SUBSCRIBER-ONLY NEWSLETTER
By David Wallace-Wells
Opinion Writer
A few months ago, it seemed obvious that the biggest story of Donald Trump’s second term as president was Elon Musk becoming his co-pilot, steering what was often called the DOGE blitzkrieg. Last week — yes, it was just last week — it was tempting to see the biggest story as the end of that partnership, with Musk’s initiative yielding trivial budget savings and significant legal challenges and then ultimately a messily personal (if perhaps temporary) political divorce.
That it was all such good theater meant that it was possible to miss — below claims about “the Epstein files” and innuendo about drug-fueled psychosis and arguments over who was most responsible for the 2024 victory — some actual, substantive beef. That is, Trump’s big policy bill — the only major piece of legislation the Republican Congress has even tried to advance, in its first six months, probably its best chance at a major policy achievement before next year’s midterms and a road map for the near American future that deserves considerably more public scrutiny than it’s gotten to this point.
