26 Republican Senators Sign Statement Supporting Pelosi’s Taiwan Visit

Twenty-six Republicans, including Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.), signed a joint statement on Aug. 2 announcing support for House Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s trip to Taiwan and reaffirming that the trip did not change the United States policies regarding China and Taiwan.

Sens Kevin Cramer (R-N.D.) and Dan Sullivan (R-Ark.) led the effort to sign the document, following Pelosi’s arrival in Taipei Tuesday.

“We support Speaker of the House of Representatives Nancy Pelosi’s trip to Taiwan,” the statement said.

“For decades, members of the United States Congress, including previous Speakers of the House, have traveled to Taiwan. This travel is consistent with the United States’ One China policy to which we are committed. We are also committed now, more than ever, to all elements of the Taiwan Relations Act.”

Pelosi’s much-anticipated trip to Taiwan has been months in the making. In recent weeks, however, Chinese Communist Party (CCP) leadership began to issue increasingly bellicose and erratic threats about the trip, falsely claiming that it would be a violation of Chinese sovereignty.

CCP leader Xi Jinping warned President Joe Biden last week that the trip was “playing with fire,” and some in China’s state-owned media issued calls to shoot down Pelosi’s plane.

The White House maintains that there is nothing out of the ordinary about the Speaker’s trip, and noted repeatedly that Congressional delegations visit Taiwan without incident with some frequency.

“The Speaker has the right to visit Taiwan and the Speaker of the House has visited Taiwan before, without incident,” said White House National Security Council spokesperson John Kirby on Aug. 1. “As have many members of Congress, including this year.”

“Put simply, there is no reason for Beijing to turn a simple visit, consistent with long-standing U.S. policy into some sort of crisis or conflict, or to use it to

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