Image credit: Melody Cook/CNAS

January 20, 2023

What the New Congress Means for Transatlantic Relations

By Andrea Kendall-Taylor, Jim Townsend, Peter Baker and Sarah Binder

To continue our “New Year” series on Brussels Sprouts, we turn our attention to recent events in the United States Congress and their implications for the transatlantic relationship. The beginning of 2023 was marked by significant turmoil in the House of Representatives, as Republicans struggled for nearly a week to elect a new Speaker of the House. Questions about what to expect from this Congress are relevant not only to Americans but also to our allies, including those in Europe. Peter Baker and Sarah Binder join Andrea Kendall-Taylor and Jim Townsend to break down the short- and long-term implications of the events in Congress as well as how Europeans should view the situation in the U.S.

Peter Baker is the chief White House correspondent for The New York Times, responsible for reporting on President Biden, the fifth president he has covered. He previously wrote about Presidents Donald J. Trump and Barack Obama for The New York Times, and Presidents Bill Clinton and George W. Bush for The Washington Post.

Sarah Binder is a senior fellow in Governance Studies at the Brookings Institution and professor of political science at George Washington University, where she specializes in Congress and legislative politics.

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