Here are the top 10 most read pieces of research, commentary, and analysis that we published from each of our policy areas and executive team so far in 2025. Our research and analysis are steeped in the foundational principles of the American experiment: individual liberty, free markets, the rule of law and equal treatment under it, and limited, effective government.
Rebuilding the Force: Solving Policing’s Workforce Emergency
by Logan Seacrest, Resident Fellow and Jillian Snider, Resident Senior Fellow, Criminal Justice and Civil Liberties
Summary: This policy study explores the recruitment and retention crisis in U.S. law enforcement, analyzing historical, social, and economic factors that have shaped the problem. It describes the staffing shortage, evaluates its consequences, and explores innovative strategies to address the issue. The findings and recommendations offered in this paper provide a practical, comprehensive framework for agencies to build and sustain a strong, resilient workforce.
DeepSeek’s cybersecurity failures expose a bigger risk. Here’s what we really should be watching.
by Haiman Wong, Resident Fellow, Cybersecurity and Emerging Threats
Summary: The United States has enjoyed an edge in AI innovation, but DeepSeek’s recent achievements serve as a reminder that our progress and leadership cannot be taken for granted. It should inspire action and collaboration, not panic or overcorrection that could undermine our strengths. If there is a lesson to be learned from the DeepSeek-R1 model release, it’s that AI leadership is not just about who achieves exceptional model performance and accessibility first—it’s also about who can be reliable and trustworthy while implementing them securely and strategically.
State-By-State Scorecard on Electricity Competition
by Chris Villareal, Associate Fellow, Kent Chandler, Resident Senior Fellow, and Michael Giberson, Senior Fellow, Energy and Environment
Summary: Electricity competition involves more than just allowing customers to choose their retail supplier. It also requires making sure customers are aware of their ability to choose, encouraging them to choose their supplier, and keeping that choice visible to reinforce their decision. Currently, just over a dozen states give all of their customers the ability to choose their electricity provider. Other states have created hybrid models that offer some degree of choice. Each state has adopted its own set of rules to facilitate this process. Although the ability to choose a supplier remains the primary benchmark for assessing electricity competition across the United States, additional strategies that support competition and choice can also factor into the overall picture of a state’s retail market, regardless of whether or not it offers full retail open access.
How Trump’s “10-to-1” Deregulation Initiative Is Taking Shape in Financial Services
by Caroline Melear, Resident Fellow, Finance, Insurance, and Trade
Summary: The Trump administration appears to have chosen a strategy of rapid movement to accomplish its “10-to-1” deregulatory agenda, acting through both the executive and legislative branches. Given the president’s ambitious goals, this strategy is not just effective—it is necessary. The administration’s ability to accomplish meaningful change may be severely limited should the congressional makeup shift following the 2026 midterm elections. Of course, long-lasting, impactful change is far more challenging to accomplish without Congress. In addition to the issue of EOs immediately being undone by the next president, overuse of executive authority is a serious concern. It encourages each newly elected president to exercise even more power than the last, essentially eroding the separation of powers and checks and balances. It is therefore ideal for the administration to advance their deregulatory agenda as rapidly as possible.
No, the SAVE Act is not designed to disenfranchise women
by Matt Germer, Policy Director, Governance
Summary: Like many pieces of legislation introduced in the run-up to an election, the SAVE Act may have been more of a messaging tool than a robust election reform. As a result, the bill contains some meaningful implementation hurdles that would have to be addressed before enactment. While the SAVE Act could be clearer about the process for resolving documentation discrepancies, it is not designed to disenfranchise women or any other Americans who have legally changed their names. The bill addresses this common scenario and provides a pathway forward. Opponents should focus their fire elsewhere.
Prenatal Substance Use Laws Inadvertently Endanger Healthy Families: A Review of Laws Affecting Pregnant Women in Recovery and Their Children
by Stacey McKenna, Resident Senior Fellow, Harm Reduction and Courtney Joslin, Resident Fellow and Senior Manager, Project for Women and Families
Summary: Parental substance use is one of the primary reasons children enter the foster care system. Over the last two decades, as the opioid crisis took root and more parents found themselves struggling with opioid use disorder (OUD), the number of children placed in foster care as a result of parental drug use nearly doubled. At the same time, the number of state and federal laws attempting to both address treatment-related issues and punish substance use also increased. Some of these laws have created more problems than they have solved…To better understand the scope of this issue, we conducted a 50-state analysis of child welfare laws and their inclusion/exclusion of MOUD use during pregnancy. As a result of this research, we have identified specific public policy reforms that can help ensure individuals are not punished for taking MOUDs while pregnant.
Trump’s Proposed $5,000 Child Tax Credit: Analyzing Various Approaches
by Jacob Bastian, Senior Fellow, Project for Women and Families
Summary: Design choices for Trump’s proposed $5,000 CTC carry profound implications for poverty reduction, work incentives, and fiscal responsibility. Among the options analyzed here, Policy A (universally available benefits) emerges as the most effective approach for reducing child poverty—particularly for families in the lowest income brackets. While this approach comes with a higher fiscal cost, its efficiency in addressing poverty makes it a compelling option for policymakers seeking to maximize social impact…Conversely, policies with phased-in benefits tied to earnings (e.g., Policy B) offer stronger work incentives but achieve less dramatic reductions in poverty. Ultimately, the trade-offs between equity, efficiency, and cost underscore the importance of carefully calibrating both phase-in and phase-out rates to align the policy with broader economic and social objectives. If the administration navigates these decisions thoughtfully, the proposed CTC has significant potential to enhance the well-being of millions of families across the income spectrum. (Read Jacob’s latest on the One Big Beautiful Bill here.)
Vice President JD Vance Resets the Global AI Agenda with Paris AI Action Summit Address
by Adam Thierer, Resident Senior Fellow, Technology and Innovation
Summary: “The United States is the leader in AI, and our administration plans to keep it that way,” he [Vance] insisted. While that may come across as arrogant to some global leaders, it is exactly the message they need to hear today. It will hopefully encourage them to race alongside us and ensure that AI reaches its full potential as China and other nations look to advance their own algorithmic capabilities, but with very different goals in mind. As Vance correctly noted, embracing AI opportunity is key to ensuring that result.
Real Insights: Trust, Freedom, and the Future—A Conversation with Lenore Skenazy
by Erica Schoder, Executive Director
Summary: My conversation with Lenore left me with an important insight: How we structure childhood shapes how we structure society. To build a democracy founded on trust, agency, and responsibility, we must instill these values early. That means resisting the urge to control every outcome; embracing risk and uncertainty; and remembering surveillance does not foster trust—freedom and responsibility do. Lenore has already had a significant influence on the way our society thinks about childhood, but I think her insights go even further—they inform how we shape leadership, democracy, and the future itself.
Want more? Watch our live interview with The Dispatch’s Jonah Goldberg from our 2025 Real Solutions Summit.