At a time when polarization and partisanship in Washington have reached what many call a modern-day low point, what can happen when Democrats and Republicans in Congress get together to talk about finding common ground?
On Wednesday, April 28, at 3:30 p.m., the Kennedy Institute will host a bipartisan panel of new Members of Congress to discuss the current state of affairs in Washington as well as opportunities for finding common ground and forging collaboration in the 117th Congress.
In a time of political polarization, members from both sides of the aisle will join in conversation moderated by Lisa Desjardins, U.S. Capitol correspondent for PBS NewsHour, about the challenges and opportunities they face as newly elected officials, their early aspirations for their time in office, and what roles they can play to ensure Congress can work together to move America forward. The conversation will include:
John O. Brennan, former director of the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) and senior intelligence and national security analyst for NBC and MSNBC, will join the Kennedy Institute for a virtual conversation. Mr. Brennan will speak with Juliette Kayyem, Professor at the Harvard Kennedy School of Government, former Assistant Secretary at DHS, and CNN Security Analyst; on a range of topics including Russian interference in the 2016 presidential election, the growing threat of white nationalism and domestic terrorism in the United States, and the January 6th insurrection in the U.S. Capitol.
As director of the CIA from March 2013 until January 2017, Mr. Brennan was responsible for intelligence collection, analysis, covert action, counterintelligence and liaison relationships with foreign intelligence services. He was also responsible for running the investigation into Russian interference in the 2016 presidential election. Prior to this, he served as assistant to President Barack Obama for homeland security and counterterrorism.
Mr. Brennan is the author of the New York Times bestseller, “Undaunted: My Fight Against America’s Enemies at Home and Abroad,” and is a Distinguished Fellow at the Center on National Security at Fordham Law School and a Distinguished Scholar at the University of Texas at Austin.
