AEI's weekly digest of top commentary and scholarship on the issues that matter most
AEI This Week
AEI's weekly digest of top commentary and scholarship on the issues that matter most
HOW TO MAKE IT LAST
Defense Acquisition Transformation
November 15, 2025
Last week, Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth announced sweeping reforms to how the military develops and acquires new capabilities and equipment. Elaine McCusker and John G. Ferrari, who have both worked in the Pentagon on these issues, assess ([link removed] ) the proposals and explain what it will take for them to succeed.
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In July, Congress passed the GENIUS Act, allowing for-profit entities to issue what amounts to a new digital currency. In a new AEI report, financial regulatory expert Paul H. Kupiec demonstrates ([link removed] ) the unprecedented privileges this new law offers by drawing parallels with the regulation of private banknotes in the 19th century.
In October, a federal judge sentenced Nicholas Roske, who plotted to assassinate Justice Brett Kavanaugh, to only eight years in prison—citing the burdens of Roske’s desire to transition genders as a cause for leniency. Writing in Commentary, Christine Rosen highlights ([link removed] ) the broader costs of the trans movement’s uncompromising demands.
Twenty-four states and the District of Columbia have legalized cannabis—sparking an explosion in daily marijuana use. In new research for AEI, Howard Husock comprehensively reviews ([link removed] ) cannabis packaging warning labels to show how many states are failing to provide adequate information on the health risks.
Last week’s elections were another piece of evidence that throughout the Trump era, when the president is not on the ballot, Republicans lose. Timothy P. Carney documents ([link removed] ) the full scope of this political erosion since 2016 and the challenge for the GOP as it prepares for a future where it can no longer rely on his coattails.
America’s Human Arithmetic
Though the US has achieved unparalleled wealth and unmatched global power, Americans feel little confidence and satisfaction with the state of the country and our institutions. In a new collection of essays, America’s Human Arithmetic, Henry Wendt Chair in Political Economy Nicholas Eberstadt explores ([link removed] ) this disconnect through a bracing demographic, social, and economic analysis of America’s population. He lays bare what he calls the “New Misery”: the practical and moral dilemmas of wealth in the absence of well-being. Releasing on November 18 through AEI Press, the volume also includes a foreword from AEI President Robert Doar highlighting the significance of Eberstadt’s eminent scholarship.
More from AEI
RESEARCH AND COMMENTARY
Multinationals Aren’t Ready for the US-China Clash ([link removed] )
Hal Brands | Bloomberg Opinion
The Illusion of America’s Religious Revival ([link removed] )
Daniel A. Cox | AEI’s Survey Center on American Life
Europe’s Slowdown Is America’s Problem Too ([link removed] )
James Pethokoukis | AEIdeas
College Costs Shouldn’t Be a Mystery ([link removed] )
Preston Cooper | AEIdeas
When Less Warming Means More Fear ([link removed] )
Roger Pielke Jr. | The Honest Broker
PODCASTS AND VIDEOS
Save Our Universities! ([link removed] ?)
Jonah Goldberg and William Inboden | The Remnant with Jonah Goldberg
Would Any Republican Consider Ending the Filibuster? Martin Gold Explains. ([link removed] )
Danielle Pletka et al. | What the Hell Is Going On?
The Future of Family Autonomy After Mahmoud v. Taylor ([link removed] )
William Haun et al. | Federalist Society
Federalists Triumph in Pennsylvania ([link removed] )
Jay Cost | The American Founding with Jay Cost
Are Trump’s Tariffs Lawful? ([link removed] )
John Yoo | We the People
QUOTE OF THE WEEK
Markets and much of Corporate America may welcome even a modest curb on presidential tariff power—Moody’s thinks tariffs have knocked a half point from economic growth this year, with things looking a bit worse next year—but the broader direction is sobering: Tariffs have become a permanent tool of economic statecraft, at least under this administration. The statutes at play might change, but the growth-suppressing uncertainty won’t.
—James Pethokoukis ([link removed] )
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