With the announcement of Justice Kennedy’s retirement from the US Supreme Court, the Congressional Research Service issued several new and updated reports on the nomination process and related issues.
Justice Kennedy Retires: Initial Considerations for Congress, CRS Legal Sidebar, January 28, 2018
President’s Selection of a Nominee for a Supreme Court Vacancy: Overview, CRS Insight, June 27, 2018
Supreme Court Nomination: CRS Products, CRS Legal Sidebar, June 29, 2018
Other noteworthy CRS products published last week include the following.
Cyber Supply Chain Risk Management: An Introduction, CRS In Focus, June 29, 2018
Global Research and Development Expenditures: Fact Sheet, updated June 27, 2018
U.S. Research and Development Funding and Performance: Fact Sheet, updated June 29, 2018
Trade Deficits and U.S. Trade Policy, June 28, 2018
Organizing Executive Branch Agencies: Who Makes the Call?, CRS Legal Sidebar, June 27, 2018
Efforts to Preserve Economic Benefits of the Iran Nuclear Deal, CRS In Focus, June 27, 2018
Satellite imagery of RAF Lakenheath reveals new construction of a security perimeter around ten protective aircraft shelters in the designated nuclear area, the latest measure in a series of upgrades as the base prepares for the ability to store U.S. nuclear weapons.
It will take consistent leadership and action to navigate the complex dangers in the region and to avoid what many analysts considered to be an increasingly possible outcome, a nuclear conflict in East Asia.
Getting into a shutdown is the easy part, getting out is much harder. Both sides will be looking to pin responsibility on each other, and the court of public opinion will have a major role to play as to who has the most leverage for getting us out.
How the United States responds to China’s nuclear buildup will shape the global nuclear balance for the rest of the century.