U.S. Foreign Policy and Congress

A four-senator bipartisan U.S. delegation (Shaheen, Rosen, Curtis, Tillis) arrived in Taipei ahead of the Trump–Xi summit, met President Lai Ching‑te, and expressed Washington’s support—Sen. John Curtis explicitly so—for Taiwan’s stalled $40 billion, eight‑year special defense budget. The proposal, which would fund a "T‑dome" missile‑defense architecture, AI integration, and expansion of Taiwan’s indigenous defense industry, is being held up by an opposition‑controlled parliament pushing smaller alternatives, prompting Lai to urge passage “without delay,” while China condemned the visit and warned it would take necessary measures to protect its sovereignty.