The Pentagon is in the early stages of planning for Speaker Kevin McCarthy to travel abroad — including an expected visit to Taiwan later this year, according to an official directly involved in the talks, APA reports citing Punchbowl News.
Biden administration officials anticipate McCarthy will visit the democratic island nation sometime in the spring as House Republicans look to make countering China a major focus of their majority.
Planning a McCarthy trip to Taiwan would be a herculean effort for the Pentagon, which would need to consider the security logistics as well as the expected response from Beijing. When former Speaker Nancy Pelosi traveled there last year, China ramped up its military drills near the island as an intimidation tactic, and its top officials railed against the visit as a violation of long-standing U.S. policy toward Taiwan.
McCarthy expressed support for Pelosi’s trip at the time and said he’d also travel to Taiwan if elected speaker. And just recently, McCarthy touted the House’s vote to establish a select committee on China, which received significant Democratic support.
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