A newly elected Republican lawmaker is putting America's founding principles back before Congress ahead of the nation's 250th birthday, arguing the country must recommit to them as socialist ideas gain traction on the left.Rep.Matt Van Epps, R-Tenn., unveiled legislation reaffirming the Declaration of Independence — a move he said follows a congressional tradition of marking major national anniversaries with the founding document."Congress did this in America 100 to celebrate the 100th Anniversary," Van Epps told Fox News Digital in an interview.
"We felt like this was the right time to do it so that generations forward understand that we love our country at America 250."The Tennessee Republican, who was elected in a December 2025 special election, said he filed the bill in response to socialism’s rise in the Democratic Party, with the far-left attempting a major power grab ahead of November’s midterm elections.Rep.Matt Van Epps, R-Tenn., leaves the House Republican Conference caucus meeting at the Capitol Hill Club in Washington on Wednesday, May 13, 2026.
(CQ-Roll Call, Inc.via Getty Images)AMERICA’S NEXT 250 YEARS DEPEND ON PASSING FAITH AND FREEDOM TO OUR CHILDRENVan Epps specifically referenced a slate of socialist candidates poised to serve in Congress after winning primaries in deep-blue districts anchored in New York City.Democratic congressional nominee Darializa Avila Chevalier, a 32-year-old activist who won an upset victory against an establishment Democrat, has argued that the deportation of any illegal migrant is wrong, voiced support for the prison abolition movement and questioned Israel’s right to exist.
She also co-founded a pro-Palestinian organization at Columbia University that called for "the total eradication of Western civilization.""These folks that are supported and endorsed by the Democratic Socialists of America are antithetical to the founding," Van Epps told Fox News Digital."We've got to fight against that.""Socialism, Ma...