Persons who threaten democracy in Ukraine also represent a threat to the United States, according to a 2014 executive order issued by President Obama following Russia’s invasion and seizure of the Crimean region.
In fact, the resulting threat to US national security and foreign policy is so severe as to constitute a “national emergency,” said Executive Order 13660, which remains in effect. Those who engage in “actions or policies that undermine democratic processes or institutions in Ukraine” may have their assets blocked by the United States.
As of 2017, some 600 individuals and entities had been sanctioned — mostly Russian and Ukrainian officials, not Americans.
Several more individuals were designated for sanctions this year under the executive order, according to the latest report to Congress from the Secretary of the Treasury. See Periodic Report on the National Emergency with Respect to Ukraine, September 6, 2019.
January saw us watching whether the government would fund science. February has been about how that funding will be distributed, regulated, and contested.
This rule gives agencies significantly more authority over certain career policy roles. Whether that authority improves accountability or creates new risks depends almost entirely on how agencies interrupt and apply it.
Our environmental system was built for 1970s-era pollution control, but today it needs stable, integrated, multi-level governance that can make tradeoffs, share and use evidence, and deliver infrastructure while demonstrating that improved trust and participation are essential to future progress.
Durable and legitimate climate action requires a government capable of clearly weighting, explaining, and managing cost tradeoffs to the widest away of audiences, which in turn requires strong technocratic competency.