Akash Chougule

President @FREOPP. Past: @AFPhq, @standtogether, @EdWorkforceCmte. Proud @BostonCollege @bctrackandfield alum. Rhode Island born and bred.

[Akash Chougule @AkashJC]

Some personal news - March 21 is my last day at AFP; On March 26, I begin as President of @FREOPP!

I am grateful to AFP and Stand Together, and honored for the opportunity to lead FREOPP - looking forward to helping expand the American Dream to uplift more Americans than ever!

[FREOPP @FREOPP]

FREOPP is thrilled to announce that Akash Chougule has been appointed President of the organization, effective March 26. Chougule succeeds FREOPP's co-founder @Avik, who has served as President since the think tank's founding in 2016.

https://t.co/x9UBWK7VzP

[Akash Chougule @AkashJC]

This is great news for Republicans.

Healthcare, education, labor and other issues in the HELP Committee are critical to economic opportunity and upward mobility, but the incoming Chairman is Bernie Sanders, who has made clear throughout his career that he would be an absolute nightmare for freedom and opportunity.

At a time when some Republicans are trying their hardest to imitate Bernie Sanders by peddling the belief that only more government can solve our problems in these areas, @RandPaul gives the GOP the opportunity to have a real, credible alternative vision atop the HELP Committee.

In a period of great uncertainty, Rand Paul’s vision, message, and legislation in the HELP Committee will be an important part of answering the question of whether the Right stands for solutions based in freedom, or simply the warmed over Bernie Sanders-lite agenda of certain other Republicans.

[Laura Weiss @LauraEWeiss16]

NEW: Sen. RAND PAUL says he’ll take over as top R on HELP

This means HSGAC will get a new ranking member

Huge move for health watchers

Here’s Paul’s statement:

[Congressman Rich McCormick, MBA MD @RepMcCormick]

Happy Diwali to all those celebrating across Georgia’s 7th Congressional District and around the world!

Diwali reminds us of the triumph of light over darkness and the importance of faith, hope, and family. I’m proud to represent a thriving Indian-American community in GA-07 and wish all those celebrating a joyful and blessed Festival of Lights!

[Governor Brian P. Kemp @GovKemp]

As families across Georgia gather to celebrate the Festival of Lights, we wish all who observe it a joyful and prosperous Diwali. May this special occasion bring hope and happiness in the year to come!

[Akash Chougule @AkashJC]

Jon, what does that mean? Totally agree the GOP needs to be more pro-worker and pro-family, and even that it needs to be responsive to populist energies. Can it be those things without growing government? Do you want it to? Here were our suggestions to start to make life easier for working families, none of which grow gov’t, tariffs, entitlements, or taxes: https://t.co/ckWBUMYSIE

[Akash Chougule @AkashJC]

Terry, “pro-worker and pro-family” are just vague enough to be impossible to oppose. What does that mean? Are the tariffs pro-worker and pro-family? Is expanding entitlements and increasing the debt? More robust labor unions as a result of less freedom of choice for workers? More bureaucratic central planning from Washington? There are plenty of ways to make life easier for working families that don’t grow government, are they populist enough?https://t.co/ckWBUMZqyc

Ballot questions alone show the Dems didn’t necessarily have a better sense of the pulse of the voters - the most important thing they did was simply not be Republicans. The GOP brand from the top down is horrendous - evident by Republicans who did win tough races by breaking from the brand - but the idea that the GOP of the last decade has been defined by libertarian economics is an absolute delusion.

[Joe Bishop-Henchman 🗽💸⚖️🚆 @jbhenchman]

@AkashJC @EricTeetsel one more vindication like that and the Democrats will have 67 Senate seats

[Akash Chougule @AkashJC]

NEW POLLING from Narrative Strategies: a HUGE “narrative violation” for the MAGA/national conservative/“new right” crowd:

Republican voters overwhelmingly prefer the future of the GOP focus on “lowering costs and strengthening the economy” (49%). Way ahead of:

Stronger immigration enforcement/border security (17%)
America first trade agenda incl. tariffs (13%)
Taking on political cultural institutions (6%)
Taking a more confrontational approach to the national news media (3%)

In short, Republican voters want Republican leaders to be normal. When the party’s perception driven from the top is the opposite, the result looks like Tuesday.

[Akash Chougule @AkashJC]

I’m glad you shared this. Obviously agree we need an agenda that prioritizes making life easier for working families. FREOPP put out an detailed report on how to improve affordability of those specific family needs in a limited government, free market way https://t.co/ckWBUMYSIE

But it seems like anytime anyone in the NatCon/new right camp talks about a pro-worker/pro-family agenda they necessarily mean growing government and its intervention in the economy. Tariffs, entitlements, unions, bureaucratic central planning, etc. But that not only isn’t necessary, it’s also a proven failure.

(To be clear, that’s not to say the limited government movement has been perfect on this - far from it, and I’ve been critical within my own “side” on our priorities and perception for years).

[Akash Chougule @AkashJC]

Today is the first night of Diwali.

Diwali celebrates the victory of good over evil, light over darkness, knowledge over ignorance.

More than 5 million people in America celebrate Diwali, a manifestation of faith, family, community, and prosperity – all things America could use more of these days.

Happy Diwali! 🪔

[Will Ricciardella @WillRicci]

That's a poll of Rs. Rs just got annihilated in both the House and Senate, despite the redistricting push.

Fox News Voter Poll: 66% of voters said Trump's tariffs hurt the national economy. 64% said they hurt the economy in their own area.

Cato/Morning Consult: 74% of registered voters said tariffs raised the prices they pay. Including 66% of Republicans.

Look at your own chart -- 21% of Rs want tariffs cut, 17% aren't sure. That's 38% of the base not on board with the status quo.

Elections are decided at the margins. Rs won just 38% of independents, their worst showing since at least '98. Some Trump voters switched, others stayed home.

Base support isn’t electorate support. Tuesday proved that.

Telling a pollster you support higher tariffs is costless. Showing up to vote for them isn't.

[Akash Chougule @AkashJC]

This is a perfect encapsulation of the thinking of the new Republican elite that thinks it’s in touch with the concerns and priorities of normal Americans but is actually living a complete fantasyland detached from reality.

Voters in every single state said tariffs did more to hurt than help. They raised costs *and* hurt manufacturing employment.

Anyone who is still pushing this way of thinking as a justifiable economic or political agenda should be ignored.

MAGA is dead. The tariff-happy new right is a failure. The midterms made that perfectly clear. We don’t have to pretend otherwise anymore.

[Akash Chougule @AkashJC]

@RobertOrdway Robert, have you seen a single poll showing that the American people agree with this way of thinking on tariffs? The midterms were an absolute massacre. Voters in every single state said tariffs did more to harm than help. You don’t have to pretend like this anymore.

[Akash Chougule @AkashJC]

@NickSolheim The way things are going, we aren’t doing anything because the right will keep getting massacred in elections as long as people like you make up the Republican elite in DC.

You can talk all you want about the future but the only thing you’re doing is empowering the Left.

[Akash Chougule @AkashJC]

Worth taking stock of two bright spots for Republicans from yesterday, and their associated lessons:
1) Those who survived tough races amidst the national tsunami: people like @KellyAyotte in New Hampshire, @RepMcCormick in Atlanta suburbs, @RepMariaSalazar in Miami.
2) Progressive policies losing ballot initiatives even in places Democrats romped.

[Akash Chougule @AkashJC]

MAGA is dead. The populist “new right” is a failure and belongs on the ash heap of history. But they’re right about one thing: we don’t need to “go back.”

The future of the right must be a 21st century fusionism that doesn’t just talk about the problems inhibiting human flourishing but actually tackles them – economic and non-economic alike.

Federal overspending and debt. Health care and energy costs. Abundant housing. Free trade.

But just as importantly, a workforce development agenda that uplifts Americans without college degrees. Child care reforms that make raising young children less daunting and expensive.

A recognition that stable two-parent families matter. Racial preferencing is cancerous. Faith and local civil society matter.

It’s not enough just to say these things. Americans must know they are just as much of a priority as cutting taxes, and they must see an agenda that solves them without growing the bloat, size, and power of the federal government.

The so-called “new right” wielded culture issues as a political weapon but failed to solve any of them. The left will undoubtedly make them worse. The freedom-oriented conservative movement now has the opportunity to show a better way forward.

[Akash Chougule @AkashJC]

The right is on its heels. Freedom is on defense. The only answer from most of the right is to wait for 2028. Not @FREOPP. Unlike most others, our ability to win doesn’t end with a bad election night.

That’s because FREOPP is the only organization committed specifically to advancing right-of-center, freedom-oriented policies with bipartisan support - that is, the only way to accomplish anything productive in the next two years.

If you’d rather not throw in the towel on policy change for the next two years, learn more and support us: https://t.co/BL1b65lkWc

[Akash Chougule @AkashJC]

The right is on its heels. Freedom is on defense. The only answer from most of the right is to wait for 2028. Not @FREOPP. Unlike most others, our ability to win doesn’t end with a bad election night.

That’s because FREOPP is the only organization committed specifically to advancing right-of-center, freedom-oriented policies with bipartisan support - that is, the only way to accomplish anything productive in the next two years.

If you’d rather not throw in the towel on policy change for the next two years, learn more and support us: https://t.co/BL1b65lkWc

[Akash Chougule @AkashJC]

India still has a long way to go, but it is arguably the single most powerful real-world example of the power of free-market capitalism anywhere on earth.

[Bloomberg @business]

India saw about 496 million people lifted out of poverty between 2011 and 2023 in one of the world’s fastest declines in this metric, the World Bank said, although the gains remain uneven. https://t.co/4RD7JC4lG2

[Akash Chougule @AkashJC]

Evergreen tweet

[Erick Erickson @EWErickson]

The only thing I can guarantee about Tuesday is that, regardless of the outcome, neither party will learn a damn thing.