Beyond its changes to US tax policy, the newly passed reconciliation bill contains significant changes to education policy. In a new AEI report, Preston Cooper analyzes the One Big Beautiful Bill Act’s fiscally responsible and accountability-focused reforms to the federal student loan program, which will save $307 billion.

In addition to its domestic policy provisions, the legislation includes $156 billion in additional defense spending. In a new AEI Foreign and Defense Policy working paper, John G. Ferrari and Elaine McCusker explain how this money will increase military capabilities while pointing the way toward a more flexible, outcome-focused approach to defense appropriations.

While Republicans managed to pass tax cuts and reforms to the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program and Medicaid, they steered clear of the United States’ most important fiscal challenge: the widening gap between revenue and spending on Medicare and Social Security. James C. Capretta calls attention to the sobering outlooks contained in the newly released annual reports for the two programs’ trust funds.

On February 4, President Donald Trump launched a review of US funding for international organizations, which totaled $16 billion in fiscal year 2023. To guide this effort, AEI United Nations expert Brett D. Schaefer has launched the United Nations Organization Assessment Project, which provides a comprehensive overview of which UN organizations deserve US support and which do not, ultimately identifying $3.5–$6.5 billion in potential savings.

In today’s deeply divided political climate where neither political party commands a durable majority of voters, politicians need to learn from past American leaders whose ideas and vision unified the nation. In a new AEI publication, Ruy Teixeira and Richard D. Kahlenberg explore the potent lessons we can learn from Robert F. Kennedy’s “liberal patriotism,” introduced by a personal foreword from AEI President Robert Doar about the relationship his father, John Doar, had with RFK.