U.S. House to Vote on Impeachment

Here is today’s Foreign Policy brief: The U.S. House of Representatives will vote on impeachment, what Boris Johnson’s tight deadline means for a trade deal with the EU, and Chinese President Xi Jinping visits Macao.

If you would like to receive Morning Brief in your inbox every weekday, please sign up here.

Today, the U.S. House of Representatives votes on whether to impeach President Donald Trump on the charges of abuse of power and obstruction of Congress, after an investigation found that Trump tried to pressure Ukraine to investigate a political rival. If the House approves the charges—as it is expected to, along party lines—Trump will be just the third president to be impeached in U.S. history.

By Tuesday evening, it was clear that House Democrats would have the votes to support at least one article of impeachment against Trump. (No Republicans were expected to cross party lines in the full House vote.) If approved, the impeachment trial will go to the Republican-held Senate in January, where a two-thirds vote is needed to convict. Senate leaders are already fighting over how the trial would proceed.

Key witness resigns. The U.S. ambassador to Ukraine, William Taylor, said Tuesday that he would be leaving the post in early January, when his temporary appointment is set to expire. Taylor was a key witness during the House Intelligence Committee hearings last month, describing a campaign to condition military aid to Ukraine on an investigation into former Vice President Joe Biden.

White House response. The White House has consistently disparaged the House impeachment inquiry. On Tuesday, Trump again disputed the charges in an angry six-page letter to House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, calling the impending vote an “impeachment charade.” Trump’s response contrasts with previous presidents facing possible impeachment: President Bill Clinton apologized, while President Richard Nixon resigned before he could be impeached.

Britain sets hard EU trade deal deadline. British Prime Minister Boris Johnson has set a hard deadline of December 2020 to reach a new, post-Brexit trade deal with the European Union. Johnson plans to use his majority in Parliament to prevent an extension of Britain’s transition period. Though the move is part of Johnson’s plan to “get Brexit done,” it’s likely to add to the uncertainty surrounding Britain’s future economic relationship with the EU. The timeframe could mean Britain gets a bad deal: The bloc has never negotiated a trade deal so quickly, Keith Johnson reports.

Xi makes a visit to Macao. Chinese President Xi Jinping is on a three-day visit to Macao today, marking the 20th anniversary of its handover to China. The trip is seen as a show of support for the gambling hub—a former Portuguese colony—as Hong Kong grapples with anti-government protests. Xi is expected to make policy announcements and attend the swearing-in of Macao’s new leader, who is supported by Beijing. Like Hong Kong, Macao follows the “one country, two systems” model, but protests are rare. That’s in part because Portugal’s indifferent colonial rule left a different legacy than Britain’s rule in Hong Kong, Ricardo Barrios argues in FP.

U.S. details plan for diplomatic drawdown in Iraq. The U.S. State Department has sent Congress its detailed outline for a plan to dramatically reduce the number of diplomats in Iraq. The U.S. Mission in Iraq will reduce its staff by nearly 30 percent by May 2020—a move derided by critics, FP’s Robbie Gramer reports. Those leaving include not only employees of the State Department, but also staff from the Defense Department and the U.S. Agency for International Development. The cuts come amid political upheaval in Iraq, which is facing mass anti-government protests and fending off increased Iranian influence.

A clash over Poland’s courts. Poland’s ruling Law and Justice party (PiS) has drafted legislation that would allow judges to be fired if they question its judicial reforms—plans that could push Poland to leave the European Union in the long term, according to its Supreme Court. PiS, in power since 2015, is already at odds with the EU over the reforms. The EU is investigating whether the new draft law undermines Poland’s judicial independence. As Makana Eyre and Jon Allsop argued in FP in October, Poland’s government is purging prosecutors who are political critics under the guise of judicial reform.

Fake news in Taiwan. Ahead of its Jan. 11 election, Taiwan’s government is seeking to crack down on disinformation campaigns that it says are supported by China. Last year, a China-backed cyber operation boosted the populist and pro-China candidate Han Kuo-yu in a critical mayoral election, as Paul Huang reported for FP. Now, Han is running for president.

The Vatican’s secrecy policy. On Tuesday, the Vatican abolished a 2001 policy that made sexual abuse allegations a “pontifical secret” that clerics couldn’t share with police or prosecutors, Victims and advocates say the policy shielded priests from punishment, and seven people have sued the Vatican in a U.S. court for alleged abuse under the policy.

Russia doesn’t appear to be looking out for its leader’s personal cybersecurity. Official photos released this week appear to show President Vladimir Putin using the Windows XP operating system on computers in his office—despite the fact that Microsoft hasn’t released security updates for the software since 2014. (Windows XP was released in 2001.)

That’s it for today.

For more from FP, visit foreignpolicy.com, subscribe here, or sign up for our other newsletters. Send your tips, comments, questions, or corrections to morningbrief@foreignpolicy.com.