Democrats regain control of Congress and use new powers to pressure Trump to continue arms sales to Taiwan

trump The president has broken existing norms, claimed sovereignty over other countries, and abandoned traditional international alliances. His bullying behavior has affected many countries around the world.democratic party With elections scheduled for March 3 to take back control of the House and Senate, diplomats and foreign officials said that while it would still be difficult to effectively stop Trump, governments are hopeful there will be at least a reprieve and more opportunities to promote their policies.

Politico reported that a European diplomat in Brussels said he expected Trump to be hit hard, “but we didn’t expect it to be a chainsaw massacre-style fiasco,” adding: “We expected the pressure to escalate.” Many foreign governments hope that,republican party As its power weakens, party members are more willing to compromise with the Democratic Party and more willing to listen to the views of foreign governments.

The top priority is to pressure appropriators in Congress to restore U.S. support for Ukraine and limit Trump’s punitive tariffs. Some diplomats have more limited expectations, hoping that Washington will once again find some allies with similar ideals.

An Asian diplomat said that although the Democratic Party has not won the support of the Republican majority in the past two years and now controls Congress, although it “will not really change the foreign policy of the White House,” it can “provide moral support to foreign allies and partners, which is very important.” Another European diplomat said: “Trump is a very destructive person. Even if he becomes a lame president, he is still Trump and he still has control over the Republican Party.”

When asked about plans to contact Congress, most diplomatic missions in the United States gave vague answers or declined to comment. However, most foreign governments believe that funding from Congress has the best chance of influencing White House policy. Aides in Congress are planning a “massive lobbying” campaign to garner bipartisan support for restoring US aid to Ukraine, a European diplomat said.

Democratic Congressman Greg Stanton is a member of the House Foreign Affairs Committee and the Special Committee on China. He hopes the House Appropriations Committee will use its appropriations power to urge Trump to stop delaying a $14 billion arms sale to Taiwan and end the conflict with Iran. “The No. 1 power we have is deciding where money and resources are spent,” he said. “We can use that power effectively to pursue policies that I think are more consistent with America’s priorities.”

Some in the embassy and Congress believe that as more Americans blame Trump’s tariffs for rising prices, the Democratic Party may be willing to invest political capital to tackle the tariff issue. “For us, the issue is trade and the way the White House is using tariffs,” said one Asian diplomat. “It would be a relief if Democrats rolled back some of the tariffs or limited the president’s ability to impose new tariffs as he wishes.”

Some Republicans who have long held a tough stance against mainland China, who originally opposed the export of advanced semiconductors to China, have softened their stance and are closer to Trump. Foreign governments hope that the Republican defeat will change this situation and make party members more willing to cooperate with the Democratic Party, especially on security issues, on which there is traditionally more cross-party consensus. “Republican lawmakers may realize that being tied to Trump is no longer a good thing,” said one Asian diplomat.

In addition, some foreign governments are also expected to receive positive signals and statements of support. Japan is expected to ask Democratic lawmakers to voice their support against China’s restrictions on exports of key minerals and Beijing’s increasingly assertive military presence in the region. Yuki Tatsumi, former special assistant for political affairs at the Japanese Embassy in the United States, said Japan hoped the Democratic Party would more effectively show “congressional support for the U.S.-Japan alliance” than the Republican Party, which could include “immediately passing a cross-party resolution to counter the demonization of China toward Japan.”

Democrats are also considering pushing bills that may not pass now but could lay the foundation for Trump’s policies after he leaves office. Democratic Congressman Ami Bera said: “One thing that is relatively easy and can be done quickly is to re-establish the US policy that it will not use arms sales as a bargaining chip in negotiations with China. That is to reaffirm the US’s long-term policy of maintaining the status quo in Taiwan.”

However, a Democratic capture of Congress could also create new problems for Europe. One European diplomat said the new group of MPs had “little interest in Europe”. Many young American voters also want Washington to play a less assertive role in international affairs. Trump may also be frustrated by Republicans’ devastating defeats in the midterm elections and make it more difficult to negotiate or take destabilizing foreign policy actions. Some diplomats are worried that Trump might show military force against Iran or Cuba. “Losing control of the House or the Senate could send Trump even further out of control,” one European diplomat said.