The Purse and the Sword

<p>This week, Congress returns to looming shutdowns and a “pocket-rescission” power grab. Abroad, President Trump pushes “America First” by rebranding the Pentagon as the Department of War—and launching an airstrike on a Venezuelan cartel boat. Our panel asks what all this says about America’s fiscal sanity and its foreign-policy compass.</p><br /><p>Adam N. Michel and Dominik Lett, “<a href="https://www.cato.org/blog/reconciliation-20-fix-or-fiasco-0" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Reconciliation 2.0: Fix or Fiasco?</a>,” <em>Cato at Liberty</em> (September 3, 2025)</p><p>Romina Boccia and [co-author unspecified], “<a href="https://www.cato.org/blog/coming-budget-debates-how-congress-should-navigate-them" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Coming Budget Debates and How Congress Should Navigate Them</a>,” <em>Cato at Liberty</em> (September 2025)</p><p>Brandan P. Buck, “<a href="https://www.cato.org/free-society/summer-2025/lost-liberalism-america-first" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">The Lost Liberalism of America First</a>,” <em>Free Society</em> (June 30, 2025)</p><p>Brandan P. Buck, “<a href="https://www.cato.org/blog/cognitive-shift-how-terrorist-label-may-lead-another-forever-war" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">The Cognitive Shift: How the Terrorist Label May Lead to Another Forever War</a>,” <em>Cato at Liberty</em> (March 19, 2025)</p><hr /><p style="color: grey; font-size: 0.75em;"> Hosted on Acast. See <a href="https://acast.com/privacy" rel="noopener noreferrer" style="color: grey;" target="_blank">acast.com/privacy</a> for more information.</p>