The return of Donald Trump means the return of existential thinking among many institutionalists in Washington. The next Trump administration and its specific policy goals are still coming together, but the clear message from Trump’s political career is that some fundamental changes to basic government functions is the goal. Today, some fresh NOTUS reporting on how some are preparing for Trump’s takeover.
NATO: Senators and international order fans say they feel OK about this one, thanks to a 2023 bill (co-sponsored by Marco Rubio 👀) that makes it very, very hard to fully withdraw the U.S. from NATO without most of Congress giving the OK. However, the law isn’t completely a sure thing, and there are ways the future president could undermine the U.S. commitment to NATO, should he decide to make good on campaign promises.
Climate change: Environmentalists gathered in Azerbaijan for the latest U.N. climate summit tell NOTUS’ Anna Kramer they are focusing on “the subnational level.” In the last Trump term, governors and mayors formed alliances that attempted to meet international climate change goals. One activist told Anna he’s optimistic that those alliances will mean Trump’s national policy shifts are “not going to be a complete bloodbath.”