The Realignment

How to Bring Back National Ambition - Inside the Build America Caucus with Rep. Josh Harder

Episode Summary

Congressman Josh Harder joins The Realignment to discuss why Americans increasingly feel the country has stopped working—and what it would take to rebuild trust in government. Harder explains the mission of the bipartisan “Build America Caucus,” why housing affordability has become a generational crisis, and how bottlenecks in permitting, infrastructure, and public administration undermine growth and optimism. Marshall and Josh debate abundance politics, private equity and housing, education reform, USAID, AI-era energy demand, and whether America needs to stop managing decline and start governing for outcomes again. Is the problem ideology—or competence? And can a politics of building restore a sense that the future will be better than the present?

Episode Notes

Inclusive Abundance | "Abundance Agenda" Request for Proposals: https://www.inclusiveabundance.org/abundance-in-action/request-for-policy-proposals-the-abundance-agenda?returnUrl=%252Fabundance-in-action

Axios | Exclusive: New group plots 2028 "Abundance" agenda: https://www.axios.com/2026/04/30/abundance-group-democrats-agenda

WelcomeFest 2026 "Building to Win" Tickets: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/welcomefest-2026-registration-1982207415740?aff=040726sub

Realignment Newsletter: https://therealignment.substack.com/

Realignment Bookshop: https://bookshop.org/shop/therealignment

Email the Show: realignmentpod@gmail.com

Congressman Josh Harder joins The Realignment to discuss why Americans increasingly feel the country has stopped working—and what it would take to rebuild trust in government. Harder explains the mission of the bipartisan “Build America Caucus,” why housing affordability has become a generational crisis, and how bottlenecks in permitting, infrastructure, and public administration undermine growth and optimism. Marshall and Josh debate abundance politics, private equity and housing, education reform, USAID, AI-era energy demand, and whether America needs to stop managing decline and start governing for outcomes again. Is the problem ideology—or competence? And can a politics of building restore a sense that the future will be better than the present?