Foreign Policy

Marissa J. Lang Just beyond the metal-framed double doors of the Saudi Embassy in Washington, protesters gathered Wednesday to stand vigil for Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi, who has not been heard from since he disappeared inside the Saudi Consulate in Turkey last week. They offered memories of the columnist and prayers for his family and fiancee. They demanded answers from the Saudi government — and action from the Trump administration. “When the Saudis commit acts of violence, it has alway... Read more

By Congressman Gerry Connolly (D-VA) Jamal Khashoggi is a renowned Washington Post contributor, Virginia resident, and my constituent. Like many people who visit a diplomatic consulate, he expected his trip to be a fairly swift and routine piece of business. He was getting documents so he could marry his fiancé. Instead, he has been missing since Oct. 2 and may not have left the consulate in Istanbul alive. Khashoggi is a thought leader and a voice for democracy who has challenged authoritarian... Read more

Anne Gearan At the Saudi consulate in Istanbul, Riyadh agents allegedly kidnapped, killed and dismembered a dissident journalist who was writing for The Washington Post in exile. In China, the head of Interpol was abducted and imprisoned by authorities in Beijing while his wife was reportedly threatened with death back home in France. And in the Netherlands, Dutch authorities last week expelled four Russians who were caught with espionage equipment as part of an alleged hacking operation at an ... Read more

Nahal Toosi President Donald Trump said Thursday that Saudi Arabia would redirect its spending to U.S. rivals if he cut off arms sales over the disappearance of Jamal Khashoggi, noting to reporters that the journalist is not a U.S. citizen. "This took place in Turkey, and to the best of our knowledge, Khashoggi is not a United States citizen," Trump told reporters at the White House, adding that "we don't like it." Khashoggi, a Saudi journalist who had been living in exile in the United States ... Read more

Today, Congressman Gerry Connolly (D-VA) and Senator Tim Kaine (D-VA), led a bipartisan, bicameral letter urging President Trump to raise Jamal Khashoggi’s disappearance with the governments of Saudi Arabia and Turkey. Khashoggi, a Virginia resident and distinguished journalist, has been missing since October 2nd when he was last seen entering the Saudi consulate in Istanbul. According to some reports, Mr. Khashoggi may have been murdered. “These conflicting reports and rampant speculation that ... Read more

Today, Representatives Gerry Connolly (D-VA), Mario Diaz-Balart (R-FL), Albio Sires (D-NJ), and Gregg Harper (R-MS), co-chairs of the Congressional Taiwan Caucus, released the following statement on the 107th National Day of Taiwan: “October 10, 2018 will mark the 107th Double Ten Day, the national day of Taiwan. As co-chairs of the Congressional Taiwan Caucus, we extend our warmest regards and best wishes to the people of Taiwan on this important day. “There is much to celebrate this year with ... Read more

Today, Reps. Gerald E. Connolly, Don Beyer, Pramila Jayapal, David N. Cicilline, Henry C. "Hank" Johnson, Jr. and Bill Pascrell, Jr. led a letter to President Donald Trump condemning the retreat of American leadership following the announcement of an historically low refugee admissions cap without consulting Congress, which is mandated by U.S. law. The Members also expressed concern that the current fiscal year resettlement rate is the lowest in program history and strongly refuted the announcem... Read more

Today, during a business meeting of the Committee on Oversight and Government Reform, Republicans blocked consideration of 11 more Democratic requests to allow Committee Members to offer, debate, and vote on subpoenas—bringing the total number of subpoena motions denied by Oversight Committee Republicans during Donald Trump’s Presidency to 64. “For the last two years, I have implored House Republicans to help us gather the facts about the crisis of corruption in the Trump Administration,” Cummin... Read more

Today, Congressman Gerry Connolly (D-VA), Vice Ranking Member of the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform, was joined by 60 members in introducing the Lady Liberty Act, legislation to reverse the Trump administration’s recent actions to severely limit refugee resettlement in the United States. “The Trump administration is once again slamming the door on refugees,” Connolly said. “Against a record high global refugee crisis, the Trump administration’s record-low refugee admissions c... Read more

Today, Congressman Gerry Connolly (D-VA), Vice Ranking Member of the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform, released the following statement on President Trump's misguided decision to slash the number of refugees allowed to resettle in the United States. "The Trump administration is once again slamming the door on refugees. A sad retreat on America’s values. This is not who we are as a country. Next week I will introduce legislation to reverse this. Against a record high global refu... Read more