Yesterday, news outlets reported that the State Department blocked the U.S. Ambassador to the EU Gordon Sondland from testifying about Ukraine in Congress. Former Ambassador to Ukraine Steven Pifer comments on Sondland’s curious role and offers other observations about the Trump administration’s handling of Ukraine policy.

In his commentary about the book “The Meritocracy Trap” by Daniel Markovits, Richard Reeves argues that the idea of meritocracy has long been used by the rich for self-justification, but now it’s fueling their self-pity.

“Regardless of the final contours of policy changes under consideration, it is clear that the United States should make democracy assistance a central component of its strategy for prevailing against China.” Patrick Quirk and David Shullman argue that supporting democracy abroad is essential to winning U.S. strategic competition with China.