'America is back. Diplomacy is back'

In the first foreign policy speech of his presidency yesterday, President Biden signaled plans to chart a course away from the previous administration's "America First" approach. Speaking at the State Department, he said, "I've spoken with the leaders of many of our closest friends...to begin reforming the habits of cooperation and rebuilding the muscles of democratic alliances that have atrophied over the past few years of neglect and, I would argue, abuse."

• — Dealing with Russia and Myanmar. Biden said he's been in touch with Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell about a bipartisan response to urge Myanmar's military to release detained activists and officials, and end its coup. On Russia, Biden said he has made clear to President Vladimir Putin "that the days of the U.S. rolling over in the face of Russia's aggressive actions interfering with our elections, cyberattacks, poisoning its citizens are over."
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• — The war in Yemen. Biden singled out the long-running civil war in Yemen as one area of focus. He said the U.S. would not support "offensive operations" in Yemen—though the details of that were not immediately clear—and would beef up humanitarian aid. Biden also named a special envoy at the State Department to work on ways to end the conflict.
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• — LGBTQ issues and refugees. Biden announced a presidential memorandum on protecting the rights of LGBTQ people worldwide, "including by combating criminalization and protecting LGBTQ refugees and asylum-seekers," he said. Biden also vowed to increase the number of refugees allowed into the U.S. to 125,000 people during the fiscal year that begins Oct. 1. —NPR

House tosses Greene

The House voted to boot freshman Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene off the Education and Labor and Budget committees last night, an unprecedented punishment that Democrats said she'd earned by spreading hateful and violent conspiracy theories. Eleven Republicans joined 219 Democrats in backing Greene's ejection from her committees, while 199 GOP lawmakers voted "no." Republicans pointed out that there is no apparent precedent for the full House removing a lawmaker from a committee. "If that's the new standard," House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy said, "we have a long list." —Associated Press

MORE: 'Profoundly concerned': Pelosi rebukes GOP leaders ahead of vote to remove Greene from committees —NBC News

Collinson & Reston: For GOP, it's time to purge...or perish

"For many in the party, Trump's unrepentant departure after trying to tear democracy down with false claims of vote fraud and [Rep. Marjorie Taylor] Greene's rocket to fame as a 'Make America Great Again' heroine are a nightmare scenario. The direction of the GOP raises the question whether its endless quest to appease its most agitated base activists will yet again squander its support among more moderate voters in the suburbs where elections are won." —Stephen Collinson & Maeve Reston on CNN

Stephen Collinson is a CNN political analyst. Maeve Reston is a national political reporter at CNN.

MORE: David Graham: Marjorie Taylor Greene is just a symptom of what ails the GOP —The Atlantic

'Your refusal to testify supports a strong adverse inference'

Donald Trump is refusing to testify under oath at his second impeachment trial, which is set to get underway next week. Claiming the trial is "unconstitutional," Trump's lawyers wrote to Rep. Jamie Raskin, the House's lead impeachment manager, "Your letter only confirms what is known to everyone: you cannot prove your allegations against the 45th President of the United States, who is now a private citizen." Instead of testifying, the ex-president is reportedly planning a "revenge tour" to attack Republicans who voted for his impeachment in the House last month. —Independent

MORE: Poll: 50 percent support convicting Trump in impeachment trial —Politico

Stanley: A study in fascist propaganda

"On Jan. 6, Trump supporters gathered at a rally at Washington, D.C.'s Ellipse Park, regaled by various figures from Trump world, including Donald Trump Jr. and Rudy Giuliani. Directly following Giuliani's speech, the organizers played a video. To a scholar of fascist propaganda, well-versed in the history of the National Socialists' pioneering use of videos in political propaganda, it was clear, watching it, what dangers it portended. In it, we see themes and tactics that history warns pose a violent threat to liberal democracy. Given the aims of fascist propaganda—to incite and mobilize—the events that followed were predictable." —Jason Stanley on Just Security

Jason Stanley is the Jacob Urowsky Professor of philosophy at Yale University. He is the author of "How Propaganda Works" and "How Fascism Works: The Politics of Us and Them."

MORE: Pro-China propaganda campaign exploits U.S. divisions in videos emphasizing Capitol attack —The Washington Post

Focus on voting

In one of the largest libel suits ever undertaken, the voting technology company Smartmatic USA is suing Fox News, three of its hosts, and two former lawyers for Donald Trump—Rudy Giuliani and Sidney Powell—for $2.7 billion, charging that they conspired to spread false claims that the company helped "steal" the U.S. presidential election for President Biden. The complaint alleges that Fox and hosts Lou Dobbs, Maria Bartiromo, and Jeanine Pirro directly benefitted from their involvement by fending off competition from newcomers Newsmax and One America News, which were poaching pro-Trump viewers. —U.S. News & World Report

• — Maryland. Maryland's Senate Republican Caucus presented a legislative package yesterday that they say will "ensure Maryland's election integrity" through voter ID. "There are clearly trust issues with our elections," State Sen. Justin Ready said. Concerns about election security have been stoked by Trump's unsubstantiated allegations of widespread voter fraud in the November election, though Maryland's Republican Gov. Larry Hogan said he has not seen any evidence of voter fraud. —The Baltimore Sun
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• — Michigan. Republicans and Democrats in Michigan unveiled separate election reform wishlists this week. Republicans are seeking enhanced ballot security, including cameras on absentee voter drop boxes and stronger penalties for providing false information on absentee voter ballot applications. Democrats want to require absentee ballot applications to be mailed to registered voters every federal election cycle, establish early in-person voting, and make Election Day a state holiday. —The Washington Examiner
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• — Vermont. The top elections official in Vermont said this week that he is working to make universal ballot mailing permanent after the state used mail voting last year due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Officials mailed ballots to every registered voter for the state's elections under a bill passed by the state's Democratic-controlled legislature. Gov. Phil Scott did not support the measure but allowed it to become law without his signature, and state Republicans unsuccessfully sued to overturn it. —The Hill

Benson, Hobbs & Simon: Safeguarding our elections

"Many of the legislators who are continuing to push false claims about the 2020 presidential election are the same ones pushing regressive election laws in the name of 'restoring public faith in our elections.' But the only way for public officials to restore Americans' faith in our elections is to tell them the truth. We need a willingness to put politics aside and unify around the idea at the very heart of who we are as Americans: our free and fair elections." —Jocelyn Benson, Katie Hobbs & Steve Simon on CNN

Jocelyn Benson is the Michigan secretary of state, Katie Hobbs is the Arizona secretary of state, and Steve Simon is the Minnesota secretary of state.

Thanks for your daily digest. With regard to a reader comment in your last issue: "Although I did breathe a sigh of relief at the victory of Biden, many of his executive orders over the past few weeks have been very much against my convictions. His pro-abortion orders took us major steps backward in the fight for the respect for and protection of human life. Be aware that this issue is MAJOR in voters' minds as they cast ballots." I am always stunned by the lack of regard for the human life of the mother being impacted in the desire to control another person's situation. —Virgene L., Washington

The views expressed in "What's Your Take?" are submitted by readers and do not necessarily reflect the views of the editorial staff or the Stand Up Republic Foundation.