Maxwell School News

"The reality is a ceasefire is needed now and that's not something the United States is willing to agree to. The most the United States is willing to do is a humanitarian pause, but that's not nearly sufficient. And on this, the United States and Israel are an outlier in the international community," Osamah Khalil, professor of history, tells BBC News.

If the (Biden) administration does not incentivize an electric transition, it means the U.S. will cede EV [electric vehicle] leadership to China," says Tod Rutherford, professor of geography and the environment. "The Europeans are very alarmed by this and especially the German manufacturers are scrambling to catch up."

Vice Adm. Robert Murrett (Ret.), professor of practice of public administration and international affairs, says the next diplomatic challenge for the Biden administration is “reducing tensions” in the Middle East and working with other international allies to determine what a “post-conflict era” looks like in Israel.

“This kind of division is one we’ve seen for a very long time and so there is nothing new here. This was evident when McCarthy got the position in the first place—on the 15th vote—and that got a lot of attention,” Grant Reeher, professor of political science, tells The Hill.

“Biden’s strong support for Israel has contributed to the heightened anger and frustration in the region. As we have seen in the protests of the last 24 hours, that anger is palpable and will only grow as long as the United States continues to block a ceasefire or even a humanitarian pause at the U.N.,” Osamah Khalil, professor of history, tells El País.

"[The response has] been very clear, very resolute, it's been unequivocal, and it's not making some of the folks in the Democratic electorate or caucus happy," says Grant Reeher, professor of political science. "The question is where it goes from here in concrete assistance, and if Israel gets engaged in some activities and we in a sense help them, it could complicate things."

“There are enough moderate Republicans in the House, along with Democrats in the House, to pass a spending bill out of the House that they know the Senate Democrats, which control the Senate, would agree to,” says Chris Faricy, associate professor of political science. “But in doing that, you risk a backlash from the Freedom Caucus.”

"If we want to meet timelines to reduce emissions, we have to build wind and solar at a totally unprecedented rate,” says Ethan Coffel, assistant professor of geography and the environment.

“Going forward I think there’s almost no doubt he’s going to be indicted in Washington. And because he’s going to be indicted in Washington and the potential for a jury that would sit and judge him in Washington, his prospects for remaining free got a lot darker,” says William Banks, professor emeritus of public administration and international affairs.

“Because the consequences are so dire, this high-stakes game of debt-limit chicken always ends the same way: Congress raises the borrowing cap just before calamity strikes. The theater does little more than waste money and generate a lot of breathless commentary,” Leonard Burman, professor emeritus of public administration and international affairs, wrote in a 2021 analysis.

While Trump’s “most diehard supporters are always going to be supporters no matter what…some people who are on the margins, part of the 40 percent that voted for him a couple of times, will tend to peel away,” says William Banks, professor emeritus of public administration and international affairs.

"DeSantis would most benefit from Trump dropping out of the race but he seems to have calculated that they have many of the same potential voters so doesn't want to alienate them," says Shana Gadarian, professor and chair of political science.

The University Professor and Phanstiel Chair in Leadership was recognized for his public service roles, including four presidential appointments. 

Alfonso Flores-Lagunes, professor of economics, says the nomination [of Adriana Kugler] is “fundamental,” calling the lack of Hispanic representation at the Fed a “glaring aspect of inequality” in the U.S.

“Title 42 is only the most recent of a long history of using health concerns as a justification for free movement restrictions," says Elizabeth Cohen, professor of political science. "For example, it was only in 2010 that restrictions were removed on the entry of persons who are HIV positive."

“If the U.S. dismissed him wholeheartedly, it’s going to make these conversations—and again some of these are happening behind closed doors—a hell of a lot more difficult to be had,” says Gladys McCormick, Jay and Debe Moskowitz Endowed Chair on Mexico-U.S. Relations, regarding the immigration talks between the U.S. and Mexico as Title 42 lifts this week.

“This is not the end of what may happen,” says Margaret Susan Thompson, associate professor of history and political science. “It may in fact be the beginning. We've never seen this before, and I don't think we can dismiss it as a partisan political act. Certainly, there have been other presidents who have had strong opposition in the past and yet they have not faced this kind of jeopardy.”

"Selecting our nation’s leaders is becoming increasingly complex and challenging, but we can make it more effective by ensuring the processes—for elections as well as appointments—reinforce democracy rather than erode our confidence in it," says James-Christian Blockwood, adjunct professor in Maxwell's Washington programs.

"Nikki Haley has to negotiate the very thin line between differentiating herself from Donald Trump and still appealing to—or not alienating herself from—his supporters, who still constitute the vast majority of CPAC activists and GOP primary participants," says Margaret Susan Thompson, associate professor of history and political science.

“If Republicans get in the mindset of, ‘The first attribute we need is the ability to beat Joe Biden,’ then she becomes a very attractive candidate,” says Grant Reeher, professor of political science and director of the Campbell Public Affairs Institute.