Donald Trump has the opportunity to seize from Paul Ryan the leadership of the fight against President Obama’s reckless spending and deficits. Where Ryan has worked closely with Democrats and promoted bipartisan compromise that increases spending, Trump should present an alternative that would lead the nation back to fiscal responsibility.

There have been very few accomplishments resulting from the Republican takeover of the House in the 2010 elections, but it did produce a law that put caps on the increase in the growth of spending. Conservatives would have preferred much lower levels of spending, but the agreement did put some restraint on Obama’s spendthrift ways – or it would have, had it been followed. Instead, in both 2013 and 2015 the Republicans accepted “compromises” that increased the permitted levels of spending. Paul Ryan personally negotiated the 2015 spending increase. He is no longer willing to fight, and he refused to provide leadership to the House Republicans who demand lower levels of spending.

Donald Trump should do what Paul Ryan will not. Trump should prepare his own vision of the Federal budget, showing where he would cut spending so as to move the nation toward a balanced budget.

Donald Trump can use the budget to tell Americans what kind of president he would be. The choices he makes will also show what kind of country he thinks America should be. The Federal budget is filled with programs that are unconstitutional, wasteful, and in some cases harmful. Which ones would Trump choose to eliminate? What does he believe the Federal government should stop doing?

Constitutional conservatives have been concerned by Trump’s failure to show an appreciation of the limits the Constitution puts on the Federal government. His concept of governing has often seemed to draw more on Hugo Chavez than George Washington. A Federal budget that cuts the government down to constitutional size would be a first step toward bringing those conservatives into his camp.

Paul Ryan has dropped the banner of fiscal responsibility. Will Donald Trump pick it up and carry it to victory?