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United States

Donald Trump Makes His Case to a Joint Session of Congress

The president will speak to an American public divided over his administration’s policies.

Post by James M. Lindsay March 3, 2025 The Water's Edge
RealEcon

Chips, Steel, and Lawnmowers: What Trade Is Strategic?

President Trump, his advisors, and Congress have different ideas of what products and markets are strategic.

Article by Jonathan E. Hillman February 26, 2025
United States

Transition 2025: Another Government Shutdown Looms

Each Friday, I examine what is happening with President-elect Donald Trump’s transition to the White House. This week: Donald Trump helped scuttle a deal to keep the U.S. government open but exposed the limits of his influence.

Post by James M. Lindsay December 20, 2024 The Water's Edge

Experts in this Keyword

James M. Lindsay

Mary and David Boies Distinguished Senior Fellow in U.S. Foreign Policy and Director of Fellowship Affairs

Carla Anne Robbins

Senior Fellow

United States

The 2024 Election by the Numbers

With the Electoral College votes now cast, here is a recap of how Americans voted in 2024.

Article by James M. Lindsay December 18, 2024 The Water's Edge
U.S. Foreign Policy

Empty Embassies

The United States has dozens of vacant ambassadorial posts, largely because the Senate holds nominees in limbo for years. The system for appointing and confirming ambassadors is broken.

Post by Elliott Abrams October 11, 2024 Pressure Points
Defense and Security

Congress’s Funding Battle, Iran Sends Missiles to Russia, Orbán Defies the EU, and More

The U.S. Congress returns from its summer recess to try to pass a budget for federal discretionary programs before the fiscal year ends and avoid a government shutdown; the United States and other Western allies accuse Iran of transferring ballistic missiles to Russia, raising concerns over intensified strikes on Ukraine; Hungary faces a second deadline to pay a $221 million fine for breaking European Union asylum law, which President Viktor Orbán remains unwilling to follow; and China gifts Cambodia two newly built Type 056 corvette warships, raising questions about Beijing’s naval ambitions.

Podcast with Robert McMahon and Carla Anne Robbins September 12, 2024 The World Next Week
Israel

Netanyahu’s High-Stakes Visit to Washington

The Israeli prime minister’s meetings and address to the U.S. Congress will aim to rally support for Israel as it seeks to end its campaign to destroy Hamas and beat back a growing threat from Hezbollah in the north.

Expert Brief by Steven A. Cook July 18, 2024 Middle East Program
Israel

GOP Election Enthusiasm, Netanyahu Addresses U.S. Congress, Cyprus 50 Years After Invasion, and More

The world reacts to the Republican National Convention in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, and the selection of Ohio Senator JD Vance as former President Donald Trump’s running mate; Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu addresses a joint session of Congress; Cyprus marks fifty years since the Turkish invasion that left the country still split in two; and Nepal’s Prime Minister Khadga Prasad Sharma Oli begins his fourth term in office.

Podcast with Robert McMahon and Carla Anne Robbins July 18, 2024 The World Next Week
Sudan

Congress’s Urgent Agenda, Sudan’s Year of War, Ecuador-Mexico Embassy Fray, and More

Congress returns from recess and grapples with contentious agenda items, including reauthorization of a section of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act and a Ukraine aid package; Sudan enters a second year of civil war with more than half of the country’s population in need of aid and millions more displaced; and Ecuadorian police breach international law by raiding the Mexican embassy in Quito to arrest former Ecuadorian Vice President Jorge Glas.

Podcast with Robert McMahon and Carla Anne Robbins April 11, 2024 The World Next Week
Russia

Russia’s Gloomy ‘Elections’, U.S. Budget Divisions, Elton John-Bernie Taupin Awarded, and More

Russia holds its presidential election with the Kremlin aiming to orchestrate a sweeping endorsement of President Vladimir Putin; the U.S. Congress continues its partisan battles over the 2024 budget as concerns of shutdown and aid to allies mount; the U.S. Library of Congress flexes its soft power by awarding Elton John and Bernie Taupin with the Gershwin Prize; and the crisis in Haiti worsens.

Podcast with Robert McMahon and Carla Anne Robbins March 14, 2024 The World Next Week
United States

Ten Facts About the State of the Union Address

President Biden will deliver the annual State of the Union address on Thursday night. Here are ten things you might not know about the tradition of having a president deliver an annual address.

Post by James M. Lindsay March 5, 2024 The Water's Edge
Ukraine

Will Ukraine Survive?

What Ukraine and its Western backers have accomplished in the wake of Russia’s February 2022 invasion is extraordinary. But with congressional Republicans blocking further US military aid, even as Russia begins to make gains on the battlefield, there is reason to be concerned about what the war’s third year will bring.

Article by Richard Haass February 9, 2024
Technology and Innovation

Cyber Week in Review: February 2, 2024

Senate holds hearing on child safety on social media; U.S. disables Chinese botnet; Taylor Swift deepfakes flood social media; AI companies have to report safety tests to government; Brazil investigating Bolsonaro's spyware use.

Post by Kat Duffy , Kyle Fendorf and Cecilia Marrinan February 2, 2024 Net Politics
Technology and Innovation

The Largest Senate Judiciary Committee Audience Is on Capitol Hill—and at Home—Today

Today's Senate hearing on big tech and the child exploitation crisis should remind the public of Section 230's provision on parental controls, and the real-world analogies to how social media platforms operate.

Post by Leah Plunkett January 31, 2024 Net Politics
Middle East and North Africa

Mideast Tensions Grow, Consumer Electronics Show Spotlights AI, Divided U.S. Congress Returns, and More

U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken returns to the Middle East as the region reacts to attacks in Iran, Lebanon, and the Red Sea; the annual Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas previews new products and services equipped with artificial intelligence (AI); the U.S. Congress returns from its holiday recess with divisions over migration and defense aid; and the stabbing of South Korean opposition leader Lee Jae-myung stirs fears ahead of elections.

Podcast with Robert McMahon and Carla Anne Robbins January 4, 2024 The World Next Week