Senior foreign policy officials from the last several presidential administrations gathered in Washington D.C. Tuesday for a series of panels and workshops aimed at creating a “roadmap for an incoming administration’s first 100 days in office,” according to the Center for American Progress.
Solutions that stem from the summit, hosted by the progressive think tank, are intended to help provide a new administration with approaches to handling pressing issues, such as mending fences with European allies and de-escalating tensions with nations like Iran and China.
Though the roadmap would likely be of more interest to a new administration come 2021, it will also be available to President Donald Trump if he wins re-election this November, although the organization does not believe the president’s advisors would take the advice of the progressive experts who were gathered.
Katrina Mulligan, a former Department of Justice national security expert who now works on national security and international policy at CAP, said the eventual goal is to put together “a menu of options” with a “focus on those activities or actions that would have the highest impact.”
Mulligan said experts who were working with the White House as far back as the Reagan administration planned to be in attendance. She said she hopes the next administration takes advice on, what she describes as, both offensive and defensive moves. “What do you need to do to repair things that are inherited on day one and what are the things you need to do to lay out an affirmative agenda?”
<i>Former Ambassador Susan Rice speaks at CAP’s opening event. / Center for American Progress</i>
Attendees include former Ambassador to the United Nations Samantha Power, former National Security Advisor Ambassador Susan Rice, former White House Chief of Staff Denis McDonough, former Under Secretary of Defense Michèle Flournoy and former Deputy National Security Advisor Avril Haines.
The group hopes to outline possible executive actions, diplomatic priorities and policy implementation activities, though Mulligan said there wasn’t a “specific catalyst” for the agenda- planning meetings.
After President Trump took office, employees left the State Department in droves. The State Department lost 12 percent of its foreign affairs specialists in the first eight months of Trump’s presidency.
Those who remain have worked on Trump’s ‘America First’ platform, which focuses on domestic priorities over stronger international ties. The president has also butted heads with allied leaders during his time in office, while actively working to strengthen bonds with leaders of nations traditional hostile toward the U.S. such as North Korea’s Kim Jong Un and Russia’s Vladimir Putin.
A new administration will need a robust employee base in order to accomplish lofty foreign policy goals, so Mulligan is leading a group to formulate ideas on that very issue. “I worry about the hollowing out of career civil service at the State Department, particularly,” Mulligan said. “I worry about the legacy of ‘America First’ and what it means for a lot of people who don’t understand the risk of isolating America by treating other countries the way we’ve been treating them.”
Together, she said CAP hopes to provide a roadmap in six to nine months for a new president.
Americans continue to feel the pain at the pump as a result of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. Patrick DeHaan, head of petroleum analysis at GasBuddy, joined Cheddar News to discuss how prices are being affected by the war and how much worse it could potentially get for drivers. "It's obviously a fluid situation. In one field today, I might feel differently in a half hour. But for now, I think we could see the national average realistically go somewhere into the mid $4 range, maybe $4.40 to $4.65 based on what we're seeing," he said.
Russia’s invasion of Ukraine has entered its 12th day following what Ukrainian authorities described as increased shelling of encircled cities and another failed attempt to evacuate civilians from the port city of Mariupol.
Gasoline prices are pushing even farther above $4 a gallon, the highest price that American motorists have faced since July 2008, as calls grow to ban imports of Russian oil.
Jay Hatfield, Chief Investment Officer at ICAP, believes a lot of the bad news regarding the fighting in Ukraine and Fed is already priced into the market and looming uncertainty factored into Friday's movement. However, he also believes the upcoming Fed decision will be good news for Wall Street.
News of Russian forces taking control of a Ukrainian after artillery bombardment of a nuclear power plant raised concerns this week. Nuclear policy expert and Quincy Institute Distinguished Fellow Joe Cirincione joined Cheddar News to discuss the implications for a potential disaster. “I’m with the director general of the IAEA, the International Atomic Energy Agency. He says that he is extremely concerned, and that this Russian attack is a severe risk and that Russia clearly violated the fundamental principle of preserving the integrity of nuclear power plants," Cirincione said.
Amid Russia's attack on Ukraine, major businesses from BP to Big Tech like Apple have been pausing their business dealings with the invading nation. Brian Walker, chief strategy officer at commerce software company Bloomreach, joined Cheddar News to discuss how some companies are showing support for Ukraine and what this could mean for consumers. "Whether it be impacts on energy or operational costs, shipping and logistics, or frankly impacts on the financial services industry, these will have long term implications on retail prices," he said.
About 678,000 jobs were created in February, hundreds of thousands more than predicted, according to the latest Labor Department report, showing a broad economic recovery despite inflation woes. Heather Boushey, member of the Council of Economic Advisers for President Biden, joined Cheddar News to talk about the employment figures. "This really shows that the economy is now more resilient because of the tools that we have in place," Boushey said. "So I'm optimistic that we'll be able to weather future storms."
Ramit Varma, Independent candidate for Mayor of Los Angeles, joins Cheddar News to discuss the race and how he plans to tackle critical issues in the California city.
