Hoover Daily Report | June 19, 2025

Today, Niall Ferguson argues alongside Yoav Gallant that only the United States has the capability to destroy Iran’s fortified Fordow uranium enrichment site; David R. Henderson reviews a new book questioning popular narratives of economic decline and stagnation; and a policy brief from the Healthcare Policy Working Group examines the “valley of death” preventing medical innovations from reaching Medicare patients in a timely fashion following their approval by the FDA.

View the full report: Hoover Daily Report | June 19, 2025

Episode Transcript

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Welcome to the Hoover Daily Report. . Ideas Advancing Freedom . .  It's  Thursday, June 19, 2025.

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Today, Neal Ferguson argues alongside Yoav Gallant that only the United States has the capability to destroy Iran’s fortified Fordow uranium enrichment site; David R. Henderson reviews a new book questioning popular narratives of economic decline and stagnation; and a policy brief from the Healthcare Policy Working Group examines the “valley of death” preventing medical innovations from reaching Medicare patients in a timely fashion following their approval by the FDA.

Israel Has Done Most of the Job. Only Trump Can Finish It. In a piece for The Free Press coauthored with Yoav Gallant, the former Israeli minister of defense, Senior Fellow Neal Ferguson argues that the job of taking out Iran’s deeply buried Fordow uranium enrichment site can only be completed by the United States, and only one man can decide to take such action (00:23):
President Trump. “Fordow is built into the mountains near Qom, encased under at least 300 feet of limestone,” note the authors. In his former role Gallant “devoted considerable time and effort to considering” the possible ways Israel could disable Fordow alone; he and his colleagues in the Israeli defense establishment concluded they could not succeed without US assistance. “Only one air force has the power to finish off Fordow. The United States designed and built the GBU 57A/B Massive Ordnance Penetrator precisely for such a task,” and only American B-2 Spirit bombers can deliver this powerful munition. Gallant and Ferguson conclude, quote, “This is a rare moment when strategic alignment and operational momentum converge. It must not be missed.”

The Resilient, American Dream Writing at Defining Ideas, Research Fellow David R. Henderson reviews "Crushing Capitalism (00:27):
How Populist Policies Are Threatening the American Dream" by Cato Institute economist Norbert J. Michel. Henderson finds that the author “lays out massive amounts of data that show things are getting better for most Americans, many government interventions slow that improvement, and further government intervention would slow it further.” Henderson’s review examines, among other topics, pay in manufacturing jobs versus the service sector; the question of whether real wages have stagnated; the impact of the “China shock” across the US; and how poverty is falling. Henderson concludes, “The American dream is alive and well. Almost everyone is becoming better off. Mishell is right to argue that policies based on a misconception of the state of the US economy are dangerous and could slow the growth in economic well-being.”

Crossing the Valley of Death (01:27):
The Innovation Imperative and Medicare Coverage Reform In a new policy brief from the Healthcare Policy Working Group, Ted Cho and Brian J. Miller examine the “valley of death” between FDA approval of new medical devices or drugs and Medicare coverage, where statutory standards and regulatory processes delay patients’ access to innovation. The authors, both medical doctors, highlight the consequential economic and medical costs of this gap, review prior Medicare coverage reform efforts, and offer targeted policy recommendations to provide regulatory clarity, streamline the coverage decision process, and ultimately expand access to medical innovations. Cho and Miller stress that there is an urgent need for Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) reform. Policymakers and CMS can provide clarity of coverage principles, improve local coverage determination processes, and expand transparency to facilitate access to innovation.
Global Macro Investing and Geoeconomics, with Hedge Fund Investor Kyle Bass For the latest episode of Capitalism and Freedom in the Twenty-First Century, Policy Fellow Jon Hartley interviews investor and life member of the Council on Foreign Relations J. Kyle Bass. Hartley and Bass discuss Bass’s career and upbringing, the 2000s housing crisis, and the European sovereign debt crisis of the 2010s. The duo also dives into the rise and fall of Japan’s economy, China’s rising aggression and decoupling from the US, and why the US remains the best place in the world to continue to invest as an innovation hub.

Tim Bouverie and the Diplomacy of World War II For a new episode of Secrets of Statecraft, Andrew Roberts interviews British historian Timothy Pleydell-Bouverie. Bouverie shares insights from his new book Allies at War (02:09):
The Politics of Defeating Hitler. His research illuminates the knotty diplomatic dilemmas faced by Churchill, Roosevelt, and Stalin as they overcame political, ideological, and personal differences to confront the Axis powers led by Hitler’s Nazi Germany. Bouverie provides a textured analysis of Churchill’s and Roosevelt’s views on the war and plans for the postwar period. Like other guests on Secrets of Statecraft, Bouverie also shares what history book he is reading currently as well as a favorite historical counterfactual.

This Month in Hoover History,  Condoleeza Rice interviews Betsy DeVos about advancing education freedom. During a “fireside chat” in Hauck Auditorium, Hoover Institution Director Condoleezza Rice interviewed Betsy DeVos about her book Hostages No More (02:12):
The Fight for Education Freedom and the Future of the American Child, which details the former secretary of education’s tenure during the first Trump administration.
That’s your Hoover Daily Report for Thursday, June 19, 2025. Each weekday, we bring you research, analysis, and commentary focused on public policy, national security, and the ideas shaping American society and government. The Hoover Institution at Stanford University is grounded in constitutional principles with a commitment to sustaining the safeguards of the American way of life. Thank you for listening. For links to all the articles and interviews mentioned today, visit hoover.org slash hdr.