Well over a year removed from his presidency, the Biden hangover lingers. The latest domino to fall is Spirit Airlines, which is on the brink of collapse with no good options to avert it. Although a spike in jet fuel prices is certainly a nail in the discount airline’s coffin, the hole it is being lowered into was dug three years ago—and Biden was holding the shovel.
The fiasco is a sad case study of what can happen when the federal government intervenes too harshly in the free market. In the case of Spirit Airlines, the Biden administration blocked a proposed merger between the company and JetBlue. Officials at the time asserted the deal would compromise competition—even though the combined market share of both companies was less than 10 percent.
Cut to today and the previous White House’s rationale has backfired. The Biden administration’s action has all but guaranteed flyers will have fewer travel options, not more. A private agreement to combine Spirit Airlines with JetBlue three years ago could have created a healthier company that is more resilient to economic shocks—and one that can better compete with other airlines.
The Trump administration should avoid the temptation to try to clean up his predecessor’s mess. Doubling down with more government overreach—whether called a “bailout” or “rescue package”— will only create more problems down the road.
Beyond this air travel debacle, other policies rubber stamped by the Biden administration are having enduring consequences for American health. Passed as part of the misnamed Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) in 2022, the federal government is now instituting strict price controls on prescription drugs accessed through Medicare.
Like rent controls in New York City—which Mayor Zohran Mamdani wants to supercharge—bureaucratic price ceilings inevitably lead to a mismatch between consumer demand and supply. Landlords in the Big Apple lack the incentives and the money to properly maintain units, while new construction is sidelined. A housing shortage has predictably ensued.
The U.S. medicine market is facing similar withdrawals from Biden’s big government scheme. Since the passage of the IRA, dozens of medical research programs have been scrapped and more than 25 drugs have been discontinued. Why? Because Uncle Sam has dulled the economic incentive to create the next breakthrough. Beyond these tangible cases, it’s difficult to quantify how many other health innovation ideas have been shelved and will never see the light of day.
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The fallout of the Biden years is also continuing to rear its ugly head in the broader economy. The administration prioritized bolstering federal employment and quasi-government jobs rather than true growth on Main Street. Between 2021 and 2024, more than 120,000 federal jobs were added—an ecosystem that is dependent on taxpayer dollars and a drag on the economy.
Now, President Trump is working to reverse course and has cut more than double the amount of government jobs Joe Biden added. Although this creates short-term pain for some, the about-face opens the door for job creation in more productive areas like manufacturing, technology, construction, energy, and hospitality. Combine this with the tax cuts passed last summer and small businesses are set-up for success.
Fifteen months into President Trump’s second term, the aftershocks of the Biden administration’s self-destructive policies continue to ripple throughout the country. Policymakers should be focused on unwinding this deeply flawed legacy, not doubling down on it. Intervening in the latest fiasco with Spirit Airlines by bailing them out would undermine that effort.
Elaine Parker is the president of the Job Creators Network Foundation.