The Evening: Rubio at Senate, FDA Covid Vaccines, Preservation Hall, and More



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Good Evening,

It's Tuesday, May 20th.

Rubio, Democrats Clash

Secretary of State Marco Rubio on Tuesday mounted a vociferous defense of the Trump administration’s foreign policy, as he clashed with Senate Democrats who accused him of abandoning his principles, as The Washington Post reports

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UK and EU ratchet up pressure on Israel over Gaza offensive

The UK and EU have ratcheted up pressure on Israel over its renewed military offensive in Gaza, as an Israeli opposition leader warned that the country risked becoming a “pariah state” over its campaign, as the FT reports

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FDA Poised to Restrict Access to Covid Vaccines

The Food and Drug Administration will permit use of Covid vaccines by adults over 65 and those with certain medical conditions in the fall, but may require additional studies before approving the shots for healthy Americans younger than 65, agency officials said on Tuesday, as the NYT reports

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Executive Education

A confrontation with China could reshape the global order. Analyze China’s military rise and test U.S. response strategies in Meeting China’s Military Challenge

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. Join CSIS experts from June 3 to 4, 2025, for expert briefings and an interactive wargame. Register

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by May 28.

Audio Briefs

CSIS now offers audio versions of our latest analysis. Listen to the latest Critical Questions by CSIS's Cameron Hudson, "Can South Africa’s President Fix His Bilateral Relationship with Washington?

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In That Number

3.3 square miles

On the front line in Ukraine, Russia’s offensive has picked up this month after anemic gains earlier this year. Russian forces have occupied an average of 3.3 square miles of Ukrainian land each day in May.

Source: NYT

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Critical Quote

“The State Department had to change. You’re not going to like all the changes…It is not to dismantle American foreign policy, and it is not to withdraw us from the world.”

—Secretary of State Marco Rubio

iDeas Lab

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Next-generation geothermal technology has the potential to provide clean firm power at a time when electricity demand is projected to be increasing both in the United States and around the world. Read the full analysis here.

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The Andreas C. Dracopoulos iDeas Lab at CSIS enhances our research with the latest in cutting-edge web technologies, design, and multimedia.

Optics

(Photo credit: Kevin Dietsch/Getty Images.) U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio testifies on the proposed budget estimates for fiscal year 2026 for the Department of State before the Senate Appropriations Committee Subcommittee on State, Foreign Operations, and Related Programs on May 20, 2025 in Washington, DC.

Recommended Reading

“Moody’s Downgrade Signals Deeper Risk: Is U.S. Debt Undermining Global Leadership?

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” by CSIS’s Philip Luck.

This Town Upcoming

Tomorrow, at 10:00 a.m.

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, the CSIS Economic Security and Technology Department discusses the role of universities in the U.S. science, technology, and innovation ecosystem.

On Thursday, at 9:30 a.m.

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, the CSIS Korea Chair examines the three major candidates in the 2025 South Korean presidential election and largest issues defining the campaign season.

On Tuesday, at 2:00 p.m.

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, the CSIS Geopolitics and Foreign Policy Department evaluates future security and economic scenarios arising in Europe and the Indo-Pacific.

Video

Yesterday, CSIS's Gracelin Baskaran sat down with 10 experts from the edited volume "Critical Minerals and the Future of the U.S. Economy" to discuss U.S. critical mineral security challenges and policy solutions to address mineral needs for national security, economic competitiveness, and energy resilience. Watch the full video here.

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Podcasts

CSIS’s Tom Karako, director of the Missile Defense Project and senior fellow in the Defense and Security Department, joins the podcast to discuss the development of the Golden Dome and how missile defense has evolved over the last decade.

Listen on Spotify

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& Apple Podcasts

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Smiles

It’s hard to top the music series that occurred at historic Preservation Hall during the New Orleans Jazz Festival a few weeks ago. The great clips just keep on coming. Here’s the Preservation Hall band with Goose and David Shaw of the Revivalists. Music doesn’t get any better than this.

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I invite you to email me at [email protected]

mailto:[email protected]

and follow me on Twitter @handrewschwartz

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The Evening is my daily guide to key insights CSIS brings to the events of the day. It is composed by Lauren Adler, Ava Rose, and the External Relations team.

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