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Case warns that political dysfunction threatens everything from paychecks to national security. When he spoke with SMACNews in late October, the federal government was in the middle of another shutdown. His assessment is blunt.

“The biggest challenge is the political dysfunction in our country,” he says. “We’re living in two parallel universes. When the mindset becomes ‘win it all or lose everything,’ governing becomes impossible.”

In Hawaii alone, a shutdown means 24,000 federal civilian workers and 48,000 active-duty service members going without pay. It jeopardizes procurement, contracts, planning and, ultimately, national security.

Case insists solutions exist and could be enacted “in one or two days,” but only with functional, bipartisan cooperation. “We're better off solving our problems rather than chasing 100% wins that just kick the can down the road,” he says.

Few issues today affect contractors more than tariffs, and Case doesn’t mince words about their impact.

“I generally believe the world is better off with open, free trade,” he says.

Isolationism, he argues, has never produced long-term success for the U.S., but he acknowledges that there are legitimate reasons for targeted tariffs, such as national security concerns or countering abusive trade practices.

The problem, in his view, is the blanket tariff policy.

“Across-the-board tariffs punish our allies, raise costs for everyone and create massive uncertainty, especially for construction,” he warns.

For �鶹��� members, that uncertainty hits bids, supply chains, costs and scheduling. It increases litigation and erodes predictability — critical components of construction planning.

And while the administration argues tariffs could revive American manufacturing, Case remains skeptical.

“It’s going to take far more than tariffs for industrial America to come back,” he says. “Trade policy needs nuance, not blunt instruments.”

Despite the political gridlock he describes, Case remains a pragmatic optimist. He’s committed to “problem solver” approaches and believes bipartisan partnership is still possible and necessary.

“We have huge challenges: economic prosperity, global relationships, preserving Social Security and protecting our environment,” he says. “All of them are solvable if we face them together.”