The record-sized US Senate delegation at the Munich Security Conference in February - up to a quarter of the entire chamber crossing the Atlantic for a European security event - was not a sign of renewed American global engagement. It was the last gasp of old-school Republicans who had run the party since the Cold War, according to geopolitical analyst Peter Zeihan, speaking on the Superpowers podcast.
As "Hvylya" reports, former UK Armed Forces Minister James Heappey - who attended the conference - described a seemingly hopeful scene: a bipartisan initiative to reassure the world that America had not abandoned its superpower responsibilities. Senators reminded European allies of Congress's role in foreign policy and war-making powers. Zeihan's response was blunt. The conference itself was framed around the theme of global "disruption" and a deepening transatlantic rift.
"Foreign policy in America is a presidential prerogative. Full stop. Military use for the first 90 days is a presidential prerogative. Full stop. No exceptions," Zeihan said. He pointed out that while the War Powers Act technically allows Congress to intervene, the current administration simply rejects its constitutionality - and overriding that requires a two-thirds vote that is mathematically impossible in the current political landscape.
"What you saw in Munich was the last gasp of old-school Republicans who had run the party since the Cold War started," Zeihan said. With every election cycle, MAGA gains strength in Congress while traditional Republicans grow weaker. "They're already a minority in their own party. And the Democrats are so chaotic they can't do anything beyond reflexive opposition."
Even the administration's decision to send Secretary of State Rubio instead of Vice President Vance was, in Zeihan's reading, more cosmetic than substantive. "The content was no different - US foreign policy remained the same," Heappey acknowledged. Rubio simply delivered it with a friendlier tone. Zeihan has also warned that Europe's consensus-based decision-making is failing to meet security challenges - suggesting the dysfunction is not limited to Washington.