Menendez publishes report documenting ‘damage, chaos’ of Trump foreign policy

Sen. Bob Menendez (N.J.), the top Democrat on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, released a report on Wednesday of what he said was the damage to the United States from President Trump’s “America First” foreign policy. 

The report comes less than two weeks before the presidential election and serves as a preview of how the ranking member of the foreign policy panel, who could potentially serve as chairman if Democrats take a majority in the Senate, is preparing to advocate in the next administration.

The 80-page report is a blistering attack on Trump’s first term, but it also previews how the top Democrat would prepare to hold Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden to account if he were elected president.

Menendez’s report criticizes Trump over Ukraine, the country at the center of the president’s impeachment by the House last year. 

“The clearest example of President Trump’s use of U.S. foreign policy for his own gain was his withholding of U.S. security assistance to Ukraine unless the country launched an investigation into former Vice President Biden, at the time, a potential campaign opponent,” states the report by Democratic staff, titled “The Cost of Trump’s Foreign Policy: Damage and Consequences for U.S. and Global Security.”

It is based on interviews with dozens of former Trump officials, foreign government officials and outside foreign policy experts. 

Diplomats reported that counterparts did not take them seriously when they raised human rights issues or adherence to international law, the report states. The report also claims that the overarching message of Trump’s foreign policy was one of “chaos, neglect and diplomatic failures” that has alienated allies, emboldened autocrats, weakened U.S. security and “contributed to a worldwide decline in democracy.”   

The report makes at least four wide-ranging recommendations in rebuilding America’s standing abroad, presumably under a Biden administration, including investing in the State Department and building up a diplomatic corps of highly skilled individuals; mending relations with allies and partners; reasserting the U.S. position on promoting democracy and rejecting the rollback of democratic freedoms around the world; and addressing domestic racial discrimination and inequality to better advocate for respecting human rights abroad.