A powerful Democratic lawmaker at the center of congressional investigations into U.S. President Donald Trump’s foreign policy is fighting for his political life in a primary against a progressive insurgent, a potential bellwether race in the fight to frame the party’s approach to the world.After 31 years in office, Rep. Eliot Engel, a centrist New York congressman and the chairman of the House Foreign Affairs Committee, is neck-and-neck in the polls with Jamaal Bowman, a progressive 44-year-old Bronx middle school principal in his first run for office, ahead of the June 23 New York primary...…A powerful Democratic lawmaker at the center of congressional investigations into U.S. President Donald Trump’s foreign policy is fighting for his political life in a primary against a progressive insurgent, a potential bellwether race in the fight to frame the party’s approach to the world.After 31 years in office, Rep. Eliot Engel, a centrist New York congressman and the chairman of the House Foreign Affairs Committee, is neck-and-neck in the polls with Jamaal Bowman, a progressive 44-year-old Bronx middle school principal in his first run for office, ahead of the June 23 New York primary...WW…

The Trump administration is increasingly set on trying to bring China into a key nuclear arms deal with Russia, according to documents obtained by Foreign Policy, amid fears by arms control experts that the effort is futile and the United States is running out of time to recommit to the Obama-era New START treaty. For a year, the Trump administration has floated the idea of pursuing a three-way nuclear arms agreement to replace START, or the Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty, between the United States and Russia, which sets limits on each country’s long-range nuclear weapons. But the...…The Trump administration is increasingly set on trying to bring China into a key nuclear arms deal with Russia, according to documents obtained by Foreign Policy, amid fears by arms control experts that the effort is futile and the United States is running out of time to recommit to the Obama-era New START treaty. For a year, the Trump administration has floated the idea of pursuing a three-way nuclear arms agreement to replace START, or the Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty, between the United States and Russia, which sets limits on each country’s long-range nuclear weapons. But the...WW…

With Joe Biden emerging as the unchallenged Democratic candidate for U.S. president in 2020, his foreign-policy team is tasked with ironing out a campaign platform amid a pandemic that has turned the 2020 presidential race on its head.But mainly they need to deal with the Bernie factor—a broad set of progressive stances including those on foreign policy championed by Biden’s just-departed chief rival, Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders. The former vice president will need to pay more than lip service if he is to win over most of the party base.The coronavirus pandemic, which hastened Sanders’s...…With Joe Biden emerging as the unchallenged Democratic candidate for U.S. president in 2020, his foreign-policy team is tasked with ironing out a campaign platform amid a pandemic that has turned the 2020 presidential race on its head.But mainly they need to deal with the Bernie factor—a broad set of progressive stances including those on foreign policy championed by Biden’s just-departed chief rival, Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders. The former vice president will need to pay more than lip service if he is to win over most of the party base.The coronavirus pandemic, which hastened Sanders’s...WW…

In an email response, a State Department spokesperson defended halting staff-level briefings, citing committee treatment of State Department officials who have testified in the past. “The House Foreign Affairs Committee’s unwillingness to engage in the Constitutionally-mandated accommodation process has compelled multiple career and non-career Department officials to seek personal counsel at great expense,” the spokesperson said. “In addition, at least one has been accused of lying before Congress without being given the opportunity to clear his name in an open hearing. The Committee’s...…In an email response, a State Department spokesperson defended halting staff-level briefings, citing committee treatment of State Department officials who have testified in the past. “The House Foreign Affairs Committee’s unwillingness to engage in the Constitutionally-mandated accommodation process has compelled multiple career and non-career Department officials to seek personal counsel at great expense,” the spokesperson said. “In addition, at least one has been accused of lying before Congress without being given the opportunity to clear his name in an open hearing. The Committee’s...WW…

President Donald Trump’s lack of response to reports of Russian bounties for killing U.S. troops in Afghanistan is giving Democratic Senate contenders hope that they’ve found a vulnerable flank to challenge White House loyalists in contested races.Though lawmakers and political analysts still expect kitchen-table issues like the economy and the pandemic to dictate the balance of power in the Senate come November, the Trump administration’s continued appeasement of Russia, coupled with limited criticism from most Republicans in the upper chamber, appears to offer an opening for a...…President Donald Trump’s lack of response to reports of Russian bounties for killing U.S. troops in Afghanistan is giving Democratic Senate contenders hope that they’ve found a vulnerable flank to challenge White House loyalists in contested races.Though lawmakers and political analysts still expect kitchen-table issues like the economy and the pandemic to dictate the balance of power in the Senate come November, the Trump administration’s continued appeasement of Russia, coupled with limited criticism from most Republicans in the upper chamber, appears to offer an opening for a...WW…

A weekly digest of national security, defense, and cybersecurity news from Foreign Policy reporters Jack Detsch and Robbie Gramer, formerly Security Brief. Delivered Thursday.Welcome to Foreign Policy’s Security Brief, and we hope you are spending your week booking your coronavirus vaccine appointment and not trying to define what “infrastructure” is. The highlights this week: The Biden administration is not embracing Open Skies, the White House eyes a new envoy to counter Russian pipelines, and new details on U.S. hostage talks in Syria.If you would like to receive Security Brief in...…A weekly digest of national security, defense, and cybersecurity news from Foreign Policy reporters Jack Detsch and Robbie Gramer, formerly Security Brief. Delivered Thursday.Welcome to Foreign Policy’s Security Brief, and we hope you are spending your week booking your coronavirus vaccine appointment and not trying to define what “infrastructure” is. The highlights this week: The Biden administration is not embracing Open Skies, the White House eyes a new envoy to counter Russian pipelines, and new details on U.S. hostage talks in Syria.If you would like to receive Security Brief in...WW…

U.S. President Joe Biden’s directive to carry out airstrikes in Syria has fueled new debates about the president’s war powers authorities, with top Democratic allies on Capitol Hill voicing unease about military action without prior congressional approval. Biden authorized strikes on Iran-backed militias in eastern Syria on Thursday, marking the first significant military action of his presidency. Almost immediately, senior Democratic lawmakers began pressuring the White House for answers on what legal justifications were used to carry out the strikes, reviving questions on a...…U.S. President Joe Biden’s directive to carry out airstrikes in Syria has fueled new debates about the president’s war powers authorities, with top Democratic allies on Capitol Hill voicing unease about military action without prior congressional approval. Biden authorized strikes on Iran-backed militias in eastern Syria on Thursday, marking the first significant military action of his presidency. Almost immediately, senior Democratic lawmakers began pressuring the White House for answers on what legal justifications were used to carry out the strikes, reviving questions on a...WW…

“Those 60 days will be a precious time for international society to stop a war or to send a clear signal. ‘This is a red line you cannot cross,’” he said. “The question is, Taiwan will be prepared to protect our home. What will the world, especially the United States, what will you do?” The message that Biden should send to Chinese President Xi Jinping is simple, Wang said: “‘Don’t even try it.’”Lloyd Austin, who was confirmed Friday as Biden’s defense secretary, told during his confirmation hearing this week that he would “make sure” the United States was living up to its commitments to...…“Those 60 days will be a precious time for international society to stop a war or to send a clear signal. ‘This is a red line you cannot cross,’” he said. “The question is, Taiwan will be prepared to protect our home. What will the world, especially the United States, what will you do?” The message that Biden should send to Chinese President Xi Jinping is simple, Wang said: “‘Don’t even try it.’”Lloyd Austin, who was confirmed Friday as Biden’s defense secretary, told during his confirmation hearing this week that he would “make sure” the United States was living up to its commitments to...WW…

Career officials at the State Department filed a second unprecedented dissent cable condemning President Donald Trump for inciting the violent mob that stormed the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6 and urging top administration officials to consider invoking the 25th Amendment to remove him from office.The dissent cable is the sent to Secretary of State Mike Pompeo this week, reflecting widespread shock and anger in the diplomatic corps at Trump’s actions and Pompeo’s own response to the political crisis. The protest against the sitting U.S. president by American diplomats is largely unparalleled in...…Career officials at the State Department filed a second unprecedented dissent cable condemning President Donald Trump for inciting the violent mob that stormed the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6 and urging top administration officials to consider invoking the 25th Amendment to remove him from office.The dissent cable is the sent to Secretary of State Mike Pompeo this week, reflecting widespread shock and anger in the diplomatic corps at Trump’s actions and Pompeo’s own response to the political crisis. The protest against the sitting U.S. president by American diplomats is largely unparalleled in...WW…

The Trump administration on Thursday announced economic sanctions and visa travel restrictions against staff of the International Criminal Court investigating possible war crimes by U.S. soldiers in Afghanistan, opening the ICC’s lawyers to measures normally reserved for the world’s worst perpetrators of human rights abuses.Human rights advocates quickly condemned President Donald Trump’s executive order on the ICC, which escalated a long-standing feud between Washington and the international body. Legal experts said the language of the order is overly broad and raises the question whether...…The Trump administration on Thursday announced economic sanctions and visa travel restrictions against staff of the International Criminal Court investigating possible war crimes by U.S. soldiers in Afghanistan, opening the ICC’s lawyers to measures normally reserved for the world’s worst perpetrators of human rights abuses.Human rights advocates quickly condemned President Donald Trump’s executive order on the ICC, which escalated a long-standing feud between Washington and the international body. Legal experts said the language of the order is overly broad and raises the question whether...WW…