House Democrats Should Cut Trump Some Slack on North Korea Policy

Daniel R. DePetris, Richard Sokolsky

Security, Asia

Now is not the time to weaponize for narrow partisan advantage a negotiation that could achieve historical results.

The Democrats have now assumed majority control of the House of Representatives for the first time in eight years. And with more power comes more responsibility. There is no issue on Washington’s national security agenda that will require as much responsible behavior, prudence and patience as the fragile U.S.-North Korea negotiations on denuclearization. House Democrats will need to resist the impulse to make this already vexing problem more unmanageable by trying to score cheap political points by making more unrealistic demands on the North Koreans. If the opportunity arises, they should support limited sanctions relief for North Korea and give the president’s team as wide a berth as possible to negotiate.

After years in the minority, Democratic lawmakers are ready to fight a president they despise—and the slew of investigations coming down on the president’s head will provide plenty of opportunities to hold him accountable. But the ongoing U.S.-North Korea dialogue should not become a political football in this battle. Indeed, one wrong move by Democrats in the House—putting more unrealistic demands on the table or introducing new sanctions legislation—could jeopardize a negotiation already on shaky ground.