Susan Kokinda says President Donald Trump is moving aggressively to reshape American foreign and economic policy before the midterms, arguing that the administration is breaking with longstanding international institutions while using existing executive powers to expand U.S. industrial capacity.

Kokinda pointed to an October 15 analysis from Chatham House that warned Trump could emerge from the midterms with fewer political constraints.

"The globalists are afraid of two things right now: Trump winning the midterms, and Trump losing them. On October 15, Chatham House, the foreign policy mouthpiece for the British Empire, warned that the president could come out of the midterms unshackled from electoral constraints, and may therefore prove even more disruptive on the international stage. Unshackled is their word, not mine."

She argued that Trump is not waiting for the election before asserting a more independent foreign policy. Kokinda cited Secretary of State Marco Rubio's response to controversy involving Ukraine and Starlink as an example.

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"By the way, we're no longer going to be defensive about this topic, okay? Because with the United States, if it were not for the assistance of the United States, including under the Trump administration, there would be no Ukraine right now," Rubio said.

Kokinda interpreted Rubio's remarks as signaling a broader rejection of the foreign policy establishment.

"Rubio was talking about more than Ukraine, and when he said we're no longer going to be defensive, he was saying the same thing that Chatham House was saying from the other side of the geopolitical divide, namely the Trump administration is defiantly off of the empire's foreign policy reservation, and nothing is going to stop it."

She said Chatham House has also looked toward Congress as a possible check on Trump. Kokinda highlighted remarks from Chatham House Director Bronwen Maddox about congressional visitors to the organization.

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"We've had many members of Congress here, more than I would expect in the run-up to their own election. Very keen to make 2.1 that the Congress comes above the president in the Constitution, but also that things take a long time," Maddox said.

Kokinda described those visits as evidence that lawmakers were attempting to reassure the foreign policy establishment that Congress could restrain the administration.

"Did you catch that? Many members of Congress, more than I would expect, making the pilgrimage to Chatham House in the run-up to their own election, eager to reassure London that Congress outranks the president; that's the leash being tightened by the hand."

She argued, however, that Trump and Rubio are openly prioritizing American interests over international institutions.

"So, but America first, meaning we're going to always do what's right for America before anything else. We're going to put it before the UN. We're going to put it before the global commons or whatever you want to call it, the global order that people worshiped around here for a very long time. That's what the president is doing, and it offends a lot of people in these think tanks and editorial writers," Rubio said.

Kokinda also pointed to Trump's dealings with Russia and the possibility of high-level talks involving Russia and China. She said the administration's willingness to pursue direct diplomacy has alarmed foreign policy organizations and editorial boards that favor the existing geopolitical order.

Trump addressed the possibility of a meeting involving nuclear issues by emphasizing arms control.

"No. But I would do it. We would have to talk about nuclear weapons and denuclearization. Any time I can have a meeting on denuclearization, we would schedule a meeting based on the denuclearization, and that's a very positive thing for the world," Trump said.

Rubio similarly argued that communication among the world's leading nuclear powers should not be treated as unusual.

"But people need to grow up when it comes to foreign policy a little bit. Okay, it is. I don't think it's unusual, frankly, for the three most powerful nuclear-armed nations on Earth, for their leaders to communicate with one another. Frankly, I think if there's an opportunity, and the president has expressed an openness to do it for the United States, Russia, and China at the leader level to have a conversation about things like arms control, that'd be a very positive thing for the world," Rubio said.

Kokinda said several upcoming international meetings could provide opportunities for those discussions. She listed the ASEAN summit in Manila from November 16 through 18, the APEC summit in Shenzhen, China, on November 18 and 19, and the G20 summit at National Doral in Miami on December 14 and 15.

She said Trump is expected at the ASEAN meeting along with senior Russian and Chinese representatives. Trump, Chinese President Xi Jinping and Russian President Vladimir Putin are all expected at APEC, according to Kokinda, while a three-way meeting remains under discussion but has not been confirmed. She added that Trump has invited Putin to the G20 gathering in Miami.

Kokinda argued that Trump's ability to pursue those meetings illustrates the extent of presidential authority over foreign policy, while his domestic economic agenda has relied heavily on existing executive powers.

Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent made a similar point when asked what a Democratic House could prevent the administration from accomplishing.

"What could a Democrat House genuinely prevent you and the president from accomplishing? Well, I think there's very little, you know. I, with the Democratic Congress, you can see it from my hearings. There's a lot more noise than signal. So look, we have very durable tariff authorities under Section 301 and 232," Bessent said.

Kokinda cited tariffs alongside several other executive tools she says Trump is using to rebuild U.S. manufacturing.

"And besides tariffs, which are like a silver bullet to the British imperial system. Here are the rest of the executive tools the president is using, and some of his more recent actions, like ending the Green New Deal."

She said the Environmental Protection Agency scrapped Biden-era power plant carbon rules on September 14, following Trump's withdrawal from the Paris Climate Accords and other actions targeting green-energy policies.

Kokinda also pointed to the Defense Production Act, saying Trump declared refining essential to national defense on October 22 and authorized the Energy Department to provide up to $150 million to restart an American refinery.

She said the Pentagon, Agriculture Department and Export-Import Bank have also committed nearly $4 billion over the previous two weeks to pharmaceutical, power and manufacturing facilities in the United States.

Foreign investment is another major component of the administration's strategy, according to Kokinda. She cited a White House count of $11.3 trillion in investment commitments tied to Trump's agreements with foreign governments.

"The cumulative impact of this is staggering in terms of the reindustrialization of the United States," Kokinda said.

She concluded that even if Democrats gain control of Congress, they may have limited ability to stop many of the administration's economic and foreign policy initiatives.

"So even if they were to win, the Democrats could hold hearings, they could issue subpoenas, they can continue to fly to London and reassure Chatham House that the tariffs are going to stay in place. The refineries are going to get built. The investment will keep coming, and the loans will keep flowing. And the summits will go forward. Chatham House calls it unshackled. They're right."

Chatham House warns Trump could come out of the midterms "unshackled from electoral constraints."

Rubio: "We're no longer going to be defensive." @SJKokinda on why the midterms can't stop him https://t.co/0MvpRf27pQ — Promethean Action (@PrometheanActn) October 24, 2026

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