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
ACHIEVING LESS THAN IT SEEMS
Trump's First Year
January 17, 2026
President Trump’s supporters and critics have both treated the story of his second term's first year as one of transformative action. But how much has he actually accomplished? In a new interview with The New York Times’ Ezra Klein, Social, Cultural, and Constitutional Studies Director Yuval Levin assesses ([link removed] ) Trump’s presidency so far—and explains why his approach to governance is not as effective as it seems.
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The Trump administration has dramatically changed US immigration policy by stepping up border enforcement, pursuing mass deportations of illegal aliens, and restricting legal immigration programs. In a new report, Stan Veuger and coauthors estimate ([link removed] ) that these policies drove immigration in 2025 to zero or negative levels—with negative consequences for the American economy.
Last week, President Trump called for a $1.5 trillion defense budget for fiscal year 2027. In a new working paper, Elaine McCusker and John G. Ferrari lay out ([link removed] ) how Congress and the military could use this $600 billion increase to develop a military posture capable of handling a protracted multi-theater war.
The United States will formally withdraw from the World Health Organization on January 22. Brett D. Schaefer and Roger Bate explain ([link removed] ) how the US can use this withdrawal to pursue much-needed improvements to transparency and accountability in global health governance.
This week, Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell accused the administration of threatening to criminally prosecute him to induce the central bank to lower interest rates. Desmond Lachman highlights ([link removed] ) the serious economic risks of this unprecedented threat to independent monetary policy.
General Law Revivalism and the Problem of 1938
From the nation’s founding until 1938, federal courts routinely used a body of non-statutory general law to resolve a wide range of legal issues. The Supreme Court repudiated this practice in Erie Railroad Co. v. Tompkins, declaring that “there is no federal general common law” and requiring courts to follow only federal or state law. In a new draft paper, Jack Goldsmith and Curtis Bradley grapple ([link removed] ) with the complicated legacy of this decision—which refounded much of contemporary federal court doctrine on non-originalist grounds. Unlike with other non-originalist precedents, the current Supreme Court has largely continued to embrace Erie—despite some scholars’ calls to revive federal general law. Goldsmith and Bradley explain why this revivalism is unworkable but highlight the fundamental dilemma this leaves originalists with as they are forced to compromise their commitments to live with Erie’s legacy.
More from AEI
RESEARCH AND COMMENTARY
Improving Medicare Program Integrity ([link removed] )
James C. Capretta and Jack Rowing | AEIdeas
A Path Forward: Institutional Constraints in the Age of Trump ([link removed] )
Kori Schake | AEIdeas
Are China’s Students Really Number One? A Statistical Riddle ([link removed] )
Nicholas Eberstadt | Milken Institute Review
Iran Is Vulnerable. Is It Time for the US to Intervene? ([link removed] )
Hal Brands | Bloomberg Opinion
Colleges Didn’t Only Lose Their Value—They Lost Their Way ([link removed] )
Mark Schneider | AEIdeas
PODCASTS AND VIDEOS
What Is Going On in Iran? Michael Rubin Explains. ([link removed] )
Danielle Pletka et al. | What the Hell Is Going On?
The State and the Soldier: A Conversation About Civil-Military Relations with Kori Schake and Robert Doar ([link removed] )
Robert Doar and Kori Schake | AEI event
Math Academy ([link removed] )
Nat Malkus et al. | The Report Card with Nat Malkus
Patriots and Loyalists ([link removed] )
Jonah Goldberg and Ken Burns | The Remnant with Jonah Goldberg
Powering Prosperity and the New Electricity Economy ([link removed] )
L. Lynne Kiesling | AEI event
QUOTE OF THE WEEK
The courts must continue to limit the President’s kingly instincts, by limiting his power to be our legislator-in-chief. And our actual legislators need to reform their own institution accordingly.
—Adam J. White ([link removed] )
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