Since President Donald Trump took office, Elon Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) has aggressively reduced the number of federal employees with the stated aim of cutting $1 trillion in federal spending. But how much can it actually save? AEI budget expert James C. Capretta surveys the entire budgetary outlook of Trump’s policy agenda and explains why DOGE needs congressional cooperation to secure permanent savings.

Even if DOGE cannot meaningfully reduce the debt and deficit without addressing entitlements, it has an opportunity to make the federal bureaucracy more innovative and effective. In a new Foreign and Defense Policy working paper, Elaine McCusker, John G. Ferrari, and Todd Harrison highlight important reform opportunities in the Pentagon that DOGE should pursue.

However, as the Trump administration pursues this ambitious agenda of executive reorganization, it cannot disregard the legal or constitutional limits on presidential authority. Philip Wallach points out that the administration’s troubling disregard for the rule of law could undermine its policy objectives.

When it comes to foreign policy, the administration has shown a similar contempt for the United States’ long-standing practice of standing up for freedom and self-determination for our democratic allies against authoritarian aggression. Gary J. Schmitt explains how abdicating the United States’ moral strength and credibility on the world stage does not serve our national interests.

The Trump administration’s approach is having particularly acute costs on the United States’ relationship with one of our oldest and closest allies—Canada. Colin Dueck analyzes how Trump’s threats have transformed Canada’s national mood and politics.