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
THE TRIUMPH OF ORIGINALISM
Justice Scalia's Legacy
February 14, 2026
On February 11 and 12, AEI hosted seven federal judges, US Solicitor General D. John Sauer, former Solicitor General Paul D. Clement, and leading constitutional law experts to reflect on Justice Antonin Scalia’s jurisprudential legacy 10 years after his death in 2016. Speakers explored both Scalia’s immensely influential intellectual contributions—which restored the original understanding of the Constitution in a host of areas—and the personal example of his public service. Watch recordings of any of the panels here ([link removed] ) .
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President Trump has spent this month musing about a federal takeover of elections, as Republicans in Congress advance the SAVE Act, which would override state rules on mail-in voting and photo ID. AEI Social, Cultural, and Constitutional Studies Director Yuval Levin explains ([link removed] ) why this push to nationalize elections is just as misguided as Democrats’ version in 2021.
Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. has been curtailing federal vaccine initiatives since taking office—with the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) refusing to consider a new mRNA flu vaccine from Moderna this week. Former FDA Commissioner Scott Gottlieb highlights ([link removed] ) the costs of this policy and urges Congress to step in and preserve America’s cutting-edge vaccine development.
Thirty-nine states and the District of Columbia have released chronic absenteeism data for the 2024–25 school year—revealing that rates remain 50 percent higher than the pre-pandemic baseline. AEI Education Policy Studies Deputy Director Nat Malkus, who has done more than anyone to document and address this crisis, recommends ([link removed] ) steps educators and policymakers can take to address this stalling progress.
The year 2026 will be one of intense personal diplomacy between President Trump and Xi Jinping, as the administration attempts to execute a strategy that attempts to cool tensions to buy time for a more thorough economic decoupling. Hal Brands points out ([link removed] ) four flaws in this approach, which has been repeatedly plagued by inconsistent and contradictory execution.
The American Revolution and America’s Role in the World
On February 10, AEI Press published ([link removed] ) the sixth volume in the “We Hold These Truths: America at 250” series: The American Revolution and America’s Role in the World. Edited by Yuval Levin, Adam J. White, and John Yoo, this new books brings together scholars of American history and international relations to explore how the United States defined its place among the community of nations after independence. Contributors including George Washington Presidential Library Executive Director Lindsay M. Chervinsky, Walter Russell Mead, and Gary J. Schmitt analyze the founders’ vast international ambitions for the new country—and the controversy they generated. In all, these essays provide essential historical perspective for contemporary debates over our nation’s leadership in global affairs. Read the full text here ([link removed] ) .
More from AEI
RESEARCH AND COMMENTARY
The Congressional Budget Office’s Updated Projections ([link removed] )
James C. Capretta | AEIdeas
The Economics of Climate Adaptation Optimism ([link removed] )
Roger Pielke Jr. | The Honest Broker
Voter ID Shouldn’t Be This Controversial ([link removed] )
Jonah Goldberg | Los Angeles Times
The Repayment Assistance Plan Will Help Student Borrowers Escape Debt Without Forgiveness ([link removed] )
Preston Cooper | AEIdeas
America’s Clean Energy Future Needs Yes for an Answer ([link removed] )
James Pethokoukis | AEIdeas
PODCASTS AND VIDEOS
Do We Need Greenland? ([link removed] )
Danielle Pletka et al. | What the Hell Is Going On?
In Defense of the Filibuster ([link removed] )
Jay Cost and Sean Trende | Stubborn Things
Freeing Americans from the Tyranny of Vice ([link removed] )
Dan Wiser and Charles Fain Lehman | The National Affairs Podcast
30 Years of the Telecommunications Act: What Did We Learn? ([link removed] )
Mark Jamison | AEI event
Black Box "Realism" ([link removed] )
Jonah Goldberg and Elliott Abrams | The Remnant with Jonah Goldberg
QUOTE OF THE WEEK
The federal judicial system has done a remarkable job in the face of unprecedented challenges and hostility in standing up to the Trump administration. And the Supreme Court deserves a lot of credit for that.
—Jack Goldsmith ([link removed] )
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