Meet Nadia Schadlow, Dina Powell's likely successor
The White House in Washington. Photo: AP
Dr. Nadia Schadlow, who currently works on strategy under National Security Adviser H.R. McMaster, is the likely successor to Dina Powell, the deputy national security adviser for strategy who announced Friday that she plans to leave the White House early next year.
Get smart: Schadlow, a well-respected member of the National Security Council and a trusted confidant of H.R. McMaster, spent the last few months working closely with Powell to draft the administration's National Security Strategy (NSS) — one of the most important strategy documents — set to be released soon.
Meet schadlow:
Schadlow's views also appear to be aligned with those of McMaster and Defense Secretary Jim Mattis, who rely moreso on soft power and diplomacy to solve problems than on use of military force, per the Washington Post.
Schadlow recently authoried a book titled “War and the Art of Governance,” in which she argues the importance of the politicial dimensions of U.S. military interventions abroad. The book also describes how the U.S. "consisitently makes the mistake focusing on the tactical operations and ignoring the hard work of political development and reconstruction — not nation-building per se, but sustained attention after the bombs stop dropping," writes the Post.
Prior career:
Schadlow began her career in government at the Department of the Army, per Breitbart, before becoming the Pentagon’s first desk officer for Ukraine following the fall of the Soviet Union. She later left the Pentagon to work at the Smith-Richardson Foundation, where she researched emerging national security threats.
She holds a B.A. degree in government and Soviet studies from Cornell University and M.A. and Ph.D. degrees from the John Hopkins Nitze School of Advanced International Studies, per War on the Rocks, a publication focused on foreign policy and national security issues, which Schadlow has previously written for.
Gen Z's next battleground: lowering the voting age
Tens of thousands participate in the March for Our Lives Rally. Photo: Andrew Lichtenstein/Corbis via Getty Images
Washington, D.C. is on the verge of becoming the first major U.S. city to allow people as young as 16 to vote in local and federal elections, including for president — under a proposal that has gotten support from a majority of the District’s council and the mayor.
Why it matters: Lowering the voting age to 16 from 18 is a direct attempt to capitalize on the post-millennial generation’s brewing political activism and power that have been radically heightened by the country’s increasingly polarized climate.
What they’re saying:
Councilmember Charles Allen, a Democrat who introduced the bill last week, said in a statement that the act would spur civic engagement:
“We have no problem collecting taxes or fees from residents who are 16 and 17 – why shouldn’t we fully enfranchise them?”
Scott Warren, executive director of the nonpartisan Generation Citizen, which advocates for youth participation in politics, and one of the main architects behind the D.C. proposal, acknowledged that the effort is largely seen as partisan. But he stressed the fact that young Americans are increasingly registering as independent. "So we really see this as an effort to create long-term voter behavior," he said.
The other side: Opponents argue teenagers aren't mature enough to make informed decisions and argue that it’s a partisan push to get more Democratic voters in the rolls.
Yes, but: Little data exists on the political views of Generation Z, which constitutes those born after 1996. William Frey, a demographer at the Brookings Institution, said attitudes toward diversity, culture and gun control offer a glimpse of their thinking.
“One of the key elements of Generation Z is racial diversity and we have an administration that turns it’s back on diversity … as well as a wide range of social issues from immigration to gay marriage, marijuana legalization.”
— William Fray, who studies the millennial and post-millennial generations.
The backdrop: Localities have been expanding voting rights to younger people since 2013 through campaigns supported by Generation Citizen. Warren told Axios his group is targeting cities in California, Colorado and Maryland.
No state has lowered the voting age, but some have passed legislation allowing teenagers to pre-register to vote and participate in primary elections if they will turn 18 by the general election. Cities can only extend voting rights to local elections, but D.C., can allow people over 16 to vote in any election.
What’s next: A public hearing for the proposal is expected in June and a vote before the year ends.
Juiciest excerpts from new book on Hillary Clinton campaign
Hillary Clinton making her concession speech. Photo: Jewel Samad/AFP via Getty Images
Amy Chozik's new book "Chasing Hillary" is already making news around town with new details about Hillary Clinton's campaign falling under the microscope in the days before its release.
"I knew it. I knew this would happen to me ... They were never going to let me be president."
— Hillary Clinton, per a quote from the book.
Basket of deplorable tiers: Clinton commonly referred to Trump supporters as deplorables in three tiers, Chozik writes:
“Basket #1: The Republicans who hated her and would vote Republican no matter who the nominee."
"Basket #2: Voters whose jobs and livelihoods had disappeared..."
"Basket #3: The Deplorables. This basket includes ‘the racist, sexist, homophobic, xenophobic, Islamophobic — you name it." (Daily Beast)
Joe Biden wanted to run for president but feared the Clintons would try and "destroy" him. Chozik writes “he added something like ‘You guys don’t understand these people.'" (Daily Beast)
Chozik blamed Clinton for ignoring media and not recognizing how Trump used journalists: “Trump understood our gluttonous short attention span better than anyone,” she wrote, “but especially better than Hillary.” (Washington Post)
Clinton knew she had a likability problem but Chozik said she "cut off" staff members who brought it to her attention. “You know, I am getting pretty tired of hearing about how nobody likes me." (Daily Beast)
"I Became an Unwitting Agent of Russian Intelligence" is the title of one of the chapters in the book where Chozik details her sympathy about the Clinton e-mail scandal story. (Washington Post)
What's next: The book detailing Clinton's campaign, her strategies and what happened after she lost the election will hit shelves on April 24.
