Ezra Klein and Lawfare editor Quinta Jurecic track how the early “muzzle velocity” of Trump’s second term is colliding with institutional pushback, especially from the courts, as the administration pursues sweeping actions like dismantling USAID, freezing congressionally authorized spending, and issuing a birthright-citizenship order that judges have blocked. They explore what is merely aggressive versus outright illegal, why chaotic implementation matters legally and politically, and how the executive branch can create “facts on the ground” faster than litigation can unwind them. The conversation also examines Elon Musk’s informal role in cutting through agencies, the administration’s pressure campaign against civil servants and the FBI, and why Congress has largely ceded its power—turning separation of powers into “separation of parties.” After Vice President J.D. Vance signals that judges may not be able to constrain the executive’s “legitimate power,” they assess whether the U.S. is edging toward a constitutional crisis, how contempt powers and compliance might play out, and how public protest and institutional resistance could still shape what happens next.

Marc Andreessen argues that Silicon Valley once operated under an unwritten “Deal” in which tech founders got rich, legitimized themselves through philanthropy and mainstream liberal causes, and enjoyed friendly treatment from Democrats, but he says this arrangement collapsed after 2016 amid “wokeness,” hostile employees, media criticism, and a Democratic turn against tech. The article counters that tech’s rightward drift may be better explained by the industry’s rise from underdog to dominant center of economic and cultural power, which naturally drew greater public and political scrutiny. It suggests a new, similarly unspoken bargain is emerging with Republicans under Trump, where anti-progressive positioning and hawkishness on China replace prior liberal alignments, alongside a shift from “virtue-signaling” to “vice-signaling.” Yet this new deal carries added risk because Trump has shown willingness to use regulation, investigations, and personal threats selectively, making compliance and loyalty-signaling part of the price. Rather than returning to a hands-off 1990s relationship, the piece argues the government may move closer to tech through selective deregulation and politici...