In Washington today, House Speaker Paul Ryan released the first of the policy initiatives that House Republicans have been developing this year. This one is focused on improving mobility and fighting poverty. You can read the proposal here.

It’s a smart and serious policy paper, which draws on some key elements of the approach Ryan proposed in 2014. Not all of Ryan’s original ideas are included, but some important new elements are added. Getting House Republicans reasonably united behind what’s here is impressive and important. It suggests the congressional party is interested in an approach to social policy that emphasizes subsidiarity and flexibility, that values work, and that seeks to show how conservatism can be a force for modernization in the face of the anachronism of the liberal welfare state. I recommend Scott Winship’s reflections on the proposals for safety-net reforms in particular.

But these proposals, and the broader policy effort in the House (other elements of which will be released in the coming weeks), unfortunately also highlight the tragic bind the Republican Party finds itself in as a result of the catastrophic failure of its presidential primary electorate to select even a remotely conservative nominee—or indeed, one who is fit to serve as president at all. In this situation the House agenda can really only be understood as a way of contending with Trump, when it rightly ought to be more than that.

Even as a way of contending with Trump, it’s hard to know quite what to make of this effort. This kind of agenda could have served House Republicans as a way of distinguishing themselves from Trump, and certainly there are a few House Republicans who will want to use it that way. But as nearly all of their colleagues, and all of their leaders, have now effectively backed Trump, drawing distinctions will be no easy feat. Some in the House suggest the agenda will move Trump in their direction, as he might commit to sign it or at least may refrain from calling it dumb for a little while. But you don’t have to listen to Trump for too long to know what to make of that hope, or of any “commitment” he might make regarding this agenda (or anything else). A kind of barefaced, brazen infidelity toward all who rely on his word—in the private sphere, in business, and now in politics—is near the essence of the man, combining as it does his reckless impulsiveness with his utterly mind-boggling narcissism.

This is not to say that developing and championing this agenda is pointless. I think it’s far from it. Today’s proposals are a meaningful step toward a serious conservative policy agenda directed to 21st century challenges (including some of those that, having been left poorly addressed or worse by both parties, may have helped create some openings for Trump), and I think some of the proposals to come will likely be as well. Policy development and coalition building are very slow and arduous processes, and this strategy by the House leadership is clearly part of such a process, even if it comes amidst a massive transformation of the broader Republican coalition. But it is not about anything, or anything much, that could plausibly be done under a President Trump or Clinton. If it amounts to anything, it is about House Republicans trying to peer a little further into the (unknowable and even more hazy than usual) future—as they must.

The one potential exception is the element of the House agenda slated to take up the reassertion of congressional authority and the rebalancing of our constitutional order. We don’t yet know what that will involve exactly, but Paul Ryan and others have spoken in recent years about the need to reverse decades of congressional dereliction when it comes to the balance of power in our system and a number of members, as well as outsiders, have proposed promising ideas along those lines. Because Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton will apparently be the two major party nominees, it’s perfectly clear that an assertive Congress able to constrain the uses and abuses of presidential power will be absolutely essential to the country in the next few years. On that front, at least, there is no time to waste.