Category: U.S. Extemp Page 1 of 57

US Extemp Hot Topics

HotTopics: United States Extemp Questions for the Week of June 9-15, 2025

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On June 9, 2025

In U.S. Extemp, Weekly Questions

Note: These are our last questions for the 2025-2026 season. New questions will be posted in early August.

  1. What should be done with immigration in this era of Trump?
  2. Should the Federal Reserve have more power over the U.S. economy?
  3. If you were a Republican candidate running for the Senate in 2026, how would you navigate the “MAGA Powers” explosion between Trump and Musk?
  4. Is ranked choice voting accomplishing its objectives?
  5. Would Obergefell v. Hodges survive judicial scrutiny under the current Supreme Court?
  6. To what extent should the National Guard be used to quell instances of domestic unrest in the United States?
  7. Is there a growing divide between the activities and expectations of K-12 education and higher education?
  8. Will the recent House settlement survive future legal challenge?
  9. Is the U.S. economy headed toward an uncomfortable summer?
  10. To what degree should preventing terrorism still factor into U.S. national security strategy?
US Extemp Hot Topics

HotTopics: United States Extemp Questions for the Week of June 2-8, 2025

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On June 2, 2025

In U.S. Extemp, Weekly Questions

  1. Is the U.S. military prepared to fight the wars of the 21st century?
  2. Has President Trump made unwise use of his pardon power?
  3. Is the Big Beautiful Bill a setback in the drive for universal healthcare?
  4. Are fears of an “AI job apocalypse” overstated?
  5. Has the Trump administration’s anti-DEI push been a blow to the humanities?
  6. What should an American alliance in Asia to counter China look like?
  7. Will restrictions on international student applications worsen the fiscal situation for American universities?
  8. Did Elon Musk accomplish his aims while working with the Trump administration?
  9. Will NOAA budget cuts make the U.S. unprepared for hurricane season?
  10. Who will win the Democratic primary for New York City mayor?
US Extemp Hot Topics

HotTopics: United States Extemp Questions for the Week of May 26-June 1, 2025

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On May 26, 2025

In U.S. Extemp, Weekly Questions

  1. How should U.S. policymakers respond to the downgrading of America’s debt?
  2. Is the Trump administration helping or lessening the chances of a peace deal in Ukraine?
  3. Have questions about President Biden’s mental fitness after the 2024 election done lasting damage to the mainstream media’s credibility?
  4. Is there too much pessimism in American culture?
  5. How important is South Africa in U.S. foreign policy toward the African continent?
  6. Should the Democratic Party make adjustments to its 2028 presidential calendar?
  7. How much should the U.S. invest in missile defense technology?
  8. Will the Big Beautiful Bill create an ugly America?
  9. Should there be more federal investigations of Tesla’s marketing of self-driving features?
  10. If the federal government exited student loans would it make higher education cheaper?
US Extemp Hot Topics

HotTopics: United States Extemp Questions for the Week of May 19-25, 2025

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On May 19, 2025

In U.S. Extemp, Weekly Questions

  1. Is a transaction-like foreign policy bad for the United States or a needed pivot?
  2. Should Senator John Fetterman change parties?
  3. What is the current state of the U.S. jobs market?
  4. Would a U.S. migrant deportation accord with Rwanda violate the U.S. Constitution?
  5. Should President Trump refuse Qatar’s 747 gift?
  6. Would it be a mistake for the DNC to remove David Hogg as a vice chair?
  7. Does the GOP tax bill undermine fiscal conservatives?
  8. Will Governor Gavin Newsom’s pivot right pay off?
  9. Does the U.S. deserve a higher credit rating?
  10. Will price increases from tariffs be short-term or long lasting?
US Extemp Hot Topics

HotTopics: United States Extemp Questions for the Week of May 12-18, 2025

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On May 12, 2025

In U.S. Extemp, Weekly Questions

  1. What is the best way for Democrats to take the Senate in 2026?
  2. Will cell phone bans in schools be the elixir for declining U.S. academic performance?
  3. Would Stephen A. Smith be a formidable presidential candidate?
  4. Is the Trump administration fighting anti-Semitism the wrong way?
  5. If the U.S. is able to broker a lasting truce between India and Pakistan, should President Donald Trump be considered for the Nobel Peace Prize?
  6. Should due process rights be part of any deportation hearing?
  7. Has part-time work become a trap for many American workers?
  8. How can the Democratic Party best appeal to young men without alienating other vital parts of its electoral coalition?
  9. Will Pope Leo XIV rekindle the American Catholic Church?
  10. What should be added to the U.S. welfare state?
US Extemp Hot Topics

HotTopics: United States Extemp Questions for the Week of May 5-11, 2025

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On May 5, 2025

In U.S. Extemp, Weekly Questions

  1. Will the FEMA Review Council strengthen or weaken FEMA’s effectiveness?
  2. What lessons can the Democratic Party learn from Canada’s liberals in opposing President Trump?
  3. Should school choice plans be deemed as an attack on public education?
  4. What is the best way for J.B. Pritzker to win the 2028 Democratic presidential nomination?
  5. Has President Trump committed impeachable offenses?
  6. Will President Trump’s tariff war lead to Congress clawing back tariff power from the executive branch?
  7. How will the Supreme Court rule in Oklahoma Statewide Charter School Board v. Drummond?
  8. Has media consolidation hurt American democracy?
  9. What should America do to win the race for 6G?
  10. Does California have the constitutional authority to make its own trade deal with China?
US Extemp Hot Topics

HotTopics: United States Extemp Questions for the Week of April 28-May 4, 2025

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On April 28, 2025

In U.S. Extemp, Weekly Questions

  1. Does President Trump have the legal power to fire Jerome Powell?
  2. Has Uber engaged in deceptive subscription practices?
  3. Is Trump’s cabinet on social media too much?
  4. If Pete Hegseth is fired, who should replace him at the Defense Department?
  5. Should the U.S. give Ukraine a security guarantee in a future peace deal?
  6. What is most responsible for the slowing U.S. housing market?
  7. Is insider trading becoming a major problem among U.S. politicians?
  8. Should businesses be legally required to disclose when they use AI?
  9. Is the Trump administration capable of defusing the growing tensions between India and Pakistan?
  10. Will the Trump administration invoke the Insurrection Act of 1807 as part of its border strategy?
US Extemp Hot Topics

HotTopics: United States Extemp Questions for the Week of April 21-27, 2025

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On April 21, 2025

In U.S. Extemp, Weekly Questions

  1. Is the Kilmar Abrego Garcia deportation a matter of foreign policy or the U.S. court system?
  2. Will President Trump win his battle with Harvard?
  3. Is Meta a social media monopoly?
  4. What does the Shapiro attack say about the state of politics in America?
  5. Will Trump’s next Fed chair further roil financial markets?
  6. Should Kamala Harris run for the California governorship?
  7. Is coordinated Republican opposition to the Trump presidency possible?
  8. Does the U.S. still need the TSA?
  9. Is foreign disinvestment becoming a big risk for the U.S. economy?
  10. Are California’s environmental laws too strict?
US Extemp Hot Topics

HotTopics: United States Extemp Questions for the Week of April 14-20, 2025

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On April 14, 2025

In U.S. Extemp, Weekly Questions

  1. How would the decimation of public employees unions impact the American labor movement?
  2. Did the U.S. Supreme Court interpret the Alien Enemies Act correctly?
  3. Will rising home insurance rates trigger a U.S. housing crisis?
  4. Should U.S. courts view human embryos as people or property?
  5. How would a military conflict with Iran affect American society?
  6. Are moderate politicians becoming an endangered species?
  7. How can Congress wrest more power back from the executive branch?
  8. Do Democrats need their own Joe Rogan?
  9. Is President Trump’s DEI in education executive order constitutional?
  10. Will the rise of AI weaken the American environmental movement?
US Extemp Hot Topics

HotTopics: United States Extemp Questions for the Week of April 7-13, 2025

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On April 7, 2025

In U.S. Extemp, Weekly Questions

  1. Will President Trump’s tariff policy accomplish its objectives?
  2. How big of a victory was the Wisconsin Supreme Court election for Democrats?
  3. Should AOC consider a presidential or Senate run or neither in 2028?
  4. Is there any way for President Trump to run for a third term without amending the constitution?
  5. Should there be a ban on congressional stock trading?
  6. Will the U.S. tech industry be the biggest loser of Trump’s tariff policy?
  7. Did Senator Booker’s speech elevate his presidential prospects?
  8. Should public schools reject President Trump’s DEI order?
  9. Has the Trump administration’s Ukraine strategy collapsed?
  10. Should public protesters have the right to be masked?
US Extemp Hot Topics

HotTopics: United States Extemp Questions for the Week of March 31-April 6, 2025

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On March 31, 2025

In U.S. Extemp, Weekly Questions

  1. How can public schools regain the confidence of parents and community leaders?
  2. Should the Houthi military plan leak be the end of Pete Hegseth’s tenure at the Department of Defense?
  3. If Chuck Schumer is not meant to lead Senate Democrats, then who should?
  4. Did Columbia make a mistake in caving to President Trump’s demands?
  5. Are Senate retirements making it impossible for Democrats to regain control of the chamber in 2026?
  6. Is the Trump administration trying to engineer a U.S. recession?
  7. Can Mike Duggan win Michigan’s governorship as an independent candidate?
  8. Should American liberals embrace abundance politics?
  9. Does Illinois have a bad business climate?
  10. Is President Trump’s executive order on American elections constitutional?
US Extemp Hot Topics

HotTopics: United States Extemp Questions for the Week of March 24-30, 2025

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On March 24, 2025

In U.S. Extemp, Weekly Questions

  1. Should legal challenges to a president’s executive orders go immediately to the U.S. Supreme Court?
  2. Is AOC the next Obama?
  3. Should Social Security be privatized?
  4. Will the U.S. unemployment rate get worse before the end of 2025?
  5. Should the Tesla attacks be treated as acts of domestic terrorism?
  6. What is the best way for Democrats to “resist” the Trump administration?
  7. Is the U.S. on the road to a constitutional crisis?
  8. Are releases of Epstein and Kennedy files exposing conspiracy theories as being full of hot air?
  9. Should the U.S. provide military assistance to the Democratic Republic of the Congo against M23 rebels?
  10. Is the possible deportation of American criminals to El Salvador a violation of the Eighth Amendment?
US Extemp Hot Topics

HotTopics: United States Extemp Questions for the Week of March 17-23, 2025

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On March 17, 2025

In U.S. Extemp, Weekly Questions

A good number of our questions this week come from my old coach, Steve Meadows of the Kentucky High School Speech League (KHSSL), and were used at the KHSSL State Championship on March 7-8.

  1. Will Greenland be the next Hawaii, annexed by the U.S.?
  2. How is DOGE affecting the Social Security administration?
  3. Is it time to dump the penny? What’s your two cents?
  4. Daylight Savings Time: Keep or kill?
  5. Why are fewer students attending American colleges?
  6. Do Senate Democrats need a more combative leader?
  7. Are U.S. strikes against Yemen’s Houthis laying the groundwork for an attack on Iran?
  8. Is President Trump losing his tariff war against Canada?
  9. Should Democrats have pushed for a government shutdown?
  10. Is it fair to call the Trump administration’s push for a Ukrainian solution “peace at any price”?
US Extemp Hot Topics

HotTopics: United States Extemp Questions for the Week of March 10-16, 2025

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On March 10, 2025

In U.S. Extemp, Weekly Questions

  1. How is President Trump’s one-term status affecting his decision making?
  2. Are protests at GOP town halls a canary in the coal mine for 2026?
  3. What tools can sanctuary cities use to defend their status from the U.S. federal government?
  4. Will BlackRock’s deal with CK Hutchinson Holding end President Trump’s bluster about the Panama Canal?
  5. When there is the next Supreme Court vacancy, should someone without a legal background be appointed?
  6. Will the Trump administration be bad for global non-proliferation efforts?
  7. Is the U.S. currently experiencing a white collar recession?
  8. Will Tesla’s losses cause Elon Musk to reduce his level of political engagement?
  9. Should SNAP ban the purchase of sugar and sweetened beverages?
  10. Will an “economic blackout” cause Amazon to reverse its DEI stance?
US Extemp Hot Topics

HotTopics: United States Extemp Questions for the Week of March 3-9, 2025

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On March 3, 2025

In U.S. Extemp, Weekly Questions

  1. Would a DOGE stimulus check make U.S. inflation worse?
  2. What grade does President Trump deserve for his first month in office?
  3. Who would win a Florida gubernatorial primary between Casey DeSantis and Byron Daniels?
  4. What can mainstream news outlets do to regain the trust of the American people?
  5. Is there a method to President Trump’s madness?
  6. What is the appropriate role for DEI in U.S. education?
  7. As the U.S. pushes nuclear energy, what should be done with the waste?
  8. Why did Skype lose to other video calling services?
  9. How can Democrats win back the working class?
  10. Has the resistance to Donald Trump collapsed?

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