The Distraction Index

This week saw significant institutional changes with lasting constitutional implications: the Trump administration designated military installations for immigrant detention, eliminated the EPA's research and development capacity, appointed a politically aligned IRS commissioner, and confirmed that ICE uses Medicaid data for enforcement operations—each representing expansions of executive power with minimal legislative oversight. Simultaneously, a coordinated messaging campaign dominated news cycles around the Epstein case, including Trump's $10 billion lawsuit against the Wall Street Journal, calls to unseal grand jury testimony, and DOJ motions to release transcripts, effectively redirecting public attention from the structural damage being implemented across federal agencies. The pattern reflects a consistent strategy: while media and political focus concentrate on the Epstein narrative and related controversies, the administration proceeds with substantive changes to immigration enforcement infrastructure, environmental regulation capacity, and tax administration personnel that will persist regardless of the current news cycle.