The legislative branch may be in a recess but the executive and judicial branches are in full focus this week in Washington D.C.
There are three things to watch this week on the political front.
President Biden is going to Puerto Rico and Florida this week to tour the damage caused by Hurricane Ian. The storm has left at least 88 people dead and more than one million Americans without power.
Biden has promised $60 million in disaster relief funding, and the visit gives them the chance to coordinate federal, state and local responses to the storm's destruction.
Biden and Florida Governor Ron DeSantis have spoken several times in the past few days in order to coordinate their efforts, according to reports. Biden said he was open to meeting DeSantis in person, who is thought to be planning a 2024 presidential run on the GOP ticket.
After a controversial previous term that ended in June, the Supreme Court of the United States returned to its summer break on Monday.
The upcoming schedule that puts Americans' voting rights, climate regulations, and other issues on the docket will be overseen by Chief Justice John Roberts, according to Politico.
The court has faced intense political scrutiny in the past few months, particularly after the court's decision to overturn Roe v. Wade earlier this year. The decision was one of the top issues that Democrats brought to the campaign trail in state and congressional races.
President Biden signed the Declaration on the U.S. Pacific Partnership last week, a new era of strategic cooperation with 14 Pacific island nations, which aims to bolster economic and technological ties between the U.S. and the Indo-Pacific islands while countering China's influence.
Concerns about China's power in the region have grown after Chinese Secretary General Xi Jinping ordered military exercises around Taiwan.
Biden said last month on CBS News that the U.S. would defend Taiwan if Xi invaded the democratic island. On Sunday, Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin stopped short of endorsing Biden's view in an interview with CNN, but reiterated the U.S. support for Taiwan.
According to the Taiwan Relations Act, we re committed to helping Taiwan develop the capability to defend itself, Austin told CNN. The work will continue into the future and has gone on for a long time. Kevin Cirilli is a visiting media at the Atlantic Council's Global China Hub and the Krach Institute for Tech Diplomacy at Purdue.