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Dear Board of Directors,

In a 24-hour period last week, I saw the extremes of our successes and challenges – and both have ramifications that we need to discuss at our upcoming USGLC Board of Directors meeting in May:


* On Wednesday at 11:15pm – I received an email from Ariana (who’s leading our GR team) that the final FY18 spending bill includes a 4% increase for international programs compared to the FY17 baseline. Incredible success, given it all began with a proposal to cut 32%. The campaign you helped design beat back the isolationists, and it was far from easy.

* Then on Thursday at 6:26pm – Trump tweeted out what many feared and some welcomed – that he had tapped John Bolton to be the next National Security Advisor. Needless to say, our work just got more difficult – here is our Bolton profile<http://www.usglc.org/positions/national-security-advisor-john-bolton/>.

The move further underscores the enormous shifts emanating from the Oval Office – Trump seems to be shifting from relying on the military “stars” to the cable TV “stars.” But of course, the real issue is the impact on policy – with McMaster, Cohn, and Tillerson out, and Bolton, Kudlow, and Pompeo now in – is Mattis the remaining voice of the traditional globalists? Will the role of our civilian tools be further marginalized by those that emphasize military power?


* Expect some staff shake-ups at NSC when Bolton arrives. And we need to recognize our new hurdle – to make the case to a new National Security Advisor whose views are likely the antithesis of our mantra of “elevating diplomacy and development alongside defense.”

* We’re already in touch with the Pompeo team, continuing our outreach to the Vice President and others in the Administration, and working very closely with our friends on Capitol Hill.

* And of course, we’re racing to engage as many candidates around the country as possible – including those backed by Steve Bannon – and having a positive impact.

We’re working hard to line-up an important set of meetings in May – addressing the shifts within the Administration and our strategies around the 2018/2020 campaigns. We will have the results of our opinion research, digging into the Heartland’s views on global engagement and economic insecurity.

Please be in touch with me about any ideas and suggestions – don’t wait until May!

Talk soon,

Liz
Liz Schrayer, USGLC