Friend –

Recently, I saw a new twist on an old adage in a newspaper: “All Politics is…Global.”  Given recent high-stakes global diplomacy, we shouldn’t be surprised—from President Trump’s impressive and historic, yet fragile Middle East ceasefire deal to the ongoing Ukraine-Russian negotiations and now sanctions to the President’s consequential trip to Asia coming up this week.

Certainly, the ceasefire in Gaza was the most welcomed. The videos of the 20 living Israeli hostages reunited with their families took my breath away. The surge of humanitarian aid into Gaza couldn’t come fast enough. So much to say about the complexities of all these foreign policy topics, some of which I capture in the GLOBAL GAB below.

One item that should not be lost on any of us, is that here at home, we are in the midst of a shutdown—now officially the second-longest in our history. Our diplomats—two-thirds of which are furloughed—are largely off the playing field, while our rivals are not taking a shutdown day off!

Over and over again we have seen that America does best when we use our defense and offense playbook—tapping into our diplomats to make sure we de-escalate conflict and strategically invest in international assistance to keep the peace and rebuild. We have a winning playbook, but we need to use it.

More in this edition of GLOBAL GAB:

• Shutdown Continues
• Power of the Purse
• Middle East Roundup
• On Ukraine
• World Bank/IMF Meetings Recap
• Latin America Tensions
• Trump’s Asia Tour
• Africa In Focus

As always, I’d love to hear your thoughts on the President’s recent foreign policy push or any other issues in today’s edition of the GLOBAL GAB.

Best,
Liz

Liz Schrayer, USGLC

THE GLOBAL GAB: week 3 of the shutdown -- foreign policy continues at full speed
October 23, 2025

SHUTDOWN CONTINUES. This is day 23 of the government shutdown—now the second-longest in U.S. history. The shutdown is impacting America’s diplomatic infrastructure needed to execute the Administration’s ambitious foreign policy agenda—with signs that rivals, like China and Russia, are exploiting the gap.

• The Impact: Overseas embassies are operating with significant workforce gaps—two-thirds of staff furloughed, non-essential travel and new programs frozen, and staff facing pay uncertainty.
• The Rivals: At the same time, America’s rivals have not slowed down. Since the beginning of the shutdown, China alone has launched water cannons and rammed a Philippine vessel in the South China Sea and has been providing Russia with satellite data to target Ukrainian missile sites.

POWER OF THE PURSE. One issue that remains an obstacle to a bipartisan spending deal to reopen the government relates to the Administration’s unilateral actions to rescind Congressionally approved spending—including a recent $5 billion ‘pocket rescission’ targeting international affairs resources. This issue is top of mind for both Republican and Democratic Congressional leaders, who have expressed concerns about the power of the purse:

• Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R-SD) told MSNBC last week: "Fund the government the old-fashioned way, I don’t think you need rescissions… It's in everybody's best interest, including the White House, to do a normal appropriations process.”
• Senator Chris Coons (D-DE) said: "Bluntly, the process here in this Senate, the process with our president, the process of spending or not spending appropriated funds has destroyed a lot of the trust that is essential for the Senate as a body to work, for the Congress to legislate, for our federal government to reopen."

MIDDLE EAST ROUNDUP. President Trump’s historic push for peace in the Middle East continues, with American leaders on the ground this week to address the fragile agreement and accelerate the humanitarian response.

• For the first time since USAID functions were transferred to the State Department, a Disaster Assistance Response Team (DART) was deployed to coordinate aid delivery into Gaza—this is good news.
• At the same time, challenges continue. While the delivery of emergency aid has resumed, aid convoys continue to face obstacles reaching areas of Gaza, with security hurdles leaving deliveries below the levels needed.
  • On Tuesday, the World Food Program reported that since the ceasefire began, food deliveries surging into Gaza have averaged 750 tons daily—well below its 2,000-ton daily target.
  • The Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF) has ceased operations as Hamas has failed to meet the ceasefire terms.
• On the security and reconstruction front, Vice President J.D. Vance joined CENTCOM Commander Admiral Brad Cooper this week to tour the U.S. CENTCOM-established Civilian Military Cooperation Center (CMCC), led by a U.S. three-star general and manned by 200 U.S. troops.

ON UKRAINE. President Trump intensified his attention on the Russia-Ukraine war last week—meeting with Ukrainian President Zelenskyy on Friday, one day after a two-hour phone call with Russian President Putin, calling off the Trump-Putin summit and announcing Russian oil sanctions.

• New Poll: These actions come at a time when a new Harvard CAPS-Harris national poll found that over three-quarters of Americans support Ukraine:
  • 77% of Americans support additional economic sanctions on Russia to force it to end the war.
  • 68% of Americans believe the Trump administration should continue to arm Ukraine and impose sanctions on Russia.
• Diplomacy: “[Trump] is the only one who can get this done,” said NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte before meeting with Trump in the Oval Office on Wednesday to discuss the Administration’s efforts to end the war in Ukraine.

WORLD BANK/IMF MEETINGS RECAP. Last week in Washington, leaders from around the world gathered for the World Bank and IMF fall meetings.

• World Bank President Ajay Banga outlined the stakes and the priorities:
  • Over the next 10–12 years, 1.2 billion young people are expected to enter the labor market, leaving a shortfall of 800 million jobs.
  • He cited job creation as the “ultimate outcome of development,” given the stakes.
• U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent reaffirmed the Administration’s support for the World Bank and IMF:
  • “America First does not mean America alone. The United States is in it to win it at the World Bank and IMF.”
• In conversation with Devex, Rep. French Hill (R-AR) said: “American leadership in the multilaterals is the only way we will get the reforms we’re talking about,” cautioning that U.S. disengagement “would essentially turn those organizations over to countries less committed to market economies and poverty reduction.”

» Read Liz Schrayer’s top takeaways on LinkedIn here.

LATIN AMERICA TENSIONS. Last week saw a dramatic escalation in U.S. involvement in Latin America, with President Trump halting all U.S. aid to Colombia and the potential for new tariffs, after Colombian President Gustavo Petro accused the U.S. of hitting Colombian fishing vessels in recent Caribbean strikes.

• Historically, Colombia is one of America's closest economic and security partners in the region, investing in programs to address migration from Venezuela, emergency food assistance needs, and support of good governance.
• President Trump’s pause of funding demonstrates his use of international assistance as a foreign policy tool similar to his pause on funding for Northern Triangle countries in the first Trump Administration.

TRUMP’S ASIA TOUR. At the end of the week, President Trump is traveling to Asia for the ASEAN Summit and Cambodia-Thailand Peace Ceremony in Malaysia, with stops in Japan and South Korea for the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) leaders' meeting.

• Power Meeting: The White House confirmed today that President Trump will meet Chinese President Xi Jinping next Thursday on the sidelines of the APEC Summit, marking their first face-to-face meeting since 2019.
• Belt Road Initiative: Through its Belt and Road Initiative, China is strategically filling gaps in international assistance funding in visible and politically valuable areas.
  • Within one week of the U.S. cancelling a $40 million project focused on child literacy and nutrition in February, China announced a partnership with UNICEF to achieve nearly identical goals.

AFRICA IN FOCUS. On the heels of the World Bank and IMF meetings, USGLC convened a timely discussion about the strategic importance around the Administration’s Lobito Corridor project, hosting Zambian Ambassador Chibamba Kanyama and Angolan Counselor Evaristo Jose.

• The Lobito Corridor—a flagship U.S.-backed infrastructure initiative connecting Angola's Atlantic port of Lobito with Zambia and the DRC—is a cornerstone of America's strategy to secure critical minerals essential for U.S. competitiveness.
  • Led by the DFC and the Export-Import Bank, the project offers an alternative to Chinese-dominated supply chains for minerals vital to next-generation global industries, even more crucial as China tightened export controls this month.
• Did You Know? While China expands, the U.S. is missing 19 U.S. ambassadors in Africa, impacting America’s ability to effectively compete in this key region.

» Watch USGLC's interview with Ambassador Kanyama on the Lobito Corridor initiative here.