The Trump administration’s current economic and scientific policies risk eroding American global hegemony by undermining the institutional foundations and immigrant-driven innovation that have historically sustained the nation's long-term growth.

Key Points

• The Trump administration canceled nearly 8,000 scientific grants in 2025, with federal agencies like the NSF and NIH issuing roughly 25 percent fewer grants than in previous years.
• Over 65 percent of the world’s top AI researchers working in the U.S. are foreign-born, yet new policies include a $100,000 H-1B visa fee and four-year limits on student visas.
• The federal government has increasingly intervened in private enterprise, seizing control of U.S. Steel and becoming the largest shareholder of Intel to influence corporate operations.
• The "One Big Beautiful Bill Act" provides permanent tax reductions for corporations but adds trillions to the national debt and cuts funding for Medicaid and health insurance subsidies.
• Trump has repeatedly challenged the independence of the Federal Reserve and imposed sweeping tariffs, actions that critics argue threaten the dollar's status as the global reserve currency.

Why it Matters

These policies represent a fundamental shift toward a more dirigiste government that prioritizes political loyalty and short-term protectionism over the pluralistic institutions that drive economic productivity. By weakening the pillars of scientific research, immigration, and institutional trust, the administration risks a slow, structural decline similar to the historical trajectory of the British Empire.