California — 49th District

Star Parker, 69, a Republican, policy consultant and columnist, is running for Congress representing coastal North County and southern Orange County in California’s 49th Congressional District.

Parker lives in San Clemente but grew up moving frequently due to her father’s career in the Air Force.

The San Diego Union-Tribune emailed a series of questions to Parker and other candidates to help inform voters about their positions, priorities and plans if elected.

Parker said she did not use any AI tools in responding to the Union-Tribune’s questions.

1) Why are you running, and what makes you the best candidate? (150 words max)

Per Gallup, 36% of Americans are satisfied with the direction of the country. This has not exceeded 50% in over 20 years. Americans know in their heart something has gone wrong in our nation. In polling by Pew Research Center, only 26% feel our children will be better off financially than their parents, and 78% feel they will be worse off.

The country is growing at a fraction of its historical growth rates. Diminished growth means diminished opportunity.

We are growing less because of the massive growth of government. In 2000, federal spending consumed 17% of the U.S. economy. National debt equaled 34% of our GDP. Today federal spending is approaching 25% of the U.S. economy, and national debt equals 101% of GDP.

I will provide the vital leadership to change our national mindset from government spending to individual freedom and initiative and restore opportunity and hope to all Americans.

2) What are the top 3 issues facing this district? (150 words max)

Economic growth and opportunity

Cost of living — inflation, housing costs, health care costs, energy costs

Immigration

3) What are the first 3 things you would do in your first/next term in Congress? (150 words max)

Work diligently to personalize 1) Social Security, 2) healthcare and 3) housing policies towards more affordable and sustainable options.

4) If your party wins control of Congress, what should be its first priority? If your party loses control of Congress, what should be its first priority? (100 words max)

If Republicans keep control of Congress, our first priority should be to help the American people understand that we must reduce the size and scope of our federal government. If Republicans lose control of Congress, our first priority should be to help the American people understand that we must reduce the size and scope of our federal government.

5) President Trump has made cracking down on immigration a cornerstone of his administration, ordering widespread arrests and detentions of immigrants nationwide and directing military resources to a new military zone along the U.S.- Mexico border. What impact have these had on this district? What are your goals on immigrants, immigration and the border, and how would you pursue them if elected? What is your message to constituents who are immigrants? (150 words max)

The United States is a nation of immigrants. Most Americans, including me, embrace the sentiment expressed on the Statue of Liberty that our nation is a light and refuge for those who seek freedom and opportunity. But all agree that to be a free nation, we must be a nation of law. Those who come must do so legally.

I believe it is inaccurate to say President Trump has made “cracking down on immigration” a cornerstone. The crackdown is on illegal immigration, not immigration. Americans are pleased that President Trump has gotten our borders under control and eliminated the chaos of the Biden years, when millions entered illegally.

We still are left with the challenge of millions still illegally in our country. Our priority should be to identify and deport those who are criminals. The process of finding and deporting criminals who are here illegally should be managed aggressively, efficiently and humanely, seeking the cooperation of all Americans to help identify them.

6) It’s been nearly two months since the United States began a war with Iran. Do you believe Americans are better or worse off for it? What should Congress’s role be? Would you vote to let the president continue the war beyond the 60 days after which congressional authorization is required? (150 words max)

There is no question to me that Americans are better off as a result of our efforts to remove the capability of Iran to have nuclear weapons. There is no rational reason why Iran needs this type of weaponry, other than their wish to make their terror an even greater threat, which has been a priority for this regime since it took power in 1979. For sure the largest funder of terrorism in the world with nuclear weapons would pose a serious threat to the U.S.

Congress should without question be involved in international conflicts in which the U.S. is involved. They have been involved, and Secretary of State Rubio has noted the briefings. President Trump has the support of Congress for the operations in Iran. There have been five votes to stop these operations, and all have failed. How I would vote at any particular moment would be dictated by the circumstances of that moment.

7) Recent jumps in the cost of fuel, food and other goods — combined with federal cuts to safety-net programs, new limits on certain federal loans and more — are squeezing residents already struggling with San Diego County’s high costs of living. What relief would you seek to offer, and how? (150 words max)

Complaints about prices and the cost of living are legitimate. The country still has not completely recovered from the explosion of inflation in 2021. Inflation is still running above the target set by the Federal Reserve.

What is critical is that everyone understand the sources of the problem and the sources of the solution. Overwhelmingly, government is the problem, not the solution. Despite the tendency of politicians seeking popularity to tell constituents how they will use government to regulate/lower prices, or to bring forth subsidies, these “solutions” make things worse.

Federal government spending has exploded — and rather than paying for this honestly by raising taxes, we pay for it dishonestly by borrowing the money. This then pressures the Federal Reserve to finance the debt through monetary expansion, which causes inflation and drives up interest rates.

The answer is more responsible government. Government, as Ronald Reagan said, is the problem, not the solution.

8) Like much of California, this district has been affected by the effects of climate change. How should Congress mitigate those impacts, and what would you do to pursue such efforts? (100 words max)

We are entering a new time in which climate realism is replacing climate doomsdayism. In 2021, Microsoft founder Bill Gates wrote a book “How to Avoid a Climate Disaster.” Now Gates is saying that rising temperatures — climate change — is a “serious problem” but “will not bring about the end of civilization.”

Upending our lives, taking on huge costs, to deal with this issue has been a favorite of those who like to politicize our lives with big government. We should follow the guidance of the Wall Street Journal, which described what has happened as “the climate crisis clashed with affordability, and affordability won.”

9) Polling underscores that one chief concern of California voters in the 2026 midterm elections is the issue of threats to democracy. What do you believe are the greatest threats to American democracy? How would you, and how should Congress, protect against these? (100 words max)

Massive expansion of the scope of the federal government undermines our democracy. In 1950, the federal government consumed 14% of the U.S. economy. Today it is almost 25%.

The Declaration of Independence says that the role of government is to protect our individual freedom, not run our lives. For every expansion of the federal government, there is a corresponding contraction of individual freedom — the ability of individuals to manage and control their own lives. Worse, when this expansion is financed with borrowing, freedom is further undermined, because citizens are put under obligation without their knowledge.

10) Do you support a ban or restriction on congressional lawmakers and their families buying or selling individual stocks? Why or why not? And what would you propose to ensure lawmakers aren’t using their positions to engage in insider trading? (100 words max)

We want to attract the very best people to serve in Congress. The more restrictions that are placed on what members can or cannot do hinders this. Restrictions on saving or investing can cause someone who would make an excellent public servant to possibly not serve.

I understand the concern about possible insider trading. This can be dealt with by requiring members to immediately disclose stock holdings and stock purchases that are made while they are members of Congress.

11) By design Congress is supposed to serve as a check on the executive branch through budgetary, legislative and oversight powers. Do you believe that Congress has fulfilled that obligation in recent years? Why or why not? Should Congress do more to hold the president accountable? Explain. (150 words max)

Each session of Congress bears out different circumstances and has different characteristics given the electoral reality of that session. Sessions with the same party controlling the White House and both houses of Congress will have different characteristics than one in which the government is divided. One party controlling the government, with a popular president of that party, may have a Congress more deferential to the president than one of divided government.

It is more a matter of what our democracy has produced in any given session than a general rule of what Congress should or should not be doing. It is not rare that Congress actively defers to the executive branch. Legislation is passed that has general guidelines, and authority is given to the executive branch to specify what the exact rules are.

12) A recent San Diego Union-Tribune poll found voters overwhelmingly disapprove of the job Congress is doing, by higher margins than they disapprove of the job Trump is doing. Why do you think this is? How can Congress win back voters’ hope and trust, and what would you personally do to achieve this? (150 words max)

The disapproval percent of Congress in April, per Gallup, was 86%. Disapproval rates of Congress have been very high for some 15 years. In February 2012, during the Obama presidency, it also reached 86%, and exceeded 80% several times during the Obama presidency.

There is a difference between approval rate for president and that of Congress. The president’s rating is a personal rating. It’s not a rating of the institution. The congressional rating is a rating of the institution.

Congressional incumbents are overwhelmingly re-elected. So the poor rating for Congress as an institution does not reflect the personal ratings of individual members.

Although the congressional ratings are very low, ratings of most of our national institutions today are very low. It reflects a general level of dissatisfaction in the country. It’s why I am running for Congress to revitalize our nation as a free nation under God.