On August 27, the federal government paid Intel $5.7 billion as part of the Trump administration’s deal to acquire a 10 percent stake in the company. Writing in Financial Times, AEI Economic Policy Studies Director Michael R. Strain explains why this and other “corporate shakedowns” pursued by the administration directly threaten the foundations of American economic prosperity.

The president’s approach represents a significant escalation of the semiconductor manufacturing industrial policy launched by the 2022 CHIPS and Science Act to counter China’s predominance in tech supply chains. In a new report for AEI’s Center for Technology, Science, and Energy’s Project on Science, Industry, and the State, Derek Scissors assesses the successes and costs of this government intervention.

Semiconductors are just one of many strategic industries with high-stakes competition between the United States and China. AEI scholar and former Food and Drug Administration (FDA) Commissioner Scott Gottlieb lays out what the US must do to maintain its lead on pharmaceutical innovation—and warns that the administration is missing an opportunity to boost efficiency and encourage novelty at the FDA and National Institutes of Health.

On August 22, the secretary of defense fired the head of the Defense Intelligence Agency and two other senior commanders, bringing the total number of senior military firings since Donald Trump took office to 14. AEI Foreign and Defense Policy Studies Director Kori Schake warns that the manner and scope of these firings are undermining military capability and confidence.

Teachers unions are some of the most ardent supporters of the Democratic Party, but how reflective are they of ordinary teachers’ politics views? New AEI Conservative Education Reform Network Director Daniel Buck and Will Flanders argue Republicans have an opportunity to win over teachers, and separate them from unions, if they take the right approach.