Personality

Greg Meeks, the diplomat

The Queens leader talks foreign policy, stimulus checks and Chris Collins’ pardon.

Congressman Gregory Meeks in September 2020.

Congressman Gregory Meeks in September 2020. lev radin/Shutterstock

Rep. Eliot Engel may have suffered a stunning reelection loss this year, but New York still has a hand in the fate of the country’s foreign affairs. Earlier this month, Rep. Gregory Meeks, the Queens County Democratic Party leader who represents both that borough and part of Nassau County, was elected chair of the House Foreign Affairs Committee – replacing Engel, who led the committee for two years.

Meeks will make history as the first Black member of Congress to chair the committee, and has served on the House Foreign Affairs Committee for the length of his tenure in office: 22 years. And though he admired Engel’s leadership of the committee, that doesn’t mean he isn’t eager to forge his own path. “I have nothing but respect for Congressman Engel. But for the circumstances, it would have been great for him to continue,” Meeks told City & State, referring to Engel’s primary loss to incoming Rep. Jamaal Bowman. “But just like anyone else, I have my own style, and I have my own footprints that I want to leave on the sand.” 

City & State caught up with Meeks to hear more about his foreign policy ideology, his priorities for the committee, and the latest goings-on in Congress – including stimulus updates and President Trump’s pardoning of former Rep. Chris Collins.

This conversation has been edited for length and clarity.

Can you describe your foreign policy ideology in a few words?

I believe in diplomacy first. Because I'm a multilateralist, I believe that we have to work with our allies. I believe that you do have dialogue and conversation with your adversaries, and you’re straight up with them. I believe that we have to be at the table, and we have to be a part of multilateral organizations, like the World Health Organization, like the Paris Climate Agreement, like the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action.

What will be some of your priorities in leading the committee?

One of the things I think that needs to happen, and I'll be pushing for it with the committee, is to use our authority as Congress for making the determination on the Authorization for Use of Military Force. (Editor’s note: Meeks, along with many other Democrats, has called for tightening the scope of the AUMF, legislation that has granted the executive branch broad authority to take military action.) I think that we need to have a budget at the State Department, and that that's taken as seriously as the budget for the armed services. Because democracy in the State Department is a cheaper way to get peace than the military. I believe that there's got to be a focus on democracy, on refugees and racial and ethnic minorities throughout the world, and the democratic rights of women and the LGBTQ community. 

A lot of Engel’s work in the last few years on the committee was focused on oversight of President Trump’s policy actions, including attempts to hollow out the State Department and cut foreign aid. With Trump out of office, how do you expect the work of the committee you’re leading will change?

I think that what we do going forward is making sure that we are back at the table, where we have been missing over the last four years. And we elevate some of the dialogue and conversation with countries around the world that had been on the back burner for a long period of time. Like our neighbors in the Caribbean, and in Central and South America. So I intend to elevate that – and, the fastest growing continent on the planet, Africa. We’ve got to get back the confidence of our NATO allies in Europe. And then the other part of the world that's important to work with, of course, is Asia.

That’s a lot on your plate. But what’s immediately in front of you is the stimulus bill just passed by Congress. President Trump last night called on Congress to increase the size of stimulus checks going to Americans from $600 to $2,000, suggesting he wouldn’t sign the bill as is. Democrats have already supported larger checks. Can Congress pass that amendment

Yeah, Nancy Pelosi will pass that tomorrow. It’s something that the Democrats wanted all along. I just think it's a game that this president is playing, as he's been playing it all along. When we said we wanted $2,000 (checks) and put it up, it was Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell and Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin that shot it down. So I find it somewhat disingenuous if (Trump) wanted $2,000, his person was at the table negotiating it, he could have said it then. We’ll call him on it. Because we definitely want it. What should happen is, if (Trump) really wants it, don’t veto the bill. We’ll put up a new bill saying that we want to do $2000 (checks), and let him get McConnell to pass it in the Senate, and we can get the bill to his desk before the end of the week.

Yesterday, Trump also granted a pardon to your former colleague in Congress, Chris Collins, who just began his prison sentence after pleading guilty to charges of insider trading. Were you surprised by that pardon?

There's nothing that this president does anymore that surprises me. He’s going to do anything that he thinks is in his personal interest. Everything that he did last night – I wish I could say that I was surprised, that I was shocked. But after four years, you come to expect it. We may have to look at coming together with legislation to prevent the kind abuse of authority that clearly this president has done over the last four years.

NEXT STORY: Winners & Losers of 2020

X
This website uses cookies to enhance user experience and to analyze performance and traffic on our website. We also share information about your use of our site with our social media, advertising and analytics partners. Learn More / Do Not Sell My Personal Information
Accept Cookies
X
Cookie Preferences Cookie List

Do Not Sell My Personal Information

When you visit our website, we store cookies on your browser to collect information. The information collected might relate to you, your preferences or your device, and is mostly used to make the site work as you expect it to and to provide a more personalized web experience. However, you can choose not to allow certain types of cookies, which may impact your experience of the site and the services we are able to offer. Click on the different category headings to find out more and change our default settings according to your preference. You cannot opt-out of our First Party Strictly Necessary Cookies as they are deployed in order to ensure the proper functioning of our website (such as prompting the cookie banner and remembering your settings, to log into your account, to redirect you when you log out, etc.). For more information about the First and Third Party Cookies used please follow this link.

Allow All Cookies

Manage Consent Preferences

Strictly Necessary Cookies - Always Active

We do not allow you to opt-out of our certain cookies, as they are necessary to ensure the proper functioning of our website (such as prompting our cookie banner and remembering your privacy choices) and/or to monitor site performance. These cookies are not used in a way that constitutes a “sale” of your data under the CCPA. You can set your browser to block or alert you about these cookies, but some parts of the site will not work as intended if you do so. You can usually find these settings in the Options or Preferences menu of your browser. Visit www.allaboutcookies.org to learn more.

Sale of Personal Data, Targeting & Social Media Cookies

Under the California Consumer Privacy Act, you have the right to opt-out of the sale of your personal information to third parties. These cookies collect information for analytics and to personalize your experience with targeted ads. You may exercise your right to opt out of the sale of personal information by using this toggle switch. If you opt out we will not be able to offer you personalised ads and will not hand over your personal information to any third parties. Additionally, you may contact our legal department for further clarification about your rights as a California consumer by using this Exercise My Rights link

If you have enabled privacy controls on your browser (such as a plugin), we have to take that as a valid request to opt-out. Therefore we would not be able to track your activity through the web. This may affect our ability to personalize ads according to your preferences.

Targeting cookies may be set through our site by our advertising partners. They may be used by those companies to build a profile of your interests and show you relevant adverts on other sites. They do not store directly personal information, but are based on uniquely identifying your browser and internet device. If you do not allow these cookies, you will experience less targeted advertising.

Social media cookies are set by a range of social media services that we have added to the site to enable you to share our content with your friends and networks. They are capable of tracking your browser across other sites and building up a profile of your interests. This may impact the content and messages you see on other websites you visit. If you do not allow these cookies you may not be able to use or see these sharing tools.

If you want to opt out of all of our lead reports and lists, please submit a privacy request at our Do Not Sell page.

Save Settings
Cookie Preferences Cookie List

Cookie List

A cookie is a small piece of data (text file) that a website – when visited by a user – asks your browser to store on your device in order to remember information about you, such as your language preference or login information. Those cookies are set by us and called first-party cookies. We also use third-party cookies – which are cookies from a domain different than the domain of the website you are visiting – for our advertising and marketing efforts. More specifically, we use cookies and other tracking technologies for the following purposes:

Strictly Necessary Cookies

We do not allow you to opt-out of our certain cookies, as they are necessary to ensure the proper functioning of our website (such as prompting our cookie banner and remembering your privacy choices) and/or to monitor site performance. These cookies are not used in a way that constitutes a “sale” of your data under the CCPA. You can set your browser to block or alert you about these cookies, but some parts of the site will not work as intended if you do so. You can usually find these settings in the Options or Preferences menu of your browser. Visit www.allaboutcookies.org to learn more.

Functional Cookies

We do not allow you to opt-out of our certain cookies, as they are necessary to ensure the proper functioning of our website (such as prompting our cookie banner and remembering your privacy choices) and/or to monitor site performance. These cookies are not used in a way that constitutes a “sale” of your data under the CCPA. You can set your browser to block or alert you about these cookies, but some parts of the site will not work as intended if you do so. You can usually find these settings in the Options or Preferences menu of your browser. Visit www.allaboutcookies.org to learn more.

Performance Cookies

We do not allow you to opt-out of our certain cookies, as they are necessary to ensure the proper functioning of our website (such as prompting our cookie banner and remembering your privacy choices) and/or to monitor site performance. These cookies are not used in a way that constitutes a “sale” of your data under the CCPA. You can set your browser to block or alert you about these cookies, but some parts of the site will not work as intended if you do so. You can usually find these settings in the Options or Preferences menu of your browser. Visit www.allaboutcookies.org to learn more.

Sale of Personal Data

We also use cookies to personalize your experience on our websites, including by determining the most relevant content and advertisements to show you, and to monitor site traffic and performance, so that we may improve our websites and your experience. You may opt out of our use of such cookies (and the associated “sale” of your Personal Information) by using this toggle switch. You will still see some advertising, regardless of your selection. Because we do not track you across different devices, browsers and GEMG properties, your selection will take effect only on this browser, this device and this website.

Social Media Cookies

We also use cookies to personalize your experience on our websites, including by determining the most relevant content and advertisements to show you, and to monitor site traffic and performance, so that we may improve our websites and your experience. You may opt out of our use of such cookies (and the associated “sale” of your Personal Information) by using this toggle switch. You will still see some advertising, regardless of your selection. Because we do not track you across different devices, browsers and GEMG properties, your selection will take effect only on this browser, this device and this website.

Targeting Cookies

We also use cookies to personalize your experience on our websites, including by determining the most relevant content and advertisements to show you, and to monitor site traffic and performance, so that we may improve our websites and your experience. You may opt out of our use of such cookies (and the associated “sale” of your Personal Information) by using this toggle switch. You will still see some advertising, regardless of your selection. Because we do not track you across different devices, browsers and GEMG properties, your selection will take effect only on this browser, this device and this website.