This week in Congress: Getting back to budget basics March 14 Gen. Glen VanHerck, (center) head of U.S. Northern Command, meets with command leadership of Carrier Strike Group Two aboard the Nimitz-class aircraft carrier USS Dwight D. Eisenhower on Feb. 6, 2021. VanHerck is scheduled to testify before Congress this week. (Mass Communication Specialist Seaman Orion K. Shotton/Navy) The leaders of U.S. Southern and Northern Commands will visit Capitol Hill this week as lawmakers step up their annual defense budget work even as they wait for the White House’s official spending proposal. Typically by mid-March, lawmakers in the House and Senate are in full budget hearing mode, with multiple service officials testifying on future needs and program changes for the upcoming fiscal year.
In early foreign policy tests, Biden takes on world as it is
by Aamer Madhani, The Associated Press
Posted Mar 15, 2021 1:24 pm EDT
Last Updated Mar 15, 2021 at 1:28 pm EDT
FILE - In this March 9, 2021 file photo, President Joe Biden walks to the Oval Office of the White House in Washington. Biden in his early days in office has vowed a dramatic reordering of U.S. foreign policy from his predecessor. Yet on some of the most difficult issues, he s shown a preference for using the scalpel over the sledgehammer as he implements his own agenda and tries to move away from Trumpism. (AP Photo/Patrick Semansky)
Top US officials head to Asia to boost alliances in first foreign trip
Biden s team has made clear it wants to reset US relations with the rest of the world, particularly traditional allies
AFP
March 15, 2021
US Secretary of State Antony Blinken. PHOTO: REUTERS/FILE
Pentagon chief Lloyd Austin and top US diplomat Antony Blinken arrived in Japan on Monday on their first overseas trip, looking to rally key Asian allies as a bulwark to China.
The pair, who travelled separately, met in Japan for the first leg of their trip, holding talks with their counterparts as well as Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga.