Congress Cybersecurity & Tech Democracy & Elections

Rational Security: The “No Taxation Without Sledding Representation” Edition

Scott R. Anderson, Molly E. Reynolds, Kevin Frazier
Wednesday, January 8, 2025, 12:30 PM
Scott Anderson sat down with Molly Reynolds and Kevin Frazier to discuss the week’s big national security news.
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This week, Scott sat down with his Lawfare colleagues Molly Reynolds and Kevin Frazier to discuss the week’s big national security news, including:
  • “Mike Drop (Almost).” While we are still two weeks away from having a new president, the 119th Congress is already underway. But there are signs of tension in the Republican majority controlling both chambers, with House Republicans (under pressure from former President Trump and adviser Elon Musk) having killed a leadership-negotiated compromise funding bill at the end of the last Congress and Speaker Mike Johnson just barely securing reelection by a single vote after some last minute wrangling within the Republican caucus. What do these recent events tell us about what we should expect over the next year?
  • “Will Be Mild.” The Jan. 6 that passed earlier this week went very differently than the one four years ago, with Congress peacefully recognizing former President Trump’s election back to the White House. How are the legacies of the Jan. 6 insurrection of 2021 winding to a close in 2025? And which seem likely to persist?
  • “Missed Connections.” Finland received an unwelcome Christmas present this year, after a major undersea telecommunications cable was damaged by the anchor of a suspected Russian shadow ship, in an act some believe was deliberate. And Taiwan rang in the New Year in similar fashion, with a major undersea cable getting damaged by a China-associated vessel. What is behind this set of attacks? And what tools do the affected states have to defend themselves?

In object lessons, Molly shared an excellent holiday tradition to keep in your back pocket for next year and all the years to come: a family time capsule. Scott shared his newly perfected cocktail recipe, a concoction he is calling the Little Palermo™. And Kevin went a bit darker with his recommendation of “End Times,” by Peter Turchin.

The Little Palermo™ by Scott R. Anderson:

1 oz. brandy
1 oz. cold brew concentrate
3/4 oz. Mr. Black coffee liquer
3/4 oz. Averna
1/4 oz. rich demerara syrup
2 dashes chicory bittersShake vigorously over ice, double strain into a glass, express lemon oil over the top.

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Congress Cybersecurity & Tech Democracy & Elections
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Scott R. Anderson

Scott R. Anderson

S_R_Anders
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Scott R. Anderson is a fellow in Governance Studies at the Brookings Institution and a Senior Fellow in the National Security Law Program at Columbia Law School. He previously served as an Attorney-Adviser in the Office of the Legal Adviser at the U.S. Department of State and as the legal advisor for the U.S. Embassy in Baghdad, Iraq.
Molly E. Reynolds

Molly E. Reynolds

@mollyereynolds
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Molly Reynolds is a senior fellow in Governance Studies at the Brookings Institution. She studies Congress, with an emphasis on how congressional rules and procedure affect domestic policy outcomes.
Kevin Frazier

Kevin Frazier

@ kevintfrazier
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Kevin Frazier is an Assistant Professor at St. Thomas University College of Law and Senior Research Fellow in the Constitutional Studies Program at the University of Texas at Austin. He is writing for Lawfare as a Tarbell Fellow.

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