EPISODE · Jun 17, 2026 · 1H 7M
The Counter Deep State: How an Outsider Helped Trump Deregulate │ Steve Friess
from The Jenny Beth Show · host Jenny Beth Martin, Steve Friess
Steve Friess is a businessman, conservative activist, education reform advocate, and candidate for Wyoming’s single seat in the U.S. House of Representatives. The son of the late conservative philanthropist Foster Friess, he has worked for years to build the conservative movement through business, philanthropy, education, and grassroots activism, and co-founded the Jackson Hole Classical Academy. Key topics covered: Why a self-described political outsider decided to run for Congress The volunteer attorney project that drafted executive orders before Trump took office The regulatory budget concept and how deregulation freed the economy Wyoming energy: coal, oil, gas, and rare earth minerals as a national security issue School choice, classical education, and teaching kids how to think The dignity of work, trade schools, and earned success Federal spending, the national debt, and cutting waste Timestamps: 00:18 — Introducing Steve Friess 01:01 — Why he decided to run for Congress 02:38 — What “political outsider” really means 03:29 — Why today’s Democrats aren’t Bill Clinton Democrats 06:22 — The SAVE America Act and grassroots leadership 09:33 — The policy that motivates him most 10:25 — Extractive industries and regulatory roadblocks 11:18 — Rare earth minerals and national security 12:27 — Don’t forget coal: clean coal and export 13:21 — Carbon dioxide as “plant food” 14:45 — Education, federalism, and a Trump executive order 15:26 — Building the “counter deep state” attorney project 17:17 — Why the left is relentless: the spiritual dimension 19:51 — Inside the executive order project 20:50 — The regulatory budget and “two for one” 23:58 — Trump’s cabinet and the acronym lesson 25:42 — OIRA and the “sound science” memo 27:50 — “Guidance guidance” and reining in agencies 29:15 — His mission for Wyoming and lower-cost energy 32:01 — School choice and the family investment business 34:21 — The Teton County zoning fight and his first law 39:34 — Learning how to think, not what to think 43:27 — Covenantal vs. missional religious schools 47:50 — The Humanitas Institute and classical education 48:47 — How public schools narrowed the box 50:28 — Trade schools, Mike Rowe, and the dignity of work 55:08 — Bankruptcy, housekeeping, and earned dignity 57:57 — Arthur Brooks and “earned success” 1:00:08 — His scorecard: high-paying Wyoming jobs 1:01:02 — Cutting taxes vs. cutting spending 1:03:36 — The $39 trillion debt and the Tea Party’s origin 1:04:22 — Applauding the shutdown of USAID 1:05:18 — Closing: why people should vote for him Links: teapartypatriots.org, jennybethshow.com, friessforwy.com
What this episode covers
Regulatory reform built quietly during the Obama years became one of the most powerful tools of the first Trump administration, and Steve Friess was in the room when it happened. In this episode of The Jenny Beth Show, host Jenny Beth Martin, co-founder of the Tea Party movement and Chairman of Tea Party Patriots Action, sits down with businessman, education reform advocate, and Wyoming congressional candidate Steve Friess for a wide-ranging conversation about deregulation, energy, and the fight to rebuild opportunity in America. Friess, son of the late conservative philanthropist Foster Friess, describes how he assembled a volunteer team of conservative attorneys, what some called the counter deep state, to draft executive orders and regulatory memos years before Donald Trump took office. He explains the regulatory budget concept that helped repeal regulations at a far faster pace than the famous two for one promise, breaks down obscure but powerful offices like OIRA, and makes the case that lower-cost energy is the bedrock of every price Americans pay. The conversation also digs into school choice and classical education, the dignity of work and trade schools, out-of-control federal spending and the national debt, and why Friess believes Wyoming coal, oil, gas, and rare earth minerals are a matter of national security. It is a candid look at how policy actually gets made, and why outsiders willing to learn the system can change it. Learn more at teapartypatriots.org and watch more episodes at jennybethshow.com.
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The Counter Deep State: How an Outsider Helped Trump Deregulate │ Steve Friess
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