The U.S. government acknowledges that U.S. military forces were involved in “armed conflict” this year in Libya, but it does not acknowledge that they were engaged in “hostilities.”
Earlier this year, State Department legal advisor Harold H. Koh attempted to parse these distinctions, which have significant legal consequences, and to deflect some pointed questions from members of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee. His responses to Senators’ questions for the record (pdf) from a June 28 Committee hearing were published last month. The full hearing volume is here (pdf).
January brought a jolt of game-changing national political events and government funding brinksmanship. If Washington, D.C.’s new year resolution was for less drama in 2026, it’s failed already.
We’re launching a national series of digital service retrospectives to capture hard-won lessons, surface what worked, be clear-eyed about what didn’t, and bring digital service experts together to imagine next-generation models for digital government.
How DOE can emerge from political upheaval achieve the real-world change needed to address the interlocking crises of energy affordability, U.S. competitiveness, and climate change.
As Congress begins the FY27 appropriations process this month, congress members should turn their eyes towards rebuilding DOE’s programs and strengthening U.S. energy innovation and reindustrialization.