And be sure to subscribe to VPA's Substack here! vanderbiltpolicyaccelerator.substack.com

10/ The transition will happen with or without US participation. By withdrawing from these industries and blocking allies from Chinese partnerships, America risks becoming a bystander to the biggest economic transformation of our time.

Ultimately, the question is whether the next era of industrial policy is dominated by a unitary executive, or democratized by all branches of government.

washingtonmonthly.com/2025/09/03/t...

8/8

But there’s also Path #2: Industrial Policy Checked and Balanced. Congress and the courts ought to play a role in mitigating the dangers and pitfalls of Trump’s approach. 7/8

Indeed, future Democratic presidents may find a lot to like in the Trump-inflected industrial policy toolkit they inherit. 6/8

There are two paths forward:
Path #1: Industrial Policy Unleashed. The path of no resistance, where political inertia will cement Trump’s style of economic dealmaking. 5/8

The emerging “industrial policy with Trumpist characteristics” bears a number of specific traits:
-Personalist power-grabbing
-Government stakes in companies
-Quid-pro-quo transactionalism
-Leverage power plays
-Legal adventurism
4/8

Trump injected gov’t into private business through a number of deals during this Big State Summer, including with US Steel, MP Materials, Japan, Nvidia, and Intel. 3/8

Read the full piece here: washingtonmonthly.com/2025/09/03/t... 2/8

Great piece! I wrote a related "everything-bagel" defense in Wash Monthly recently: washingtonmonthly.com/2025/04/24/i...

BTW, I work on industrial policy at the Vanderbilt Policy Accelerator. Would love to connect some time - can message me or email at joel.t.dodge at vanderbilt dot edu

MAGA declinism