February 2026 Extemp Topics

March 30, 2026

NFHS Extemporaneous Speaking Topics
February 2026

Domestic

Closed-Ended

  1. Will increased scrutiny of voter records by the Department of Homeland Security deter voters from participating in this year’s elections?

  2. Did President Trump’s State of the Union address outline priorities that will help the GOP in November elections?

  3. Is Virginia Governor Abigail Spanberger emerging as a national leader in the Democratic Party?

  4. Should Lori Chavez-DeRemer resign from her position as Secretary of Labor?

  5. Will the investigation into the 2024 failure of the Boeing Starliner change NASA’s approach to oversight of its contractors?

  6. Will President Trump’s call for increased production of glyphosate - the active ingredient in Roundup weed killers - lose the President support among followers of RFK, Jr.?

  7. Has Steve Witkoff proven himself to be an effective envoy for the United States government?

  8. Should Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick resign over his ties to Jeffrey Epstein?

  9. Did Representative Ocasio-Cortez’s speech at the Munich Security Conference offer a blueprint for the Democratic Party’s future foreign policy?

  10. Would the American public benefit from expanded access to GLP-1 medications, such as Ozempic and Wegovy?

  11. Is American support for Israel dividing factions of the Republican Party?

  12. With the expiration of the last nuclear arms reduction treaties, is the United States in increased danger?

  13. With recent calls for more scientific validity and data-driven action, does the MAHA movement need a checkup?

Open-Ended

  1. How are the Trump administration’s immigration policies impacting the US healthcare industry?

  2. How significant was the influence of public protests on the reduction of ICE activity in Minnesota?

  3. How has the partial government shutdown impacted the operations of the Department of Homeland Security?

  4. How will CBS’s decision to prevent the broadcast of Steven Colbert’s interview with James Talarico impact the Texas Democrat’s Senate campaign?

  5. What steps should Zohran Mamdani take to address the needs of New York City’s homeless population?

  6. What is the legacy of the life of the Rev. Jesse Jackson for America’s civil rights movement?

  7. How has Pam Bondi’s recent Congressional testimony impacted public confidence in the Department of Justice’s handling of the Epstein files?

  8. What actions should the federal government take in response to rising healthcare insurance premiums?

  9. What does the record high trade deficit in goods mean for the US economy?

  10. What is driving the recent growth in new US jobs?

  11. How is the growing divide between lower-income and wealthy consumers impacting US businesses?

  12. How will the Trump administration’s rollback of climate regulations impact America’s alternative energy market?

  13. How will the Supreme Court ruling on President Trump’s tariff authority impact the United States’ economy?

International

Closed-Ended

  1. Will the arrest of Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor bring down the British royal family?

  2. Is Sir Keir Starmer’s leadership of the United Kingdom in jeopardy?

  3. Will rebels succeed in overthrowing South Sudan’s government?

  4. Will the presence of US troops help Nigeria’s government in its counterterrorism fight?

  5. Is the African National Congress’ governing coalition in danger of collapsing?

  6. Will Canada succeed in its plans to develop military independence from American arms manufacturers?

  7. With the sentencing of former President Yoon Suk Yeol, will the political divide in South Korea be healed?

  8. Will Xi Jinping’s removal of his military chief decrease the risk of a Chinese invasion of Taiwan?

  9. Will the rise of Jamaat-e-Islami as a major political force in Bangladesh lead to rule by Islamic law?

  10. Will Prime Minister Modi’s trade deal with the United States undermine his support among the Indian people?

  11. Is the recent slowing of Saudi Arabia’s most ambitious infrastructure projects a sign of impending financial crisis?

  12. Should western nations help Syria better secure the prison camps holding captured jihadists?

  13. Are the recently announced pledges to Donald Trump’s Board of Peace enough to make a significant impact on reconstructing Gaza?

Open-Ended

  1. How will Kremlin offers of lucrative trade deals impact the United States’ effectiveness as a mediator in Russia’s negotiations with Ukraine?

  2. How will Donald Trump’s endorsement of Viktor Orban impact the outcome in April’s Hungarian elections?

  3. What steps can the United States take to heal the growing rift between Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates?

  4. With Peru’s impeachment of the second president in two months, what must the nation’s leaders do to bring stability back to the government?

  5. With changing US-Venezuelan relations, what steps can the Venezuelan government take to facilitate increased investment in the country’s energy industry?

  6. What steps must China take to develop independence from foreign semiconductor suppliers?

  7. What steps can Iran’s government take to prevent further US military intervention in their country’s affairs?

  8. What must Serbian opponents of Aleksandar Vucic do to bring about the downfall of his government?

  9. What steps must Germany take to spur growth in its economy?

  10. What must European members of NATO do if they wish to mount a credible deterrent to Russia without the United States?

  11. What steps should Cuba take to minimize the threat of US pressure against its government?

  12. What steps can the United Nations take to improve the security situation in Haiti?