Balance of Power

Insight & analysis on the White House and Capitol Hill.

Watch Joe and Kailey LIVE every day on YouTube: http://bit.ly/3vTiACF.

A second day of US-brokered meetings in Geneva between Russia and Ukraine broke up after barely 90 minutes as Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy accused Moscow of attempting to prolong the process.

The talks were difficult and businesslike, the head of Russia’s delegation Vladimir Medinsky said on Wednesday, adding the next meeting will take place soon without specifying when.

“This is complex work that requires alignment among all parties and sufficient time. There is progress, but no details can be disclosed at this stage,” National Security and Defense Council Secretary Rustem Umerov, the head of Ukraine’s delegation, told reporters in Geneva after the talks ended. The next step is to reach enough consensus to put decisions in front of the presidents, he said. He left without taking any questions.

Bloomberg Washington Correspondents Joe Mathieu and Kailey Leinz deliver insight and analysis on the latest headlines from the White House and Capitol Hill, including conversations with influential lawmakers and key figures in politics and policy. On this edition, Joe speaks with:
Bloomberg This Weekend Co-Host Christina Ruffini.
Former US Ambassador to Ukraine William Taylor.
ROKK Solutions Partner Kristen Hawn and Republican Main Street Partnership President and CEO Sarah Chamberlain.
Vianovo Partner and former State Department Spokesperson Matthew Miller.
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Insight & analysis on the White House and Capitol Hill.

Watch Joe and Kailey LIVE every day on YouTube: http://bit.ly/3vTiACF.

The Department of Homeland Security shut down early Saturday amid a congressional funding impasse that shows no sign of ending soon, touched off by backlash over the Trump administration’s widespread and aggressive immigration enforcement raids.

The lapse in funding could last for weeks, with Congress on a recess and no agreement on Democratic demands to enact new limits on the tactics employed by immigration officers patrolling American cities.

The effects of the shutdown will be limited, but would grow over time. Unlike the record 43-day shutdown late last year, most US departments are funding through Sept. 30. In addition, more than 90% of DHS employees are deemed essential and will continue to work during the shutdown.

Bloomberg Washington Correspondents Joe Mathieu and Kailey Leinz deliver insight and analysis on the latest headlines from the White House and Capitol Hill, including conversations with influential lawmakers and key figures in politics and policy. On this edition, Joe speaks with:
Bloomberg Washington Correspondent Tyler Kendall.
Arizona State University McCain Institute Executive Director Evelyn Farkas.
Harvard Kennedy School's Ash Center Visiting Democracy Fellow Jeanne Sheehan Zaino and S-3 Group Partner Ashley Davis.
Bloomberg Markets Live Blog Managing Editor Kristine Aquino.
Democratic Congresswoman Dina Titus of Nevada.
See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

It’s an open secret that the Chinese government has engaged in a global campaign to acquire intellectual property from foreign rivals. At the center of that campaign is the Ministry of State Security, China’s elusive intelligence agency. The US has apprehended hundreds of people accused of giving information to the MSS, but the agency’s inner workings have been a mystery – until now.
The Sixth Bureau from Bloomberg News follows an MSS intelligence officer whose mission was to acquire the crown jewels of American aerospace companies. With aliases, blackmail and the occasional break-in, he targeted corporate giants. That is, until his sloppiness – and a cunning FBI sting – led to a stunning reversal: Xu Yanjun became the first Chinese intelligence officer ever convicted on American soil.
The Sixth Bureau is the story of superpowers, their secrets and how one Chinese spy got caught.
Listen to episodes 1 and 2 now on Bloomberg's Big Take podcast.
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Secretary of State Marco Rubio said Europe’s fate is intertwined with the US while faulting the continent for what he said was a drift away from their shared Western values.
The double-edged message offered some reassurance to allied leaders gathered at the Munich Security Conference but did little to temper their push for more independence from Washington.
“We want Europe to prosper because we’re interconnected in so many different ways, and because our alliance is so critical,” Rubio told Bloomberg News Editor-in-Chief John Micklethwait on the sidelines of the conference on Saturday. “But it has to be an alliance of allies that are capable and willing to fight for who they are and what’s important.”
“What is it that binds us together? Ultimately, it’s the fact that we are both heirs to the same civilization, and it’s a great civilization,” he said. “It’s one we should be proud of.”
Rubio’s comments elaborated on a speech he delivered to the event, Europe’s premier annual security gathering, earlier Saturday morning. The speech was the most anticipated of the three-day conference, with fellow leaders eager to hear if he would double down on the contemptuous tone voiced a year earlier by Vice President JD Vance at the same venue.
See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Insight & analysis on the White House and Capitol Hill.

Watch Joe and Kailey LIVE every day on YouTube: http://bit.ly/3vTiACF.

Bloomberg Washington Correspondents Joe Mathieu and Kailey Leinz deliver insight and analysis on the latest headlines from the White House and Capitol Hill, including conversations with influential lawmakers and key figures in politics and policy. On this edition, Joe speaks with:
Bloomberg Washington Correspondent Tyler Kendall.
Democratic Congresswoman Debbie Wasserman Schultz.
Harvard Kennedy School's Ash Center Visiting Democracy Fellow Jeanne Sheehan Zaino.
See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.