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News & Stories
Columbia SIPA Unpacks First 100 Days of Second Trump Administration
Posted Apr 30 2025
Through a series of major events and convenings—including those organized by the Institute of Global Politics (IGP), the Center on Global Energy Policy (CGEP), and the Arnold A. Saltzman Institute of War and Peace Studies (SIWPS)—SIPA tackled some of the most important domestic and foreign policy issues of the new administration’s first 100 days.
Below are a few highlights.
US FOREIGN POLICY
“If you’re the Europeans right now, in my view, you don’t just deserve a seat at the table regarding Ukraine – you should actually be driving the conversation. I mean, you’re the ones who would have to put boots on the ground since the Americans won’t provide backup. You’re the ones who need to provide all the economic leadership in reconstructing and helping defend Ukraine. The Americans are saying very clearly that they won’t be the ones doing this.”
— Ian Bremmer, Adjunct Professor of International and Public Affairs; President and Founder of Eurasia Group and GZERO Media (right, with Ambassador Victoria Nuland)
US Foreign Policy
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April 21, 2025: A panel of experts discussed the state of peace negotiations and what’s at stake for Europe, Russia, and the rest of the world.
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April 10, 2025: Secretary Hillary Rodham Clinton moderated a webinar discussion among Columbia faculty and medical experts on pressing matters of global health and US policy responses.
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March 6, 2025: A panel of SIPA faculty and experts addressed the prospect for peace in Ukraine during Trump’s second term.
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February 18, 2025: Two IGP Carnegie Distinguished Fellows, Christiane Amanpour, CNN Chief International Anchor, and Jon Finer, former assistant to the president and principal deputy national security advisor, discussed shifting dynamics of US foreign policy under the new administration.
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February 10, 2025: Moderated by Secretary Hillary Rodham Clinton, a panel of practitioners and faculty at the SIPA in DC event explored the regional and global challenges facing the new administration.
ECONOMIC POLICY
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“The choices we make are going to matter in terms of the fiscal trajectory for the United States, but my view is that if we did nothing, the United States would have a very good 2025. Now the uncertainty that has been introduced is a clear headwind, but the biggest issue that will determine the way the world thinks about the United States from a fiscal standpoint is what happens with regard to reconciliation.”
– Wally Adeyemo, former US Deputy Treasury Secretary and IGP Carnegie Distinguished Fellow (center, with Merit E. Janow and Richard Clarida)
Economy
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April 30, 2025: In this timely Institute of Global Politics webinar, Columbia SIPA Professor of International and Public Affairs and Political Science Jeffry Frieden moderated a panel of economists to unpack the geopolitical effects of the latest round of tariffs on an increasingly fragmented global economy.
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April 1, 2025: Former Treasury Secretary Jacob J. Lew and former Colombian Finance Minister Mauricio Cárdenas discussed how tariffs will reverberate across the world and the potential for a US trade war with China.
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February 12, 2025: The Institute of Global Politics (IGP) convened a panel of experts to discuss the potential global impact of the second Trump administration’s economic policies.
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February 10, 2025: A panel moderated by SIPA Dean Emerita Merit E. Janow explored how the markets have reacted to the influx of new economic policies and proposed tariffs.
CLIMATE AND ENERGY
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“America’s leadership in energy creates a very different diplomatic space than eight years ago, and that strength can be used in a very positive way.”
— Paul Dabbar, Non-Resident Fellow, CGEP, and former Department of Energy Under Secretary for Science (center with Jason Bordoff and Claire Shipman)
Climate and Energy
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April 9, 2025: The Center on Global Energy Policy’s annual Columbia Global Energy Summit featured a fireside chat with Jake Sullivan, former United States national security advisor, and CGEP's Jason Bordoff.
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February 10, 2025: Claire Shipman, Columbia University’s acting president, moderated a discussion on how the Trump administration will navigate the energy challenges ahead.
DEMOCRATIC RESILIENCE
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“Protecting our democracies is not reserved for heroes. It is the collective work of people who refuse to accept and live lies and keep putting one foot in front of the other.”
— Maria Ressa, Nobel Peace Prize-winning journalist, cofounder and CEO of Rappler, Columbia SIPA professor of practice, and IGP Affiliated Faculty member
Democratic Resilience
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April 21, 2025: Scholars of democracy explored lessons the United States can draw from comparative and historical experiences of authoritarian attacks on civil society.
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April 9, 2025: Two prominent federal judges, appointed by US presidents of opposing political parties, debated the role of the judiciary during these polarizing times.
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March 29, 2025: In a SIPA Alumni Day fireside chat, SIPA Professor and Nobel Laureate Maria Ressa discussed the lack of progress regulating AI, the challenges technology poses to democracy globally, and the launch of ROOST, a new IGP-incubated initiative to improve digital safety.