Foreign Policy

Today, Representatives Gerald E. Connolly (D-VA) and David Price (D-NC) sent a letter to President Trump expressing concern that the Administration’s recent actions could harm the prospects for peace between Israelis and Palestinians. In their letter, Connolly and Price reiterated longstanding, bipartisan support for a two-state solution to the conflict and urged the Administration to facilitate meaningful engagement between both parties. “We are deeply concerned that your Administration’s recen... Read more

Today, the House of Representatives passed the conference report for the FY19 National Defense Authorization Act, which included two amendments offered by Congressman Gerry Connolly (D-VA). The Connolly amendments would address the federal procurement process and security cooperation programs. The conference passed the House 359-54 and awaits action in the Senate. Since coming to Congress, Connolly has had more than 30 amendments to the National Defense Authorization Act adopted in the House, in... Read more

Republican House members today unanimously voted against new sanctions to punish Russia for its attack on American democracy. The GOP blocked action on the SECURE Our Democracy Act, legislation introduced by Foreign Affairs Committee Ranking Member Eliot L. Engel and Representative Gerald E. Connolly, which would impose sanctions on anyone found to have interfered with an American election from overseas going back to 2015. Shortly before the vote, Rep. Engel said on the House floor, “When the ne... Read more

Today, Representatives Gerald E. Connolly (D-VA) and Ted Yoho (R-FL), senior members of the House Foreign Affairs Committee, sent a letter to Treasury Secretary Steve Mnuchin detailing the Burmese military’s atrocities against the Rohingya people. In their letter, Connolly and Yoho encouraged the Treasury Secretary to consider these heinous abuses as the Trump administration develops sanctions against Burma. “Since August 25, 2017, more than 700,000 ethnic Rohingya have fled from Burma to Bangla... Read more

Today, during a hearing on election security before the Committee on Oversight and Government Reform, Chairman Trey Gowdy, Subcommittee Chairman Will Hurd, and all other Republicans present voted against a motion offered by Vice Ranking Member Gerry Connolly to subpoena the Director of National Intelligence Dan Coats to testify before the Committee. Hurd recently wrote an op-ed in the New York Times asserting that the Committee should engage in vigorous public oversight of Russia’s influence in ... Read more

Today, Vice Ranking Member Gerry Connolly (D-VA) and Ranking Member Elijah E. Cummings (D-MD) of the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee sent a letter to Chairman Trey Gowdy demanding a hearing with Director of National Intelligence Dan Coats after several Republican Members of Congress raised concerns that they believe President Trump is being manipulated by President Vladimir Putin. Cummings and Connolly wrote: “For example, in a recent op-ed in the New York Times, Rep. Will Hurd, ... Read more

Morgan Chalfant Democrats on the House Oversight Committee on Tuesday tried to subpoena the top U.S. intelligence official to testify publicly on the threat posed by Russia to elections, but they were blocked by their Republican colleagues. Rep. Gerry Connolly (D-Va.) motioned to subpoena Director of National Intelligence Dan Coats to testify publicly on Russian interference in the 2016 presidential election during a hearing on election security Tuesday morning, after Democrats criticized Chair... Read more

Today, Congressman Gerry Connolly (D-VA), a senior member of the House Foreign Affairs Committee, joined Eliot L. Engel, Ranking Member of the House Committee on Foreign Affairs, and Representatives Anna G. Eshoo, David N. Cicilline, and Gregory W. Meeks in slamming President Trump for openly considering an outrageous request from Russian President Vladimir Putin to let Russian investigators interrogate individuals, including former ambassador to Russia, Michael McFaul, on American soil. In a le... Read more

By Congressman Gerry Connolly (D-VA) The president is once again rooting for a “good government shutdown.” This is a reckless and irresponsible threat. We have a fundamental obligation to keep government open, and I think members of both parties can agree that there are no winners in a government shutdown. Budget brinksmanship has many victims, notably among which are the grieving families of fallen service members. When a military family loses a loved one serving on active duty, they are entit... Read more

Today, House Foreign Affairs Committee member Gerry Connolly (D-VA) joined House Foreign Affairs Committee Ranking Member Eliot Engel (D-NY), House Armed Services Committee Ranking Member Adam Smith (D-WA), and 41 other Democrats from the Armed Services and Foreign Affairs Committees in releasing the following statement on President Trump’s attendance at the NATO Summit and his meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin. “President Trump must not seek to undo the work that generations of Amer... Read more