On Thursday, Dan Blumenthal hosted Amb. Robert C. O’Brien, former national security adviser to President Donald Trump, for a conversation at AEI on how the next administration should shape US grand strategy to counter China. O’Brien highlighted how China is seeking to disrupt American politics and threaten American business alongside its military buildup and proposed specific policies to counter these threats.

In addition to the threat from China, the US faces serious economic and social challenges at home on the economy, education, health care, debt, and taxes with little political appetite to solve them. Working with the Center for Collaborative Democracy, Michael R. Strain co-chaired a committee of progressive, centrist, and conservative experts (including AEI economist R. Glenn Hubbard) that developed a “grand bargain” policy agenda that could tackle these issues together.

Addressing these issues will require voters and policymakers to embrace compromise. Former Senator and AEI Distinguished Visiting Fellow Rob Portman spoke at Texas A&M’s Bush School of Government and Public Service about his own bipartisan policymaking lessons from the White House and Congress.

Congress notched a notable bipartisan success this week by passing legislation exempting new CHIPS and Science Act manufacturing projects from many of the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) permitting requirements. Will Rinehart explains how NEPA is a major obstacle to economic development and building projects.

Lawmakers could also come together to strengthen economic opportunity, especially since the Trump and Harris campaigns both emphasize the issue. Analyzing new research from Raj Chetty and Opportunity Insights, Ian Rowe identifies three policy areas that can ensure the American Dream stays in reach for young people.

Lowering the cost of housing would also increase economic opportunity and growth, but federal housing policy is frequently counterproductive. AEI Housing Center Codirector Edward J. Pinto shows how Kamala Harris’s housing plan would only increase shortages and proposes alternative federal action that would increase housing supply.