President Trump Highlights Importance of Franchise Business Model

President Donald Trump took the stage Monday, November 17, at the McDonald’s Impact Summit in Washington, D.C., emphasizing the critical role of the franchise business model and the need for a commonsense federal joint employer standard. He voiced strong support for franchising and pledged that, under his administration, the current federal joint employer standard will stay firmly in place and favorable to franchise businesses.

President Trump’s comments at the summit come approximately two months after the introduction of the American Franchise Act (H.R. 5267), a bipartisan bill with 39 cosponsors in the U.S. House of Representatives. The act would codify the joint employer standard in the franchise context that determines when two entities share responsibility for the same employees. The joint employer standard has changed four times over the past 10 years, with every change in power in the White House. The implementation of the 2015 standard drove up legal costs by 93 percent and cost an estimated 376,000 American jobs.

This legislation follows a decade of changing joint employer rules and would lock in a clear, franchise-specific joint-employer standard to end years of regulatory whiplash that has raised costs, legal risk, and harmed growth for brands, local owners, and their employees.

“We appreciate President Trump’s longstanding support for franchising through a commonsense joint employer standard, and we stand ready to work with his administration and a bipartisan coalition of lawmakers to make it a reality through the American Franchise Act,” said Matt Haller, IFA President and CEO. “Franchising is a business model that knows no political, socioeconomic, or ideological boundaries, and is a force for economic opportunity that has provided upward mobility to so many. With the federal government re-open, now is the time for lawmakers to get back to business, moving forward with the American Franchise Act to recognize that franchises are small businesses, and their independence must be protected by federal law.”

Most recently, theNLRB’s 2023 joint employer rulesought to expand the definition of joint employer to an ambiguous and overly broad standard thatthreatened the viabilityof the entire franchise model. In its2025 Roadmap For Small Business Growth, IFA identified codifying a joint employer standard that preserves franchisee independence as its top priority.

Nearly 100 members of the International Franchise Association attended the event, including many franchise owners from across the country. Several franchisees commented on the impact of the summit and the focus it gave to some of the most important issues facing the franchise community.

“It was a great event and a good day for franchisees as a whole,” said Andy Cabral, a franchise owner of 25 Dunkin’ and 9 Baskin-Robbins locations. “Franchisees often get overlooked simply because most people do not know that some of the largest brands are individually owned and operated. Having franchising being brought into the spotlight by the president and his administration is a major accomplishment in making the business model a viable one.”

“Attending the McDonald’s Impact Summit with members of the IFA was an amazing opportunity,” said Clement Troutman, a Tropical Smoothie and PJ’s Coffee franchisee. “President Trump acknowledged the IFA during his opening remarks and expressed his support for franchising and the role of franchisees in their communities. It was also very reassuring to hear him state he is totally against joint employer and in favor of entrepreneurship and free enterprise.”

As the franchise community continues its push for the bipartisan American Franchise Act, the president’s support of the business model reflects the growing momentum for the measure and the widespread support for franchising.