In November, we were honored to welcome Rep. Brenda Lawrence, a Democrat from Michigan who served in the House of Representatives from 2015 to 2023, and Rep. Bob Goodlatte, a Republican from Virginia who served in the House of Representatives from 1993 to 2019.

Following the U.S. elections earlier this month, the bipartisan duo offered valuable insights, perspectives, and outlooks on what to expect during Donald Trump’s second presidency and on the future of transatlantic relations.

From November 18 to 21, we hosted a series of events across NRW, visiting Cologne, Bonn, Düsseldorf, Dortmund, Gelsenkirchen and Bornheim, and engaging with more than 800 participants at townhalls, schools, and universities. 

Our journey began on Monday at the Hölderlin Gymnasium in Cologne, where we were joined by representatives from the Ministry of Education NRW, followed by a public event on “The State of American Democracy After the 2024 U.S. Elections”, moderated by Cosima Gill.

On Tuesday, U.S. Consul General Preeti Shah invited the Former Members of Congress to a lunch discussion on the transatlantic partnership with representatives from politics, business, and the media. Later, Reps. Lawrence and Goodlatte met with the Parliamentary Friendship Group NRW-USA, chaired by Angela Freimuth, MdL. The day concluded with a Townhall Discussion at Düsseldorf City Hall, hosted by Deputy Mayor Christian Zaum and moderated by Vivien Leue.

Wednesday began with a discussion at the Europaschule in Bornheim, where 300 students engaged in conversations about critical issues such as abortion and gun laws. The day concluded with a roundtable at the Bonner Universitätsforum, moderated by Prof. Dr. Jasper Trautsch.

On the final day, we started in Gelsenkirchen with an inspiring conversation around public service at the NRW-Zentrum für Talentförderung. Later, we visited the Technische Universität Dortmund, where Rep. Goodlatte and Rep. Lawrence met with a group of students. The program ended with a Townhall Discussion on "After the Elections: Navigating the Future of U.S. Relations with Europe and Germany" at Dortmund City Hall hosted by Deputy Mayor Barbara Brunsing and moderated by Wiebke Ewering.

None of this would have been possible without our many partners and supporters:

Auslandsgesellschaft.de, Association of Former Members of Congress, BAUWENS GmbH, Bonner Akademie für Forschung und Lehre praktischer Politik – BAPP, Center for Advanced Security, Strategic and Integration Studies – CASSIS, German Council of Foreign Relations – DGAP, Landeshauptstadt Düsseldorf, Europe Direct Düsseldorf, City of Dortmund, Europe Direct Dortmund, State Chancellery of North Rhine-Westphalia, North American Studies Programm of the University of Bonn, University of Bonn and the U.S. Embassy Berlin.