Congressman joins bipartisan group of lawmakers for White House meeting on China
Congressman Anthony Brindisi, a member of the House Armed Services Committee, joined a key delegation of bipartisan lawmakers including Congressman John Katko, to meet with Deputy National Security Advisor Matthew Pottinger to discuss U.S. policy toward China.
This is Brindisi’s second trip to the White House for foreign policy discussions this month. Earlier this month, Brindisi was invited by President Donald J. Trump to attend the signing ceremony for the historic Abraham Accords.
Brindisi and Katko were joined by Reps. Stephanie Murphy D-FL., Joe Cunningham, D-S.C., Mike Gallagher, R-Wis., Tom Graves, R-Ga., Kendra Horn, D-Okla. and Mike Rogers, R-Ala.
“Our national security and the global response to COVID-19 needs to go beyond politics, and I appreciate the White House, Deputy National Security Advisor Matthew Pottinger, and Reps. Murphy and Katko for providing the opportunity for this constructive conversation,” said Brindisi. “Politics should stop at the water’s edge and with the Chinese Communist Party’s behavior throughout the COVID-19 crisis and beyond, we need a bipartisan and thoughtful response to ensure America and our allies can work together to emerge from this crisis safe, secure and as global leaders.”
The visit was organized by Murphy and Katko as part of a series of expert briefings they have spearheaded called “National Security in the Shadow of COVID-19.” The goal is to help Members of Congress better understand the potential impact of COVID-19 on the international security environment and on U.S. foreign policy interests.
“We are grateful to Deputy National Security Advisor Matthew Pottinger for holding a very constructive discussion with us on U.S. policy toward China and how it may be affected by the COVID-19 pandemic,” Murphy and Katko wrote in a joint statement. “We regard the U.S.-China relationship as the most important bilateral relationship in the world, and we are troubled by the conduct of the Chinese Communist Party across a range of issue areas, from foreign and defense policy, to trade, to human rights, to its efforts to exploit the COVID pandemic to advance its interests at the expense of the US and our allies.
“We believe the United States will be in the strongest position to protect our national interests and to influence CCP behavior if we approach Beijing with a strong bipartisan front, rather than divided along partisan lines.”