Lawmakers Hope China Doesn’t Make a Move on Taiwan During U.S. Election Chaos

“Any time there’s doubts about who’s in charge of America, it raises alarm,” Sen. Marco Rubio, the top Republican on the Senate Intelligence panel, told NOTUS.

Taiwanese soldiers during a preparedness drill.

Soldiers holding a Taiwanese flag are seen during a preparedness enhancement drill simulating the defense against Beijing’s military intrusions. Daniel Ceng/AP

In the nation’s capital, China-watchers have one year on their minds: 2027.

During intelligence briefings, congressional hearings, war games and watercooler conversations — across Hill offices, think tanks, the Pentagon and nondescript secure working spaces for “analysts” at the “State Department” — 2027 comes up over and over again.

That’s when American officials worry Chinese leader Xi Jinping might try to seize Taiwan by force. Congress wants to prevent that — or, at least, for the United States to be on better footing in the region by then.