from 2003 to 2007 ...

as governor of

Massachusetts Massachusetts ( ; ), officially the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, is a U.S. state, state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It borders the Atlantic Ocean and the Gulf of Maine to its east, Connecticut and Rhode ...

was firmly pro-abortion rights but he became anti-abortion running for president in 2012 and stated the same thing about conservative judges but not using abortion as a litmus test.

Donald Trump Donald John Trump (born June 14, 1946) is an American politician, media personality, and businessman who is the 47th president of the United States. A member of the Republican Party (United States), Republican Party, he served as the 45 ...

has shifted his position on abortion. For decades as a

Democrat Democrat, Democrats, or Democratic may refer to: Politics *A proponent of democracy, or democratic government; a form of government involving rule by the people. *A member of a Democratic Party: **Democratic Party (Cyprus) (DCY) **Democratic Part ...

and independent he was firmly pro-abortion rights, but by at least 2011 (when he was considering running for president), Trump often iterated a pro-life stance. Trump said during his 2016 campaign he would appoint pro-life judges to the US Supreme Court and lower courts. He later said he was not allowed to ask a judge for their personal positions on issues, but affirmed he would appoint judges that interpret rather than make law and on abortion they would hopefully see it as a constitutional issue, turning the rulings over to the states and overturning ''Roe v. Wade''. Trump did state he believed in exceptions of rape and incest as well as to saving the life of the mother on his anti-abortion stance.

Affirmative action

Republicans, especially Republican women, are generally against

for women and some minorities, often describing it as a ' quota system', and believing that it is not

meritocratic Meritocracy (''merit'', from Latin , and ''-cracy'', from Ancient Greek 'strength, power') is the notion of a political system in which economic goods or political power are vested in individual people based on ability and talent, rather than ...

and that it is counter-productive socially by only further promoting

discrimination Discrimination is the process of making unfair or prejudicial distinctions between people based on the groups, classes, or other categories to which they belong or are perceived to belong, such as race, gender, age, class, religion, or sex ...

. Many Republicans support race-neutral admissions policies in universities, but support taking into account the socioeconomic status of the student.

Capital punishment

The Republican Party supports strong law and order policies to control crime. The vast majority of Republicans support

capital punishment Capital punishment, also known as the death penalty and formerly called judicial homicide, is the state-sanctioned killing of a person as punishment for actual or supposed misconduct. The sentence (law), sentence ordering that an offender b ...

. Official party platforms have consistently argued that the death penalty is an effective deterrent to crime and ensures safer neighborhoods, citing the rising crime rates in recent decades. Republicans do not view capital punishment as

cruel and unusual punishment Cruel and unusual punishment is a phrase in common law describing punishment that is considered unacceptable due to the suffering, pain, or humiliation it inflicts on the person subjected to the sanction. The precise definition varies by jurisdi ...

nor unconstitutional, therefore opposing any attempts at

criminal justice reform Criminal justice reform is the reform of criminal justice systems. Stated reasons for criminal justice reform include reducing crime statistics, racial profiling, police brutality, overcriminalization, mass incarceration, under-reporting, and ...

aimed at repealing the penalty.

Gun ownership

20210420 Gun control survey by political party - Pew Research

Republicans generally support gun ownership rights and oppose laws regulating guns and other related topic areas such as

bump stock Bump stocks or bump fire stocks are gun stocks that can be used to assist in bump firing, the act of using the recoil of a semi-automatic firearm to fire cartridges in rapid succession. The legality of bump stocks in the United States came u ...

s and large-capacity magazines. However, recently, some moderate Republicans have started to be an exception to this. On the evening of Wednesday, November 28, 2018, President

announced that his administration would be banning bump stocks. Some Republicans support this and some do not, causing some divide within the party.

Drug legalization

Republicans have historically supported the War on Drugs and oppose the legalization of drugs. In recent years, the opposition to the legalization of marijuana is not as strong as it used to be, with some Republicans members of Congress advocating for decriminalization or legalization of marijuana, as well as

in the context of drug crimes.

Immigration

Republicans are divided on how to confront

between a platform that allows for migrant workers and easing citizenship guidelines, and border enforcement-first approach. In general, pro-growth advocates within the Republican Party and it support more immigration, and traditional or populist conservatives oppose it. In 2006, the White House supported and Republican-led Senate passed comprehensive immigration reform that would eventually allow millions of illegal immigrants to become citizens, but the House, also led by Republicans, took an enforcement-first approach, and the bill failed to pass the

conference committee A committee or commission is a body of one or more persons subordinate to a deliberative assembly or other form of organization. A committee may not itself be considered to be a form of assembly or a decision-making body. Usually, an assembly o ...

. Lately, after the defeat in the 2012 presidential elections, and considering the low percent of Latino Americans that voted for Republicans, several Republicans are advocating a friendlier approach to immigrants. Former U.S. Secretary of Commerce Carlos Gutierrez is promoting the creation of a SuperPAC for immigration reform. Proposals calling for systematic reform of the U.S. immigration system such that residents that have come into the U.S. illegally have a pathway to legal citizenship have attracted broad Republican support in some polls. For example, the Public Religion Research Institute found in late 2013 that 60% of Republicans supported the pathway concept, compared to 63% of Americans as a whole. The 2024 party platform called for the mass deportation of all illegal immigrants in the United States, the construction of a border wall along the

Mexico–United States border The international border separating Mexico and the United States extends from the Pacific Ocean in the west to the Gulf of Mexico in the east. The border traverses a variety of terrains, ranging from urban areas to deserts. It is the List of ...

, stricter vetting, and merit-based immigration while opposing sanctuary cities and family-sponsored immigration.

LGBTQ+ issues

The Republican platform, as of to date, is officially opposed to

and other LGBT issues. Groups advocating for LGBT issues inside the party include the

Log Cabin Republicans The Log Cabin Republicans (LCR) is an organization affiliated with the Republican Party which works to educate the LGBT+ community and Republicans about each other. History Log Cabin Republicans was formed in 1977 in California as a rallying ...

, Young Conservatives for the Freedom to Marry, and

College Republicans College Republicans is an umbrella term that describes college and university students who support the Republican Party (United States), Republican Party of the United States. The College Republican National Committee (CRNC) is the oldest campus- ...

. In the aftermath of the

U.S. Supreme Court The Supreme Court of the United States (SCOTUS) is the highest court in the federal judiciary of the United States. It has ultimate appellate jurisdiction over all U.S. federal court cases, and over state court cases that turn on question ...

's ruling in ''

Obergefell v. Hodges ''Obergefell v. Hodges'', ( ), is a landmark decision of the United States Supreme Court which ruled that the fundamental right to marry is guaranteed to same-sex couples by both the Due Process Clause and the Equal Protection Clause of th ...

'' that ended bans on

nationwide, the Republican Party is divided as to whether to accept the ruling or to fight it by measures such as a possible amendment to the

Constitution A constitution is the aggregate of fundamental principles or established precedents that constitute the legal basis of a polity, organization or other type of entity, and commonly determines how that entity is to be governed. When these pri ...

. Individuals such as 2016 presidential candidates

Ted Cruz Rafael Edward Cruz (; born December 22, 1970) is an American politician and attorney serving as the junior United States senator from Texas since 2013. A member of the Republican Party, Cruz was the solicitor general of Texas from 2003 ...

and Scott Walker have supported an amendment to re-expand government and re-ban same-sex marriages, while other Republican figures such as

Jeb Bush John Ellis "Jeb" Bush (born February 11, 1953) is an American politician and businessman who served as the 43rd governor of Florida from 1999 to 2007. A member of the Bush family, Bush political family, he was an unsuccessful candidate for pre ...

(also a 2016 presidential candidate) have disagreed. The 2016 platform, however, condemned the Supreme Court's ruling and defined marriage as "natural marriage, the union of one man and one woman." A November/December 2013

Public Religion Research Institute The Public Religion Research Institute (PRRI) is an American nonprofit, nonpartisan research and education organization that conducts public opinion polls on a variety of topics, specializing in the quantitative and qualitative study of politic ...

poll sponsored by the

Ford Foundation The Ford Foundation is an American private foundation with the stated goal of advancing human welfare. Created in 1936 by Edsel Ford and his father Henry Ford, it was originally funded by a $25,000 (about $550,000 in 2023) gift from Edsel Ford. ...

found that Republicans are divided in their perceptions of their own party: 45% think Republicans are friendly toward LGBT people, while 41% think the party is unfriendly toward them. A May 2012 poll found that 37% of Republicans supported a constitutional amendment defining marriage between a man and a woman. A November/December 2013 poll found that 63% of Republicans believe same-sex marriage should be left up to individual states to decide. In 2017,

Pew Research The Pew Research Center (also simply known as Pew) is a nonpartisan American think tank based in Washington, D.C. It provides information on social issues, public opinion, and demographic trends shaping the United States and the world. It als ...

polling found that for the first time a majority of Republicans weren't opposed to same-sex marriage, with 48% against and 47% in favor.

Military service

The 1992 Republican Party platform adopted support for continuing to exclude homosexuals from the military as a matter of good order and discipline. The support for the exclusion of homosexuals from military service would remain in the Republican Party platform until the 2012 Republican Party platform, which removed that language from it. A May 2012

United Technologies United Technologies Corporation (UTC) was an American multinational corporation, multinational list of conglomerates, conglomerate headquartered in Farmington, Connecticut. It researched, developed, and manufactured products in numerous are ...

National Journal ''National Journal'' is an advisory services company based in Washington, D.C., offering services in government affairs, advocacy communications, stakeholder mapping, and policy brands research for government and business leaders. It publishes ...

Congressional Connection Poll found that only 41% of Republicans supported restoring the prohibition against gays serving openly in the military.

Anti-discrimination laws

The 1992 Republican Party platform adopted opposition to including sexual preference into anti-discrimination statutes. The 2000 Republican Party platform included the statement: "We support the First Amendment right of

freedom of association Freedom of association encompasses both an individual's right to join or leave groups voluntarily, the right of the group to take collective action to pursue the interests of its members, and the right of an association to accept or decline membe ...

and stand united with private organizations, such as the

Boy Scouts of America Scouting America is the largest scouting organization and one of the largest List of youth organizations, youth organizations in the United States, with over 1 million youth, including nearly 200,000 female participants. Founded as the Boy Sco ...

, and support their positions." The 2004 Republican Party platform removed both parts of that language from the platform and stated that the party supports anti-discrimination legislation. The 2008 and 2012 Republican Party platform supported anti-discrimination statues based on sex, race, age, religion, creed, disability, or national origin, but both platforms were silent on

sexual orientation Sexual orientation is an enduring personal pattern of romantic attraction or sexual attraction (or a combination of these) to persons of the opposite sex or gender, the same sex or gender, or to both sexes or more than one gender. Patterns ar ...

and

gender identity Gender identity is the personal sense of one's own gender. Gender identity can correlate with a person's assigned sex or can differ from it. In most individuals, the various biological determinants of sex are congruent and consistent with the in ...

. A November/December 2013

poll sponsored by the

found that 61% of Republicans support laws protecting gay and lesbian people against employment discrimination, with only 33% opposing such laws. A 2007

Gallup Gallup may refer to: * Gallup, Inc., a firm founded by George Gallup, well known for its opinion poll * Gallup (surname), a surname *Gallup, New Mexico, a city in New Mexico, United States ** Gallup station, an Amtrak train in downtown Gallup, New ...

poll showed 60% of Republicans supported expanding federal hate crime laws to include sexual orientation and gender identity, with only 30% opposing such laws.

School prayer

The Republican Party supports school-sanctioned school prayer, which has been banned in public schools ever since

Engel v. Vitale ''Engel v. Vitale'', 370 U.S. 421 (1962), was a landmark United States Supreme Court case in which the Court ruled that it is unconstitutional for state officials to compose an official school prayer and encourage its recitation in public school ...

. They have continued to challenge such decisions for pushing

out of America's public schools. Many also support the right of teachers to teach

creationism Creationism is the faith, religious belief that nature, and aspects such as the universe, Earth, life, and humans, originated with supernatural acts of Creation myth, divine creation, and is often Pseudoscience, pseudoscientific.#Gunn 2004, Gun ...

intelligent design Intelligent design (ID) is a pseudoscientific argument for the existence of God, presented by its proponents as "an evidence-based scientific theory about life's origins".#Numbers 2006, Numbers 2006, p. 373; " Dcaptured headlines for it ...

alongside evolution to public school students.

Foreign policy issues

In modern times, the Republican Party has been

militaristic Militarism is the belief or the desire of a government or a people that a state should maintain a strong military capability and to use it aggressively to expand national interests and/or values. It may also imply the glorification of the mili ...

and

nationalistic Nationalism is an idea or movement that holds that the nation should be congruent with the state. As a movement, it presupposes the existence and tends to promote the interests of a particular nation, Smith, Anthony. ''Nationalism: Theory, Id ...

in its foreign policy. Republicans, in general, tend to be more pro-military than their Democratic counterparts, however, the factions of the Republican party do not see eye-to-eye on this.

Neoconservative Neoconservatism (colloquially neocon) is a political movement which began in the United States during the 1960s among liberal hawks who became disenchanted with the increasingly pacifist Democratic Party along with the growing New Left and ...

Republicans and subscribers to other such ideologies tend to advocate for a more interventionist foreign policy, a bigger military, and using the military to promote American values around the world, while the more

and

paleoconservative Paleoconservatism is a political philosophy and a strain of conservatism in the United States stressing American nationalism, Christian ethics, regionalism, traditionalist conservatism, and non-interventionism. Paleoconservatism's concerns over ...

factions of the party advocate for

non-interventionism Non-interventionism or non-intervention is commonly understood as "a foreign policy of political or military non-involvement in foreign relations or in other countries' internal affairs". This is based on the grounds that a state should not inter ...

. Libertarian Republicans call for less government spending on defense, but paleoconservatives usually are pro-strong national defense, and therefore sometimes are in favor of more defense spending. Republicans supported

Woodrow Wilson Thomas Woodrow Wilson (December 28, 1856February 3, 1924) was the 28th president of the United States, serving from 1913 to 1921. He was the only History of the Democratic Party (United States), Democrat to serve as president during the Prog ...

's call for

American entry into World War I The United States entered into World War I on 6 April 1917, more than two and a half years after the war began in Europe. Apart from an Anglophile element urging early support for the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, British and an a ...

in 1917, complaining only that he was too slow to go to war. Republicans in 1919 opposed his call for entry into the

League of Nations The League of Nations (LN or LoN; , SdN) was the first worldwide intergovernmental organisation whose principal mission was to maintain world peace. It was founded on 10 January 1920 by the Paris Peace Conference (1919–1920), Paris Peace ...

. A majority supported the League with reservations; a minority opposed membership on any terms. Republicans sponsored world disarmament in the 1920s, and isolationism in the 1930s. Most Republicans staunchly opposed intervention in

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

until the Japanese

attack on Pearl Harbor The attack on Pearl HarborAlso known as the Battle of Pearl Harbor was a surprise military strike by the Empire of Japan on the United States Pacific Fleet at Naval Station Pearl Harbor, its naval base at Pearl Harbor on Oahu, Territory of ...

in 1941. By 1945, however, internationalists became dominant in the party which supported the

Cold War The Cold War was a period of global Geopolitics, geopolitical rivalry between the United States (US) and the Soviet Union (USSR) and their respective allies, the capitalist Western Bloc and communist Eastern Bloc, which lasted from 1947 unt ...

policies such as the

Truman Doctrine The Truman Doctrine is a Foreign policy of the United States, U.S. foreign policy that pledges American support for democratic nations against Authoritarianism, authoritarian threats. The doctrine originated with the primary goal of countering ...

, the

Marshall Plan The Marshall Plan (officially the European Recovery Program, ERP) was an American initiative enacted in 1948 to provide foreign aid to Western Europe. The United States transferred $13.3 billion (equivalent to $ in ) in economic recovery pr ...

, and

NATO The North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO ; , OTAN), also called the North Atlantic Alliance, is an intergovernmental organization, intergovernmental Transnationalism, transnational military alliance of 32 Member states of NATO, member s ...

History

Neoconservatism

Many liberal Democrats in the 1960s and 1970s who became disenchanted with the leftward movement of their party often became "neoconservatives" ("neocons"). Many became politically prominent during the five presidential terms under Reagan, and the father-son presidency from the Bush family. They played a major role in promoting and planning the 2003 invasion of Iraq. Vice President

Dick Cheney Richard Bruce Cheney ( ; born January 30, 1941) is an American former politician and businessman who served as the 46th vice president of the United States from 2001 to 2009 under President George W. Bush. He has been called vice presidency o ...

and Secretary of Defense

Donald Rumsfeld Donald Henry Rumsfeld (July 9, 1932 – June 29, 2021) was an American politician, businessman, and naval officer who served as United States Secretary of Defense, secretary of defense from 1975 to 1977 under President Gerald Ford, and again ...

, while not identifying themselves as neoconservatives, listened closely to neoconservative advisers regarding foreign policy, especially the defense of Israel, the promotion of democracy in the Middle East, and the buildup of American military forces to achieve these goals. Neocons show a preference for unilateral American activism, along with skepticism regarding the

United Nations The United Nations (UN) is the Earth, global intergovernmental organization established by the signing of the Charter of the United Nations, UN Charter on 26 June 1945 with the stated purpose of maintaining international peace and internationa ...

. The neocons had little influence in the Obama White House, but neoconservatism remains a staple in Republican Party arsenal. Neoconservatives were more likely than other Republicans to oppose the presidency of Donald Trump.

Unilateralism

Many in the Republican Party support

unilateralism __NOTOC__ Unilateralism is any doctrine or agenda that supports one-sided action. Such action may be in disregard for other parties, or as an expression of a commitment toward a direction which other parties may find disagreeable. As a word, ''un ...

on issues of national security, believing in the ability and right of the United States to act without external support in matters of its national defense. In general, Republican thinking on defense and

international relations International relations (IR, and also referred to as international studies, international politics, or international affairs) is an academic discipline. In a broader sense, the study of IR, in addition to multilateral relations, concerns al ...

is heavily influenced by the theories of neorealism and realism, characterizing conflicts between nations as struggles between faceless forces of international structure, as opposed to being the result of the ideas and actions of individual leaders. The realist school's influence shows in Reagan's

Evil Empire An evil empire is a speculative fiction trope in which a major antagonist of the story is a technologically advanced nation, typically ruled by an evil emperor or empress, that aims to control the world or conquer some specific group. They are ...

stance on the

Soviet Union The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR), commonly known as the Soviet Union, was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 until Dissolution of the Soviet ...

and George W. Bush's

Axis of evil The phrase "axis of evil" was first used by U.S. president George W. Bush and originally referred to Iran, Ba'athist Iraq, and North Korea. It was used in Bush's State of the Union address on January 29, 2002, less than five months after the ...

War on terror

Republicans secured gains in the

2002 The effects of the September 11 attacks of the previous year had a significant impact on the affairs of 2002. The war on terror was a major political focus. Without settled international law, several nations engaged in anti-terror operation ...

and 2004 elections, with the War on Terror being one of the top issues favoring them. Since the

September 11, 2001 attacks The September 11 attacks, also known as 9/11, were four coordinated Islamist terrorist suicide attacks by al-Qaeda against the United States in 2001. Nineteen terrorists hijacked four commercial airliners, crashing the first two into ...

, some in the party support

neoconservative Neoconservatism (colloquially neocon) is a political movement which began in the United States during the 1960s among liberal hawks who became disenchanted with the increasingly pacifist Democratic Party along with the growing New Left and ...

policies with regard to the War on Terror, including the

2001 war in Afghanistan 1 (one, unit, unity) is a number, numeral, and glyph. It is the first and smallest positive integer of the infinite sequence of natural numbers. This fundamental property has led to its unique uses in other fields, ranging from science to sp ...

and the 2003 invasion of Iraq. The doctrine of

preemptive war A preemptive war is a war that is commenced in an attempt to repel or defeat a perceived imminent offensive or invasion, or to gain a strategic advantage in an impending (allegedly unavoidable) war ''shortly before'' that attack materializes. I ...

, wars to disarm and destroy potential military foes based on speculation of future attacks rather than in defense against actual attack, has been advocated by prominent members of the Bush administration, but the war within Iraq has undercut the influence of this doctrine within the Republican Party.

Rudy Giuliani Rudolph William Louis Giuliani ( , ; born May 28, 1944) is an American politician and Disbarment, disbarred lawyer who served as the 107th mayor of New York City from 1994 to 2001. He previously served as the United States Associate Attorney ...

, mayor of New York at the time of the September 11 terrorist attacks, and a candidate for the Republican presidential nomination in 2008, has stated his support for that policy, saying America must keep itself "on the offensive" against terrorists.

Torture

The George W. Bush administration took the position that the

Geneva Conventions upright=1.15, The original document in single pages, 1864 The Geneva Conventions are international humanitarian laws consisting of four treaties and three additional protocols that establish international legal standards for humanitarian t ...

do not apply to

unlawful combatant An unlawful combatant, illegal combatant, or unprivileged combatant/belligerent is a person who directly engages in armed conflict and is considered a terrorist and therefore is deemed not to be a lawful combatant protected by the Geneva Conven ...

s, saying they apply to soldiers serving in the armies of

nation state A nation state, or nation-state, is a political entity in which the State (polity), state (a centralized political organization ruling over a population within a territory) and the nation (a community based on a common identity) are (broadly ...

s and not terrorist organizations such as

Al-Qaeda , image = Flag of Jihad.svg , caption = Jihadist flag, Flag used by various al-Qaeda factions , founder = Osama bin Laden{{Assassinated, Killing of Osama bin Laden , leaders = {{Plainlist, * Osama bin Lad ...

. The Supreme Court overruled this position in ''

Hamdan v. Rumsfeld ''Hamdan v. Rumsfeld'', 548 U.S. 557 (2006), is a United States Supreme Court case in which the Court held that military commissions set up by the Bush administration to try detainees at Guantanamo Bay violated both the Uniform Code of Milit ...

'', which held that the Geneva Conventions were legally binding and must be followed in regards to all enemy combatants. Some prominent Republicans such as

Mike Huckabee Michael Dale Huckabee (, born August 24, 1955) is an American diplomat, political commentator, Baptist minister, and politician serving as the 29th United States Ambassador to Israel, United States ambassador to Israel since 2025. A member of ...

and

Ron Paul Ronald Ernest Paul (born August 20, 1935) is an American author, activist, and politician who served as the U.S. representative for Texas's 22nd congressional district from 1976 to 1977, and again from 1979 to 1985, as well as for Texas' ...

strongly oppose the use of

enhanced interrogation techniques "Enhanced interrogation techniques" or "enhanced interrogation" was a program of systematic torture of detainees by the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA), the Defense Intelligence Agency (DIA) and various components of the U.S. Armed Forces at ...

, which they view as torture.

Trade

The Republican Party has taken widely varying views on

international trade International trade is the exchange of capital, goods, and services across international borders or territories because there is a need or want of goods or services. (See: World economy.) In most countries, such trade represents a significan ...

throughout its history. It currently largely opposes free trade, though it supports maintaining existing

free trade agreements A free trade agreement (FTA) or treaty is an agreement according to international law to form a free-trade area between the cooperating states. There are two types of trade agreements: bilateral and multilateral. Bilateral trade agreements occu ...

. At its inception, the Republican Party supported

protective tariffs Protective tariffs are tariffs that are enacted with the aim of protecting a domestic Industry (economics), industry. They aim to make imported goods cost more than equivalent goods produced domestically, thereby causing sales of domestically pr ...

, with the

Morrill Tariff The Morrill Tariff was an increased import tariff in the United States that was adopted on March 2, 1861, during the last two days of the Presidency of James Buchanan, a Democrat. It was the twelfth of the seventeen planks in the platform of the ...

being enacted during the

presidency of Abraham Lincoln Abraham Lincoln's tenure as the 16th president of the United States began on March 4, 1861, and ended upon his death on April 15, 1865, days into his second term. Lincoln, the first Republican president, successfully presided over the Union ...

.''Republican Party National Platform, 1860''
Reported from the Platform Committee by Judge Jessup of Pennsylvania and adopted unanimously by the Republican National Convention held at Chicago on May 17, 1860. Broadside printing by ''The Chicago Press & Tribune'', May 1860 In the 1896 presidential election, Republican presidential candidate

William McKinley William McKinley (January 29, 1843September 14, 1901) was the 25th president of the United States, serving from 1897 until Assassination of William McKinley, his assassination in 1901. A member of the Republican Party (United States), Repub ...

campaigned heavily on high tariffs, having been the creator and namesake for the

McKinley Tariff The Tariff Act of 1890, commonly called the McKinley Tariff, was an act of the United States Congress framed by then-Representative William McKinley, that became law on October 1, 1890. The tariff raised the average duty on imports to almost 50% ...

of 1890. In the early 20th century the Republican Party began splitting on tariffs, with the great battle over the high

Payne–Aldrich Tariff Act The Payne–Aldrich Tariff Act of 1909 (ch. 6, 36 Stat. 11), named for Representative Sereno E. Payne (R– NY) and Senator Nelson W. Aldrich (R– RI), began in the United States House of Representatives as a bill raising certain tariffs on ...

in 1910 splitting the party and causing a realignment. Democratic president

cut rates with the 1913

Underwood Tariff The Revenue Act of 1913, also known as the Tariff Act of 1913, Underwood Tariff or the Underwood–Simmons Act (ch. 16, ), re-established a federal income tax in the United States and substantially lowered tariffs in United States history, tariff ...

and the coming of World War I in 1914 radically revised trade patterns due to reduced trade. Also, the new revenues generated by the

federal income tax The United States federal government and most state governments impose an income tax. They are determined by applying a tax rate, which may increase as income increases, to taxable income, which is the total income less allowable deductio ...

due to the 16th amendment made tariffs less important in terms of economic impact and political rhetoric. When the Republicans returned to power in 1921 they again imposed a protective tariff. They raised it again with the

Smoot–Hawley Tariff Act The Tariff Act of 1930, also known as the Smoot–Hawley Tariff Act, was a protectionist trade measure signed into law in the United States by President Herbert Hoover on June 17, 1930. Named after its chief congressional sponsors, Senator Reed ...

of 1930 to meet the

Great Depression in the United States In the United States, the Great Depression began with the Wall Street Crash of October 1929 and then spread worldwide. The nadir came in 1931–1933, and recovery came in 1940. The stock market crash marked the beginning of a decade of high u ...

, but the depression only worsened and Democrat

Franklin D. Roosevelt Franklin Delano Roosevelt (January 30, 1882April 12, 1945), also known as FDR, was the 32nd president of the United States, serving from 1933 until his death in 1945. He is the longest-serving U.S. president, and the only one to have served ...

became president from 1932 to 1945. The

Reciprocal Tariff Act The Reciprocal Tariff Act (enacted June 12, 1934, ch. 474, , ) provided for the negotiation of tariff agreements between the United States and separate nations, particularly Latin American countries. The Act served as an institutional reform int ...

of 1934 marked a sharp departure from the era of

in the United States. American duties on foreign products declined from an average of 46% in 1934 to 12% by 1962, which included the presidency of Republican president

Dwight D. Eisenhower Dwight David "Ike" Eisenhower (born David Dwight Eisenhower; October 14, 1890 – March 28, 1969) was the 34th president of the United States, serving from 1953 to 1961. During World War II, he was Supreme Commander of the Allied Expeditionar ...

. After World War II, the U.S. promoted the

General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade The General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT) is a legal agreement between many countries, whose overall purpose was to promote international trade by reducing or eliminating trade barriers such as tariffs or quotas. According to its p ...

(GATT) established in 1947, to minimize tariffs and other restrictions, and to liberalize trade among all capitalist countries.John H. Barton,

Judith L. Goldstein Judith L. Goldstein is an American political scientist. She is the Janet M. Peck Professor of International Communication at Stanford University. She studies international political economy, with a particular focus on international trade policy. ...

, Timothy E. Josling, and Richard H. Steinberg, ''The Evolution of the Trade Regime: Politics, Law, and Economics of the GATT and the WTO'' (2008) During the Reagan and

administrations, Republicans abandoned protectionist policies and came out against quotas and in favor of the GATT and the

World Trade Organization The World Trade Organization (WTO) is an intergovernmental organization headquartered in Geneva, Switzerland that regulates and facilitates international trade. Governments use the organization to establish, revise, and enforce the rules that g ...

policy of minimal economic barriers to global trade. Free trade with Canada came about as a result of the Canada–U.S. Free Trade Agreement of 1987, which led in 1994 to the

North American Free Trade Agreement The North American Free Trade Agreement (, TLCAN; , ALÉNA), referred to colloquially in the Anglosphere as NAFTA, ( ) was an agreement signed by Canada, Mexico, and the United States that created a trilateral trade bloc in North America. The ...

(NAFTA) based on Reagan's plan to enlarge the scope of the market for American firms to include Canada and Mexico. President

, with strong Republican support in 1993, pushed NAFTA through Congress over the vehement objection of labor unions. In the 21st century, opinions on trade and protectionism have fluctuated, more recently splitting roughly on partisan lines. In 2017, only 36% of Republicans agreed that free trade agreements are good for the

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

, compared to 67% of Democrats. When asked if free trade has helped respondents specifically, the approval numbers for Democrats drop to 54%, however approval ratings among Republicans remain relatively unchanged at 34%. The 2016 election marked the beginning of the trend of returning to protectionism, an ideology incorporated into Republican president

's platform. During his presidency, Trump withdrew the United States from the

Trans-Pacific Partnership The Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP), or Trans-Pacific Partnership Agreement (TPPA), was a proposed trade agreement between 12 Pacific Rim countries: Australia, Brunei, Canada, Chile, Japan, Malaysia, Mexico, New Zealand, Peru, Singapore, Vietn ...

, initiated a

trade war A trade war is an economic conflict often resulting from extreme protectionism, in which states raise or implement tariffs or other trade barriers against each other as part of their commercial policies, in response to similar measures imposed ...

with China, and negotiated the USMCA as a successor to NAFTA.

Foreign aid

The 2012 Republican Party platform opposes the Obama administration from attempting to impose what it considers a "cultural agenda", including a "homosexual rights agenda" in other countries by restricting foreign aid. However, Republicans themselves have also frequently advocated for restricting foreign aid as a means of asserting the national security and immigration interests of the United States.

Foreign relations

Canada

Republicans support the construction of the

Keystone Pipeline The Keystone Pipeline System is an Pipeline transport, oil pipeline system in Canada and the United States, commissioned in 2010, formerly owned by TC Energy. It is now owned by South Bow, following TC Energy's spin off of its liquids business i ...

, which would connect the

Athabasca oil sands The Athabasca oil sands, also known as the Athabasca tar sands, are large deposits of oil sands rich in bitumen, a heavy and viscous form of petroleum, in northeastern Alberta, Canada. These reserves are one of the largest sources of unconventi ...

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its Provinces and territories of Canada, ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, making it the world's List of coun ...

to refineries in the United States. American and Canadian environmentalists have strongly opposed the pipeline's construction, although the Canadian government has lobbied for it.

Israel

The Republican Party generally supports a strong alliance with

Israel Israel, officially the State of Israel, is a country in West Asia. It Borders of Israel, shares borders with Lebanon to the north, Syria to the north-east, Jordan to the east, Egypt to the south-west, and the Mediterranean Sea to the west. Isr ...

and efforts to secure peace in the

Middle East The Middle East (term originally coined in English language) is a geopolitical region encompassing the Arabian Peninsula, the Levant, Turkey, Egypt, Iran, and Iraq. The term came into widespread usage by the United Kingdom and western Eur ...

between Israel and its

Arab Arabs (, , ; , , ) are an ethnic group mainly inhabiting the Arab world in West Asia and North Africa. A significant Arab diaspora is present in various parts of the world. Arabs have been in the Fertile Crescent for thousands of years ...

neighbors.

Puerto Rico

The 2016 Republican Party Platform declares: "We support the right of the United States citizens of

Puerto Rico ; abbreviated PR), officially the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, is a Government of Puerto Rico, self-governing Caribbean Geography of Puerto Rico, archipelago and island organized as an Territories of the United States, unincorporated territo ...

to be admitted to the Union as a fully sovereign state. We further recognize the historic significance of the 2012 local referendum in which a 54 percent majority voted to end Puerto Rico's current status as a U.S. territory, and 61 percent chose statehood over options for sovereign nationhood. We support the federally sponsored political status referendum authorized and funded by an Act of Congress in 2014 to ascertain the aspirations of the people of Puerto Rico. Once the 2012 local vote for statehood is ratified, Congress should approve an enabling act with terms for Puerto Rico's future admission as the 51st state of the Union".

Russia

The Republican party argues that with

Russia Russia, or the Russian Federation, is a country spanning Eastern Europe and North Asia. It is the list of countries and dependencies by area, largest country in the world, and extends across Time in Russia, eleven time zones, sharing Borders ...

, the U.S. must show resilience and patience. It also argues that Russia must stop encouraging the proliferation of

weapons of mass destruction A weapon of mass destruction (WMD) is a Biological agent, biological, chemical weapon, chemical, Radiological weapon, radiological, nuclear weapon, nuclear, or any other weapon that can kill or significantly harm many people or cause great dam ...

. The party stresses the common interests of the two countries, which include ending

terrorism Terrorism, in its broadest sense, is the use of violence against non-combatants to achieve political or ideological aims. The term is used in this regard primarily to refer to intentional violence during peacetime or in the context of war aga ...

, combating

nuclear proliferation Nuclear proliferation is the spread of nuclear weapons to additional countries, particularly those not recognized as List of states with nuclear weapons, nuclear-weapon states by the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons, commonl ...

, promoting

bilateral trade Bilateral trade or clearing trade is trade exclusively between two states, particularly, barter trade based on bilateral deals between governments, and without using hard currency for payment. Bilateral trade agreements often aim to keep trade d ...

. Leading Republicans have been split on how to respond to the Russian military interventions in Ukraine and

Syria Syria, officially the Syrian Arab Republic, is a country in West Asia located in the Eastern Mediterranean and the Levant. It borders the Mediterranean Sea to the west, Turkey to Syria–Turkey border, the north, Iraq to Iraq–Syria border, t ...

, with some advocating a more hawkish approach, and others urging a more cautious and conciliatory response.

Public opinion on foreign policy

In June 2014, the

Quinnipiac The Quinnipiac were a historical Indigenous people of the Northeastern Woodlands. They lived in present-day New Haven County, Connecticut, along the Quinnipiac River. Their primary village, also called Quinnipiac, was where New Haven, Connect ...

Poll asked Americans which foreign policy they preferred: :''A) The United States is doing too much in other countries around the world, and it is time to do less around the world and focus more on our own problems here at home. B) The United States must continue to push forward to promote democracy and freedom in other countries around the world because these efforts make our own country more secure.'' Democrats chose A over B by 65%-32%; Republicans chose A over B by 56% to 39%; Independents chose A over B by 67% to 29%.

Other issues

Separation of powers

Many contemporary Republicans voice support of

strict constructionism In the United States, strict constructionism is a particular Philosophy of law, legal philosophy of judicial interpretation that limits or restricts the powers of the federal government only to those ''expressly'', i.e., explicitly and clearly, ...

textualism Textualism is a formalist theory in which the interpretation of the law is based exclusively on the ordinary meaning of the legal text, where no consideration is given to non-textual sources, such as intention of the law when passed, th ...

, the judicial philosophy that the Constitution should be interpreted narrowly and as close to the original intent as is practicable rather than a more flexible "living Constitution" model. Most Republicans point to ''

'' as a case of

judicial activism Judicial activism is a judicial philosophy holding that courts can and should go beyond the applicable law to consider broader societal implications of their decisions. It is sometimes used as an antonym of judicial restraint. The term usually ...

, where the court overturned most laws restricting abortion on the basis of a

right to privacy The right to privacy is an element of various legal traditions that intends to restrain governmental and private actions that threaten the privacy of individuals. Over 185 national constitutions mention the right to privacy. Since the globa ...

inferred from the

Bill of Rights A bill of rights, sometimes called a declaration of rights or a charter of rights, is a list of the most important rights to the citizens of a country. The purpose is to protect those rights against infringement from public officials and pri ...

and the

Fourteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution The Fourteenth Amendment (Amendment XIV) to the United States Constitution was adopted on July 9, 1868, as one of the Reconstruction Amendments. Considered one of the most consequential amendments, it addresses Citizenship of the United States ...

. Some Republicans have actively sought to block judges whom they see as being activist judges and have sought the appointment of judges who claim to practice

judicial restraint Judicial restraint is a judicial interpretation that recommends favoring the ''status quo'' in judicial activities and is the opposite of judicial activism. Aspects of judicial restraint include the principle of '' stare decisis'' (that new de ...

. The issue of

judicial deference Judicial deference is the condition of a court yielding or submitting its judgment to that of another legitimate party, such as the executive branch in the case of national defense. It is most commonly found in countries, such as the United Kingd ...

to the legislature is a matter of some debate—like the Democrats, most Republicans criticize court decisions that overturn their own (conservative) legislation as overstepping bounds and support decisions that overturn opposing legislation. Some commentators have advocated that the Republicans take a more aggressive approach and support legislative supremacy more firmly. The Republican Party has supported various bills within the last decade to strip some or all federal courts of the ability to hear certain types of cases, in an attempt to strengthen the power of individual state's rights. These jurisdiction stripping laws have included removing federal review of the recognition of same-sex marriage with the Marriage Protection Act, the constitutionality of the Pledge of Allegiance with the Pledge Protection Act, and the rights of detainees in Guantanamo Bay in the Detainee Treatment Act. The Supreme Court overruled the last of these limitations in ''

''. Compared to Democrats, many Republicans believe in a more robust version of

federalism Federalism is a mode of government that combines a general level of government (a central or federal government) with a regional level of sub-unit governments (e.g., provinces, State (sub-national), states, Canton (administrative division), ca ...

with greater limitations placed upon federal authorities and a larger role reserved for those of the individual States. Following this view on federalism, Republicans often take a less expansive reading of congressional power under the

Commerce Clause The Commerce Clause describes an enumerated power listed in the United States Constitution ( Article I, Section 8, Clause 3). The clause states that the United States Congress shall have power "to regulate Commerce with foreign Nations, and amon ...

, such as in the opinion of

William Rehnquist William Hubbs Rehnquist (October 1, 1924 – September 3, 2005) was an American attorney who served as the 16th chief justice of the United States from 1986 until his death in 2005, having previously been an associate justice from 1972 to 1986. ...

in ''

United States v. Lopez ''United States v. Alfonso D. Lopez, Jr.'', 514 U.S. 549 (1995), also known as ''US v. Lopez'', was a landmark case of the United States Supreme Court that struck down the Gun-Free School Zones Act of 1990 (GFSZA) as it was outside of Congres ...

''. Many Republicans on the more libertarian wing wish for a more dramatic narrowing of Commerce Clause power by revisiting, among other cases, ''

Wickard v. Filburn ''Wickard v. Filburn'', 317 U.S. 111 (1942), was a landmark United States Supreme Court decision that dramatically increased the regulatory power of the federal government. It remains as one of the most important and far-reaching cases concerni ...

'', a case that held that growing wheat on a farm for consumption on the same farm fell under congressional power to "regulate commerce ... among the several States". President George W. Bush was a proponent of the

unitary executive theory In American law, the unitary executive theory is a constitutional law theory according to which the president of the United States has sole authority over the executive branch. The theory often comes up in jurisprudential disagreements about t ...

and cited it within his Signing statements about legislation passed by Congress. The administration's interpretation of the unitary executive theory was called seriously into question by ''Hamdan v. Rumsfeld'', where the Supreme Court ruled 5–3 that the President does not have sweeping powers to override or ignore laws through his power as commander in chief, stating "the Executive is bound to comply with the Rule of Law that prevails." Following the ruling, the Bush administration sought congressional authorization for programs started only on executive mandate, as was the case with the Military Commissions Act, or abandoned programs it had previously asserted executive authority to enact, as in the case of the

National Security Agency The National Security Agency (NSA) is an intelligence agency of the United States Department of Defense, under the authority of the director of national intelligence (DNI). The NSA is responsible for global monitoring, collection, and proces ...

domestic wiretapping program.

States' rights

Ideologically, the GOP typically supports a smaller federal government. Historically, this translated into keeping power in the hands of powerful state governments, as in the cases of civil rights, abortion laws, regulations on marriage, and mapping of voting districts. However, some conservatives in recent years have demanded federal intervention to oppose state laws with respect to the

Federal Marriage Amendment The Federal Marriage Amendment (FMA), also referred to by proponents as the Marriage Protection Amendment, was a proposed Article Five of the United States Constitution, amendment to the United States Constitution that would legally define marria ...

, the

Terri Schiavo case The Terri Schiavo case was a series of court and legislative actions in the United States from 1998 to 2005, regarding the care of Theresa Marie Schiavo (née Schindler) (; December 3, 1963 – March 31, 2005), a woman in an irreversible ...

, the '' Kelo'' case regarding eminent domain, and in cases involving

assisted suicide Assisted suicide, sometimes restricted to the context of physician-assisted suicide (PAS), is the process by which a person, with the help of others, takes actions to end their life. Once it is determined that the person's situation qualifie ...

laws and

medical marijuana Medical cannabis, medicinal cannabis or medical marijuana (MMJ) refers to Cannabis (drug), cannabis products and cannabinoid, cannabinoid molecules that are prescription drug, prescribed by physicians for their patients. The use of cannabi ...

. To a certain extent, this is contingent upon the faction in question. For example, the paleoconservative and social conservative factions would be far more inclined to favor federal drug regulations trumping states' rights, while the libertarian faction would be more inclined to see such power devolved to the states or even further.

Lack of platform in 2020

In 2020, the Republican Party decided not to write a platform for that presidential election cycle; instead, the party simply expressed its support for

's agenda, and criticizing "the media" for biased reporting. This was cited by critics as an example of how the Republican Party "became a

cult of personality A cult of personality, or a cult of the leader,Cas Mudde, Mudde, Cas and Kaltwasser, Cristóbal Rovira (2017) ''Populism: A Very Short Introduction''. New York: Oxford University Press. p. 63. is the result of an effort which is made to create ...

References

{{reflist, 2 Republicanism in the United States Republican Party (United States)

Economic issues

Taxes

Welfare

Education

Health care

Labor unions

Environment

Social issues

Abortion and embryonic stem cell research

1970s and 1980s

1990 to current

Affirmative action

Capital punishment

Gun ownership

Drug legalization

Immigration

LGBTQ+ issues

Military service

Anti-discrimination laws

School prayer

Foreign policy issues

History

Neoconservatism

Unilateralism

War on terror

Torture

Trade

Foreign aid

Foreign relations

Canada

Israel

Puerto Rico

Russia

Public opinion on foreign policy

Other issues

Separation of powers

States' rights

Lack of platform in 2020

See also

References