United States | Foreign policy

DOGE attacks a bastion of Republican internationalism

Elon Musk has joined a war of ideas under the guise of a budget fight

A portrait of Ronald Reagan
No more evil empiresPhotograph: Getty Images
|Washington

A mix of MAGA purists and internationalist Republicans staffed Donald Trump’s first administration, with the old establishment generally holding the upper hand. But in his second term the populists are driving policy, and congressional Republicans mostly have stood aside. Consider the muted response to Elon Musk’s attack on the National Endowment for Democracy (NED). Unlike some of Mr Musk’s broadsides against spending, this one is more about ideas than budget numbers.

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This article appeared in the United States section of the print edition under the headline “Reaganism’s end?”

From the February 22nd 2025 edition

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