Sprawling across just over nine million kilometres of territory and inhabited by over three-hundred-and-forty-two million people, the United States of Columbia was undeniably one of the world's great powers. Following their achievement of independence from colonial rule in 1783, Columbia stepped out from its origin as a collection of colonies and forged itself into a federal republic that subsequently expanded across the continent. In the process, the United States had encountered other nascent nations that had achieved independence from their former colonial overlords; with the advantages of longer existence and undeniable strength of patriotism, Columbia had acquired desired territories from these young nations before bringing them under the 'benevolent guidance' of the USC. When the borders of Columbia reached the Pacific Ocean, explorers ventured forth and discovered additional territories that were brought under the nation's jurisdiction, while the majority of the islands in the Caribbean Sea either became states of the union or had formed a loyal client state that took its cue from the 'Big Sister to the North'. The modern-day United States of Columbia consisted of fifty-eight constituent states and fifteen unincorporated territories, with the unincorporated territories consisting of islands in the Pacific and Atlantic Oceans. To the south of the mainland United States lay five client states: the Antillean Union in the Caribbean; the Republic of Mexico and the Central American Republic in the lower part of North America; and the Republic of Cundinamarca and the Republic of Venezuela in South America. While Columbian influence was certainly heavily concentrated in the nation's home region, the United States had also successfully expanded its influence to other areas of the world. In Southeast Asia, the archipelagic Philippine Republic was Columbia's sixth client state as well as the primary base for the USC's military presence in the region. In Northeast Asia, the Republic of Korea was the seventh state affiliated with the USC, but it was less of a client state and more of a valued friend and ally. Between these two lay the Republic of Taiwan, the eighth of the USC's affiliates and a genuine beneficiary of Columbian largesse. The USC and its eight associates were officially bound together in the Alliance of Sovereign Nations (ASN) and the Pacific-Caribbean Free Trade Agreement (PCFTA), creating a strong military and economic partnership between them.
During the War of Independence, the Columbian capital had been situated in Philadelphia in what was now the State of Pennsylvania, but in time the organs of the Columbian government were moved to the planned city of Leybourne, which had been named after the first President of Columbia, Edward Leybourne. Built on land acquired from the states of Maryland and Virginia, Leybourne was also known as the 'Federal Capital District' as it was officially separate from the two states that surrounded it. Although only ranking as the twentieth-largest city in the nation by population, Leybourne was a thriving metropolis with a rich history and had proven to be an ideal home for the various components of Columbian democracy. The President and the members of the bicameral legislature were all elected directly, with all citizens over the age of eighteen enjoying the right to vote. The legislature was organised into the Senate, with each state sending two Senators to the august upper chamber, and the House of Representatives, which determined its membership numbers according to population numbers; this resulted in the legislature being comprised of one-hundred-and-sixteen Senators and four-hundred-and-fifty Representatives. While the political system was ostensibly multi-party, the reality was that two particular parties had come to dominate Columbian politics: the centre-to-centre-right Federalist Party (FP), and the centre-left Social Democratic Party (SDP). Due to a certain flexibility of policy agenda, the Federalists had managed to hold the Presidency more often than the SDP and frequently held at least one of the two legislative houses even under a Social Democratic President. The current situation saw the Federalists firmly in power once again, with President Lois Townsend's administration strengthened by her fellow Federalists holding a majority in both the Senate and the House of Representatives. This had allowed the FP to continue with their newest ideological direction of 'liberal conservatism', combining policies such as the protection of same-sex marriage and the continuance of capital punishment under one banner. The FP's 'free market' economic policies never really changed, however, and this tended to garner the support of business interests and the wealthy; this meant that the Federalists never lacked for financing as the larger corporations and wealthier citizens of Columbia had no problem donating considerable sums to the party.
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14 March 2022, 11:30hrs [UTC-6]
America House
Leybourne, Federal Capital District
United States of Columbia
If there was one address that every single person in the United States of Columbia knew, it was 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue, as this was the address of the iconic Presidential residence known as America House. Designed in the neoclassical style, America House had been home to every President since 1800, when construction was completed and it was occupied by the nation's second President, Isaac Stanton. With one hundred and thirty-two rooms covering some fifty-five thousand square feet of floor space, America House provided the President of the United States with not just a suitable primary residence but also a state-of-the-art workplace. The primary workspace in America House was in the West Wing, which contained office space for the President's advisors and officials in addition to the staff that served under them, as well as the Cabinet Room, the Situation Room, and the iconic Oval Office of the President. Unsurprisingly given its name, the Oval Office was an oval-shaped room that featured three large south-facing windows behind the President's desk and a fireplace at the north end. It was customary for Presidents to decorate the Oval Office to their taste upon taking up residence, and President Lois Townsend had been no exception to this; Columbia's first female President had almost completely redecorated the Oval Office to reinforce the differences from the previous administration. The Townsend Oval Office featured gold drapery, white and grey brocade wallpaper, cream coloured sofas and a rug that depicted the Presidential seal at the heart of a 'sunburst' design. The only continuity between President Townsend's office and that of her predecessor was the desk. Constructed from the timbers of the second flagship of the Columbian Navy upon its decommissioning, the large oak desk featured decorative carvings and was simply known as the 'Pennsylvania Desk' in honour of the USS Pennsylvania.
This particular Monday morning saw President Townsend meeting with a small number of her Cabinet Secretaries, to discuss both recent and upcoming events. The sixty-seven-year-old stood in front of her desk as she waited for the others in the room to settle, her six-foot frame clad in a sensible black trouser suit with a white blouse while her shoulder-length light brown hair was worn in an off-centre parting. A former Senator from New York State, President Townsend was approaching the mid-point of her second term in office and was committed to contesting every future Presidential election until she decided that it was time to retire. As far as she was concerned, that time was nowhere near close. She was being joined by four members of her Cabinet for the meeting, all invited because the discussions would likely require input from their respective Departments: Secretary of State Sterling Blake, Secretary of the Treasury Olivia Doyle, Secretary of Defense Aldrich Cook, and Attorney General Thomas Montgomery. The final individual of note present was the White House Chief of Staff, Truman Reeves, due to his integral position within the administration. Once everybody was ready, President Townsend folded her arms and addressed the Cabinet members.
"Thank you for coming today, we have a few things to get through. First of all, Sterling, how are things looking in Korea now that Park Won-Shik has won a second term in office?"
The stylish fifty-six-year-old took off his glasses and lightly chewed the end of one of the temples before responding. Not out of nervousness, but simply because it had become a habit. "President Park was always a vocal proponent of the 'special relationship' during his first term, and that's not going to change. Simply put, Madam President, he's going to be just as perfect for us as he was before. The Korean Ministry of Foreign Affairs did send me a message to express President Park's appreciation that you were the first national leader to congratulate him on his re-election, by the way."
Townsend smiled and nodded. "That's good to hear. He was the first national leader to congratulate me on my re-election, after all. Speaking of elections, the Philippine Republic also has a general election coming up soon. Any word on how things are looking for Damario?"
"Uh..." Blake picked up his tablet and quickly brought up the relevant information. "President Esquivias is also looking at being re-elected, with a slightly larger majority according to recent polling. Oh, and before you mention Cundinamarca's upcoming elections, President Valdovinos is on course for a third term so we don't have any concerns there either." He set down his tablet and gestured toward the President with his glasses. "We don't have to worry about any newbies showing up at the ASN conference in September."
Aldrich Cook nodded agreeably at that point. "It also means that we won't have any orders getting cancelled." The bald sixty-eight-year-old African-Columbian was a retired general and was known for his no-nonsense approach, as well as the fact that he only tamed his language when speaking to the President. "The Philippines and Cundinamarca are finalising the purchase of F-35s for their air forces, paid for by our military aid admittedly, but the point is that the orders will help to secure jobs here and show that Columbian hardware is in demand around the world. Madam President, I think we should consider giving the Central American Republic a bit more in military aid while we're on the subject. It can't hurt for them to put in an order or two for more up-to-date hardware."
"Good idea, Aldrich. Olivia, any objections?"
The bespectacled fifty-one-year-old tucked some of her long auburn hair behind her ear as she replied to President Townsend's enquiry. "As long as we don't have to increase the military budget to pay for it, Secretary Cook can do whatever the hell he wants." She flashed a grin at Aldrich, who chuckled and wagged his finger as she continued. "If it's going to give jobs to hard-working Columbians, or at least keep them in their current jobs, then I'm all for it. Especially with the midterms in November, although I have to say that the recent polls are looking pretty good." She then tapped her hand on the oak coffee table nearby. "Touch wood."
"Yes, let's not start celebrating just yet. We still have to get through the SDP's attempted lawsuits over the redistricting proposals, so how's that looking?"
The fifty-two-year-old Attorney General smirked at the President's question. "Madam President, we've got nothing to worry about. Thanks to the Federalist-majority Senate blocking judicial appointees under President Grant's administration, we've been able to appoint three hundred and twelve judges since you first came to office. The majority of state governors are Federalists and their state supreme courts are highly unlikely to rule in favour of SocDem lawsuits if they get that far. If they try taking their complaints to the Supreme Court, the majority of Supreme Court Justices lean more towards us than the SocDems." Thomas Montgomery grinned more broadly and sat back in his seat. "It won't matter how high up the chain the SocDems try to take their lawsuits, they'll get thrown out. It's taken our party a long time, but the system is finally back in our hands once again."
Truman Reeves chimed in as Thomas Montgomery finished speaking. "Our main concern right now is Congressman Waters and his little clique of old school conservatives. Madam President, they simply don't appreciate that you won your second term with almost ten million more votes than Senator Kyle. Waters and his buddies think that you've corrupted the party when, in fact, you've made it the most electable that it's ever been."
President Townsend shrugged and sighed. "Unfortunately I can't please everybody, but I think that Waters is reacting out of fear that the time for his particular views has passed. Anyway, in all honesty, I don't mind if there are a few dissenters within the party. It keeps me on my toes."