On Wednesday, U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken urged the Senate to authorize $2 billion in spending for infrastructure projects globally, but seemed to be rebuffed by Jim Risch, a prominent Republican senator from Idaho who expressed skepticism about where such money could be found.
In wake of a Republican-led drive to reduce government expenditure in order to alleviate the federal budget deficit, Risch’s questions about the feasibility of Blinken’s suggestion indicated the latest obstacle in longstanding U.S. government attempts to set up a rival to communist China’s $1-trillion Belt and Road Initiative (BRI).