We begin today’s roundup with Congressman Adam Schiff’s op-ed regarding the rise of authoritarianism and attacks against democracy around the world:
This week, the House Intelligence Committee will hold its first open hearing under the new Democratic majority. When I took over as chairman of the committee in January, there was no shortage of topics that would be obvious candidates for the committee to focus on—China’s growing might, Russian interference in our election, Turkey’s drift, or countless other threats. Our first hearing will not be on any of those topics, but rather on an issue that may surpass them all in importance, and yet underlies each— the rise of authoritarianism and the threat to liberal democracy around the world. [...]
The fight for freedom and democracy has been a long and arduous one. The blood of millions was spilled in the 20th century for the cause of democratic governance and respect for fundamental human rights. Out of the ashes of two world wars and the grinding decades of the Cold War, America looked across the globe and saw a world that seemed to be slowly, but irreversibly, becoming more free and more democratic. The world, it appeared, might finally become “safe for democracy,” in the words of President Woodrow Wilson.
At CNN, Stephen Collinson analyzes the upcoming wave of oversight:
The reckoning that has been due for the Trump administration ever since Democrats won the midterm elections is about to hit with full force, with a multi-front oversight offensive targeting the President and his senior officials. [...]
It is almost certain that none of the congressional scrutiny that will play out over the next few days would have happened during the previous, pliant GOP-led House majority, which had no inclination or incentive to check the President.