I'm at the Munich Security Conference, part of an annual bipartisan delegation once led by John McCain. We're here to say that whatever our differences at home, Congress still believes the freedom & security of America depends on standing by and with our democratic allies.#MSC
On Friday, we spoke w/Canada's Justin Trudeau about our new US-Canada-Mexico trade agreement, and the need for a common NATO-like front of democratic countries against dictatorships like China that wrongly imprison our citizens.
We met @SecPompeo and I pressed him to defend the State Department and its career employees against those who spread crackpot conspiracies of a "deep state" and who attack the very idea of non-partisan public service, which is a foundation of our democracy.
All of us, Democrats & Republicans, are urging Germany and other allies not to allow Chinese state controlled companies like Huawei to build our 5G infrastructure. That would compromise our security, privacy, and ultimately freedom.washingtonpost.com/opinions/the-u…
But the bigger challenge is that our diplomats can't rally Europeans to defend our common values of democracy against autocracy if our president keeps insulting them and questioning those very values. Congress can try to speak for a better America, but we can't do it alone.
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Trump's tariffs may prove performative (and corrupt) - he may relent when countries hire lobbyists & promise to buy more US wheat, weapons or Trump bitcoin, exempt connected industries, etc. But if he means it, our economy will take multiple hits. 1/cnb.cx/40S9e7y
First, most obviously, a 20% tax on all imports from all countries will spike inflation. 98% of clothes sold in America are imported. So are over 40% of fruits and vegetables, and 90% of consumer electronics. All these things and more will instantly become more expensive. 2/
Second, goods produced in the USA will also become more expensive because even domestic manufacturers import parts and materials - aluminum for cars, chips for electronics, ingredients for pharmaceuticals - for which they'll have to pay 20% more. 3/
When you get beat, you've got to listen to people who weren't sold on your arguments, so I listened to this from Dave Portnoy with an open mind. I'm sure a lot of folks who view themselves as moderates and voted for Trump feel this way. But I have some questions. 1/
First, Harris never once called Trump backers "Nazis," "fascists" or anything similar. Trump's Marine general former chief of staff did say Trump admired Hitler and many of us cited that (how could we ignore it?), but that was not about his supporters. 2/
Meanwhile, at multiple rallies, Trump referred to people like me - whether Democrats or his Republican critics - as "scum" and "vermin" and "domestic enemies" who are worse than our foreign enemies. Are we going to talk about Dems offending Trump supporters and ignore that? 3/
I've avoided commenting on college protests because they matter way less than the real horror people in Israel/Gaza are experiencing. But there are principles worth defending here, both from the extremism of the far left and the blood lust of partisans on the right. For example:
1. The right to peaceful expression and protest should be sacrosanct, even if the ideas being expressed make people uncomfortable. Many of our elite colleges have unfortunately forgotten this in recent years. Their right wing critics forget it, too, when it suits them.
2. There's a long tradition in America of protestors violating laws that protect access to streets or buildings. That's not violence, but if you do it, you have to accept consequences. If negotiation fails, colleges are right to break up encampments that cause disorder.
As a former State Department official responsible for enforcing the Leahy Laws, which prohibit US assistance to units of foreign militaries that commit gross human rights abuses, here are a few thoughts on what's going on with the Leahy Laws and Israel. 1/
First, we've enforced the Leahy Laws all over the world, including with close allies. They work because they allow a surgical approach of cutting off individual units instead of denying aid to entire countries. Foreign governments often make changes to avoid getting "Leahied." 2/
Second, it's true that till now the State Dept has in practice not applied Leahy to Israel. This is wrong - while Israel shouldn't be held to a higher standard than other countries on human rights, it shouldn't be held to a uniquely low bar either. 3/ theguardian.com/world/2024/jan…
The House has the votes to pass more aid for #Ukraine (by a 3-1 margin). But the GOP leadership has refused to allow a vote. And now there is no GOP leadership.
The road to renewing aid, on which so much depends, will be hard. Here is a thread on how it could still be done.
Plan A, the normal option, would be for Republicans to elect a Speaker, who would then schedule a Ukraine vote. But Jim Jordan says he won't do that. And If Steve Scalise manages to unite his caucus to win, I doubt he'll then call a vote on Ukraine that divides his caucus.
Plan B: The Senate passes Ukraine aid attached to a bill dealing with the border crisis, and the new House Speaker agrees to take that up. But an immigration compromise reasonable enough to get bipartisan support in the Senate might not fly with the House invade-Mexico crowd.
Our 12 NJ House members may have to vote next week on Kevin McCarthy's threat to default on America's debts to force massive cuts in domestic spending.
Default would destroy our economy.
But we should also talk about what the proposed extreme budget cuts would do to New Jersey.
The McCarthy plan would cut about $130 billion right away and massively more over 10 years. Since the GOP will likely exempt defense, veterans, and (I'd guess) border enforcement, that would require cutting everything else the government does by over 50%.
One obvious consequence of the McCarthy cuts would be to eliminate the increased spending on our roads and bridges from last year's infrastructure bill.
So anyone voting for this is kissing the #Gateway tunnel goodbye, along with hundreds of local projects coming to our state.