Washington, Nov 13 (PTI) After scoring big wins in the midterm elections, Democrats are expected to focus on domestic matters such as affordability and accountability and limit global issues largely to the wars in Iran and Ukraine, and America's rivalry with China, a former senior US diplomat has said.
Democratic Party has a very positive stance on the importance of India and its relationship with the US, which the Trump administration has not handled well, former US Assistant Secretary of State Nisha Biswal told PTI in an interview.
In the midterm elections held early this month, the Democrats won control of both the Senate and the House of Representatives, ending the Republicans’ hold on Congress.
Biswal said that given the overwhelming mandate from voters in the midterm elections, Democrats were more likely to focus on domestic issues that dominated the campaign trail and seek to hold President Donald Trump accountable for the policies he pursued.
"I do think that there will be more focus from the Democratic Party on the values agenda. It's going to be a fairly pragmatic approach because, quite frankly, quite honestly, there's a lot of work to be done here at home in the United States on that agenda," said Biswal, who served in the Department of State during the Obama presidency.
"I think they are by and large going to be focused on trying to restore Democratic values and reinstate ethical standards here in the United States," she said.
Biswal said over the next couple of years, the foreign policy focus is going to be on the conflict with Iran, the Russia-Ukraine war, US-China relations and the Israel-Palestinian issue.
"I think that those are largely going to be the major areas of foreign policy focus and a predominant focus on domestic issues, on affordability, accountability. So, for them, addressing local issues in the US will take precedence over maybe the global issues," Biswal said.
She said over the past two decades, successive US and Indian governments have worked really hard to build the blocks of this relationship and build on the trust.
"I think that some of that work has eroded. What I sense when I talk to Indian counterparts is a desire to manage the US relationship in a constructive, productive way, but perhaps a moderation in the ambitions of how far India thinks it can go with the US, certainly during this administration," Biswal said.
The former State Department official said the president was likely to try to continue to move forward on trade agreements, using the tools at his disposal.
"I think Congress is likely to provide some checks on that, though most of these tools are executive authority tools. And so Congress will be limited. The other arenas, I think, will play out between the executive branch and their foreign Counterparts," Biswal said.
She welcomed the increasing number of Indian-Americans seeking public office in the US.
"I think it is fantastic to see more and more Indian-Americans coming up through our political system. There is just an incredible amount of talent out there and I see more and more Indian-Americans getting involved at every level of local, state, as well as national," Biswal said.
The former diplomat said Indian-American lawmakers will be a force for advancing issues such as healthcare, immigration and access to justice.
(This story has not been edited by THE WEEK and is auto-generated from PTI)