The Evening: Debt Ceiling, Arms to Ukraine, Croz, and More

Extraordinary Measures to Avoid Default

The Treasury Department began taking special measures to keep paying the government’s bills on Thursday as the U.S. bumped up against its borrowing limit, kicking off a potentially lengthy and difficult debate in Congress over raising the debt ceiling, as the WSJ reports.

U.S. Will Ship More Arms to Ukraine

The United States plans to send Ukraine nearly 100 Stryker combat vehicles as part of a roughly $2.5 billion shipment of arms and equipment that is expected to be announced at a meeting of allies in Germany on Friday, as the NYT reports.

New Zealand’s Ardern to Step Down

New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern, who became a global icon of the left and exemplified a new style of leadership, said Thursday that she would leave office, as the AP reports.

Executive Education

Gain key insights on what the Biden administration's FY 2024 budget and strategy documents reveal about strategic priorities from CSIS experts and practitioners in the one-day course offering, Inside DOD's FY 2024 Budget. Participants will have a unique opportunity to dive deeply into how these changes will affect the defense enterprise, leaving with the most critical data and information for their own organizations. 

Video Shorts

Check out CSIS’s new series of video shorts: “The ReCap,” “Data Unpacked,” “Testify,” “What's Happening,” “Preview,” and  “High Resolution.” And don’t forget to subscribe to the CSIS YouTube Channel!

In That Number

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The U.S. is finalizing plans to send nearly 100 Stryker combat vehicles to Kyiv, with an announcement expected at a meeting of Ukraine’s allies in Germany on Friday, according to officials.

Source: FT

Critical Quote

“The period of time that extraordinary measures may last is subject to considerable uncertainty, including the challenges of forecasting the payments and receipts of the U.S. Government months into the future.”

— U.S. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen

iDeas Lab

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The CSIS Commission on the Korean Peninsula issued a new report offering suggestions and actionable recommendations for strengthening U.S. extended deterrence and reexamining North Korea policy.

The Andreas C. Dracopoulos iDeas Lab at CSIS enhances our research with the latest in cutting-edge web technologies, design, and multimedia.

Optics

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(Photo by Kerry Marshall/Getty Images.) Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern announces her resignation at the War Memorial Centre on January 19, 2023 in Napier, New Zealand.

Recommended Reading

“Recommendations on North Korea Policy and Extended Deterrence” by CSIS's John J. Hamre, Joseph S. Nye Jr., Victor Cha, and Katrin Fraser Katz.

This Town Next Week

On Tuesday, at 9:30 a.m., CSIS's China Power Project holds a debate on U.S.-China economic cooperation.

Also on Tuesday, at 2:00 p.m., CSIS's Economics Program hosts Jose W. Fernandez, under secretary of state for economic growth, energy, and the environment, to discuss strategic economic competition with China.

On Thursday, at 9:30 a.m., CSIS's Project on Nuclear Issues holds a book launch for The Fragile Balance of Terror: Deterrence in the Nuclear Age. 

Video

Today, the CSIS Europe, Russia, and Eurasia Program hosted a conversation on the current state and future of the Russian economy under international sanctions. Watch the full video here.

Podcasts

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CSIS’s J. Stephen Morrison joins H. Andrew Schwartz to talk about the Center for Disease Control’s decline in public trust and confidence, and how the organization can return to the prestige it once had. Dr. Morrison describes this moment in CDC history as comparable to FEMA after Hurricane Katrina, or NASA post-Challenger.

Listen on Spotify & Apple Podcasts

Smiles

“Whoa-ho what I want to know
How does the song go?”

I heard from friends who had given up on the Grateful Dead in the late 1980s which is not uncommon from some fans who saw them in earlier periods—especially the late 1960s/early 1970s. For me, the late 80s was the time that I first got into the Dead, and it proved to mark a glorious resurgence for the band with the influence of keyboardist Brent Mydland propelling them forward. Here’s another example of the sounds of the Dead during that period.