May 2025 Extemp Topics

BY NFHS ON June 12, 2025 | EXTEMP TOPICS, RESOURCES, SPEECH_DEBATE

NFHS Extemporaneous Speaking Topics
May 2025

Domestic
Closed-Ended

  1. Will the Trump national security team face any long-term repercussions due to the Signal text group scandal? 

  2. Will increasing public anxiety over future access to entitlements cause the Trump administration to stay away from Social Security and Medicare changes? 

  3. Is the Supreme Court becoming an unexpected site of resistance to Donald Trump's political agenda? 

  4. After his resignation from Congress, is there any political future for Matt Gaetz? 

  5. Between Elon Musk and Peter Navarro, who will emerge triumphant in the spat over the Trump administration’s economic policy? 

  6. Have the Trump administration's aggressive immigration policies harmed the economies of America's rural communities? 

  7. Will new tariffs on foreign goods generate the revenue Donald Trump needs to cover his other objectives? 

  8. Will the use of artificial intelligence by online retailers be the final undoing of traditional retail stores? 

  9. With approval ratings on the decline, will President Trump change the direction of any of his current policies? 

  10. Could DOGE be successful under the leadership of someone other than Elon Musk? 

  11. Will Harvard ultimately prevail in its legal battles with the Trump administration? 

  12. Should Senator Chuck Schumer step down from his Democratic leadership positions? 

  13. Will the accidental deportations of US citizens and legal immigrants turn Americans against the Trump administration’s mass deportation policies? 

Domestic
Open-Ended

  1. How will increased tariffs on goods imported to the United States impact Donald Trump's support in historically "red" states? 

  2. What steps can the Forward Party take to increase its influence in American politics? 

  3. With a contentious personal history with the President, what role does Steve Bannon play in the present MAGA movement? 

  4. How will the near elimination of USAID impact efforts to prevent the next global pandemic? 

  5. How will the emerging trade war between the United States and leading trading partners impact the American agricultural sector? 

  6. What steps can government take to spur capital investment in America's rural communities? 

  7. With growing uncertainty over the future of the US economy, what steps can the Federal Reserve Board take to prevent disaster? 

  8. What steps can the federal government take to combat the growing measles outbreak in the United States? 

  9. How will a decrease in Chinese-made goods in US markets impact the lives of everyday American consumers? 

  10. How will the recent arrest of a Wisconsin judge discourage other members of the judiciary from taking stances contrary to the Trump administration? 

  11. How will Washington State’s decision to cap rent impact the housing supply in that state? 

  12. How will Trump administration immigration policies impact the number of international students in the United States? 

International
Closed-Ended

  1. Will King Charles become Britain's secret weapon in maintaining good relations with the United States for the next four years? 

  2. Are retaliatory tariffs the right way for other countries to respond to Trump's tariffs? 

  3. Has the Collective Security Treaty Organization (CSTO) outlived its usefulness to its non-Russian members? 

  4. Have recent US actions proven the rules of the existing international economic order have no teeth? 

  5. Can Saudi Arabia find common cause with Israel to contain Iran's influence in the region? 

  6. With increasing uncertainty over the United States’ role in the Pacific, should South Korea develop an independent nuclear capability? 

  7. Will conflict between the Ethiopian government and the military in the semi-autonomous region of Tigray trigger renewed war between Ethiopia and Eritrea? 

  8. Is the Trump administration's foreign policy creating an opening for Cuba to increase its influence among neighboring Caribbean states? 

  9. Will the Democratic Republic of the Congo’s decision to negotiate with M23 bring about peace in the country? 

  10. Will the slowing Russian economy force Vladimir Putin to rethink his ongoing war with Ukraine? 

  11. Are the actions of the Trump administration pushing the UK and the EU closer together? 

  12. Will Turkey’s arrest of a key opposition leader result in a backlash against the government there? 

  13. Should European nations invest in Ukraine’s growing defense industry? 

International
Open-Ended

  1. What steps can members of Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) take to bring the civil war in Myanmar to a peaceful conclusion? 

  2. Should the Arab League take a more active role in formulating a workable solution to the ongoing crisis in Gaza? 

  3. With the United States increasingly withdrawing itself from the international economic order, what nation is best positioned to set the tone for the order that takes its place? 

  4. What third party could serve as an effective broker of an equitable peace between Russia and Ukraine? 

  5. How will the death of Pope Francis impact the direction of the global Catholic Church? 

  6. How is El Salvador benefiting from its relationship with the Trump administration? 

  7. Why is Xi Jinping continuing his purge of the Chinese military? 

  8. Why do polls show Europeans are increasingly dissatisfied with democratic institutions? 

  9. What steps can Sweden take to protect its Sami people from the negative effects of mineral extraction? 

  10. Who is best positioned to carry the banner of the French far right with the sidelining of Marine Le Pen? 

  11. What role will the Druze people play in the rebuilding of a Syrian state? 

  12. How will recent democratic successes in South Korea impact its leadership in Asia?