Capitol Conversations

The lame duck Congress, the Biden Administration, and a deep dive on the U.S. China relationship with Michael Sobolik

December 10, 2020

Chelsea Patterson Sobolik and Travis Wussow are both back around the table with Jeff Pickering for a wide ranging policy conversation about the ERLC’s priorities for the Lame Duck Congress and then the Biden Administration.

Then on the second half of the show, China expert Michael Sobolik joins us for a deep dive on Chinese Communist Party politics, history of the U.S. China relationship, and what it means for human rights advocacy today.

This episode is sponsored by The Good Book Company, publisher of Searching for Christmas by JD Greear. Find out more about this book at thegoodbook.com.

Guest Biography

Michael Sobolik is a Fellow in Indo-Pacific Studies at the American Foriegn Policy Council. His work covers American and Chinese grand strategy, regional economic and security trends, America’s alliance architecture in Asia, and human rights. Michael also serves as editor of AFPC’s monthly newsletter Indo-Pacific Monitor. His analysis has appeared in The Diplomat, The Hill, Jane’s Defence Weekly, The National Interest, National Review, Newsweek, Providence, and RealClearDefense. Prior to joining AFPC, Michael served as a Legislative Assistant to Sen. Ted Cruz from 2014 to 2019 and managed his Indo-Pacific policy portfolio. While in the Senate, Michael drafted legislation on China, Russia, India, Taiwan, North Korea, and Cambodia, as well as strategic systems and missile defense. Michael is a graduate of Texas A&M University, where he also earned his Master of International Affairs degree in American grand strategy and U.S.-China relations at the Bush School of Government and Public Service.

Resources from the Conversation

Chelsea
Chelsea Sobolik

Chelsea Sobolik serves as Director of Government Relations for World Relief, a a global Christian humanitarian organization and the largest Evangelical refugee resettlement in the U.S. Previously, she worked for the leading evangelical child welfare organization in the country, the Ethics and Religious Liberty Commission (ERLC) and on Captiol Hill.. Chelsea has been published at

Hear More From Chelsea
Jeff Pickering

Jeff Pickering is the director of the Initiative on Faith & Public Life, a project of the American Enterprise Institute. AEI is a leading public policy think tank in Washington, DC and the initiative exists to equip Christian college students for faithful engagement in public life. Jeff moved to Washington to work for Russell Moore

Hear More From Jeff
Travis Wussow

Travis Wussow is the former Vice President for Public Policy and General Counsel. Travis led the ERLC’s first international office located in the Middle East prior to joining the Washington DC office. He received a B.B.A. in Finance from The University of Texas at Austin and a J.D. from The University of Texas School of

Hear More From Travis

Recent Episodes

Already a listener? Leave a review!

Leave a Review