International Relations

Congress as the Line of Defense: The Resilience and Limits of Bipartisan Support for Taiwan in the Trump Era

423 to 1 — the lopsided House vote in January 2025 approving the U.S.-Taiwan double-tax agreement nearly sums up the surface picture of 'bipartisan support for Taiwan.' Yet in Trump's second term, the executive branch's transactional logic, an undercurrent of isolationism, and the constitutional gap between 'legislation passed' and 'policy executed' are quietly eroding this political shield often called Taiwan's last line of defense. Is Congress a guardrail, or a blank check with writing on it?