It's a political rocket to nowhere. Other than as a jobs and contractor shareholder enrichment program, it serves no purpose. Will it be able to do things Falcon Heavy and Starship can't do? Maybe. Cost effective and timely? Absolutely not.
IMHO, this is what you get when large programs are subjected to political whims--constantly changing along with the politics of the day and therefore hugely expensive and ridiculously stretched out development.
How different things were back in the 60s, when there was a goal (beat the Soviets to the moon) and a deadline (before this decade is out). Apparently beating the Chinese to the moon doesn't provide the same motivation.