A conversation on defense policy with Rep. Seth Moulton

The United States today faces a diverse array of threats to its security. These threats include familiar challenges, like the scourge of radical extremism, while newer ones like the rise of China and Russia’s revanchist foreign policy require updated thinking and new capabilities. After two years of Republican rule in Washington, the newly inaugurated Democratic House of Representatives promises to assert itself in U.S. foreign and defense policymaking. By wielding budgetary power and pursuing oversight of the Trump administration, Democrats’ power in the House has implications for an array of issues concerning America’s relationships in the world.

On February 12, Rep. Seth Moulton (D-Mass.) delivered a keynote at the Brookings Institution on House Democrats’ vision for the future of U.S. defense policy. Then, Senior Fellow Michael O’Hanlon engaged Rep. Moulton in a conversation on what a new era of divided government means for defense policy, budgets, and strategic planning.

Questions from the audience followed their conversation.