Senator Gildon Warns 2026 Budget Could Collapse Anytime, Like a House of Cards

The 2026 budget has sparked intense debate across political and economic circles. Senator Gildon has issued a stark warning, describing the budget as a "House of Cards." According to him, it is not a question of if this budget will collapse, but when.

A recap from Tonya Hickman at the April 7, Republican Women's Luncheon and Program

Senator Gildon represents LD 25

Senator Gildon’s metaphor of the 2026 budget as a fragile house of cards

Why Senator Gildon Calls It a House of Cards

Senator Gildon’s metaphor of a "House of Cards" vividly captures the precarious nature of the 2026 budget. A house of cards looks stable but can collapse with the slightest disturbance. Similarly, the budget appears balanced on paper but may fail under real-world pressures.

For those who could not make it, here is a full recap of what Senator Chris Gildon shared this week at the RWWC Luncheon. There was a lot to take in, and honestly, much of it was hard to hear.

He opened by talking about Washington’s new $80 billion (with a B) dollar operating budget, and he was very clear that this budget is not truly balanced. It is being held together by pulling from reserves, using the rainy day fund, and other temporary fixes. Even with all of that, the state is still projected to be $878 million dollars underwater by 2028. This is not a stable budget. It is a budget built on shaky ground, which was the title of his power point presentation, hence "house of cards" analogy.

What made that even more frustrating is that he and Senator Nikki Torres had already put forward a full, complete, and truly balanced operating budget, and they submitted it early. That budget was voted down twice. So there was another way to do this, and it was rejected.

One of the biggest issues he talked about was tort liability. This is when people sue the state, and taxpayers are the ones who end up paying. Right now, the state is spending about $1 billion dollars just to cover new claims, and about $1.3 billion total, and even that is not enough.

To put that in perspective, that is more than what the state spends on the entire Child Welfare and Family Services Division combined.

This is not a small issue. This is a huge amount of taxpayer money going toward lawsuits instead of services. And when that happens, it affects everything else. It puts pressure on the budget, increases the likelihood of higher taxes, and takes money away from things people actually rely on. He also said there were attempts to fix this problem, but those efforts were shut down and never even given a hearing.

He also pointed out that government has grown about 17%, which is roughly twice as fast as household income. What that really means is this: families are trying to be careful and stretch what they have, while the government just keeps growing and spending. 

Senator Gildon was also very direct about who is influencing decisions in Olympia. He said there are three main groups that have a strong impact on what gets passed and what does not. Those are public sector unions, the WEA (teacher union), and trial attorneys.

He explained that public sector unions negotiate contracts every two years, and in this last round, the legislative majority not only gave pay raises but made them retroactive. That is a significant cost, and it ultimately comes from taxpayers.

On childcare, he shared something that surprised a lot of people. Lots of audible gasping. The state had a policy where it would cover a full month of childcare reimbursement even if a child only attended one day! That has now been reduced to about 20 days, and he said that change will save around $850 million dollars over four years. They tried to reduce it further to 15 days, but that did not pass.

Luanne Van Werven asked about fraud, and his answer was honest. He said he is sure fraud exists, but the state does not really know how much. They are still trying to track basic information like providers and payments. That alone should concern people.

On taxes, he warned about the new millionaires tax, which is 9.9% on income over 1 million dollars. While it is being presented as limited, there was discussion that the threshold could be lowered in the future because of budget shortfalls. And with a 878 million dollar deficit by 2028 I am certain that is the direction it will take.

Former Washington State Attorney General Rob McKenna has filed a lawsuit challenging this tax as unconstitutional which should speak volumes to his party. This man knows his way around WA state law and the Constitution.

He also walked through several bills and their impact:

SB 6026 allows more housing to be built in commercial areas, which means the state is stepping in more and giving local communities less control over how their areas are developed.

HB 2266 is about step housing being placed in residential neighborhoods. This means the state can require this type of housing in areas where people live, even if those areas are not close to transportation or services. So you end up placing people in neighborhoods where they may not even be able to get to the appointments or support they need, while local communities have less say in what is happening.

SB 6231 was about data centers, and this one really stood out. He said there was a project in his area that could have brought in around 500 million dollars, but because of changes to the tax policy, that opportunity was lost. That is real money and real opportunity that is now gone.

SB 5974 deals with sheriffs and law enforcement, and he explained that this allows bureaucrats to defund and even remove sheriffs, which raises serious concerns about local control and accountability.

And SB 5071 deals with fentanyl and children, and this was one of the hardest parts to hear. He explained that when the original law was written, fentanyl was not included, so there is not strong enough language to hold people accountable when children are exposed to it. Meanwhile, babies and children are dying. Now they are trying to address it, but the law has not kept up with what is actually happening.

WHAT COMES NEXT?

Senator Gildon said there are initiatives, referendums, and lawsuits already moving forward, and more coming down the pipeline.

He specifically mentioned efforts around things like the Parents Bill of Rights and fairness in girls athletics, along with ongoing legal challenges to the income tax and the way the legislature is using the emergency clause to block voters from having a say.

He made it clear that this is not over. There are real efforts underway to push back and give the people of Washington a voice again, whether through the courts, through referendums, or through new initiatives.

And this is where people need to pay attention. These things only move forward if people are aware and involved. Let’s Go Washington has played a major role in this, helping organize initiatives, gather signatures, and push issues forward when many people felt like their voices were not being heard. They have been one of the main groups actually taking action to challenge policies and bring decisions back to the voters.

Please consider supporting Let’s Go Washington. Even just five dollars a month helps support these efforts, including the time, resources, and legal work required to keep fighting for the people of this state.

One thing he said that stuck with me, and honestly I have heard this before, is this:

Christians are not showing up to vote, and if they did, it would make a real difference for Washington State.

We need to take that seriously.

We cannot keep watching what is happening and stay quiet. We need to talk to the people in our lives, our neighbors, our friends, and our churches. We need to use our sphere of influence.

And we need to reach out to our representatives, Joe Timmons, Alicia Rule, and Sen. Shoemake and ask them directly what they plan to do about these issues?

Thankfully, there are also new candidates coming in this next election; we need to get behind our candidates in the 42nd LD: Erika Creydt and Justin Pike.

We cannot keep bleeding money. Something has to change.