China's influence on the Panama Canal is a major risk to U.S. national security, Sen. Ted Cruz told lawmakers during a Senate hearing on Capitol Hill.

President Trump's priorities of immigration enforcement and promoting U.S. interests in the Panama Canal lead the political agenda in Washington.

Nonetheless, Trump’s bet is to not have to pursue military conquest in the Athenian way. He would rather have a complacent Panama, accepting all U.S. demands. As shown by the recent Colombia-U.S. clash over deportations, Trump’s approach seems to be “cooperate or else.”

Nancy Soderberg, a former United Nations ambassador and the director of the Public Service Leadership Program at UNF, joins Bruce Hamilton on Politics & Power this week to see if President Donald Trump is trying to gain the upper hand with China or even truly has an expansionist agenda.

In recent weeks, when he was President-elect Donald Trump publicly said that Panama should return the Panama Canal to the United States, and he would not rule out using military force to reclaim it. At his presidential Inauguration on Monday Trump doubled down on saying that his new administration was going to take back the canal.

White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt made her briefing debut on Tuesday, where she sparred with reporters over a federal freeze on grants and made clear that President Donald Trump himself will be the administration's main messenger.

Following a busy first week of his second term, President Donald Trump has a number of key policies to advance as week two begins.

Panama’s government and President José Raúl Mulino have repeatedly denied that there is any Chinese presence at the canal.

Marco Rubio will travel to Panama on his first trip abroad as secretary of State. The visit comes as Donald Trump looks to reclaim Panama's canal.

Any loss of capacity, which is more likely to be caused by drought will ripple through supply chains and push up costs in Australia.

The answer is simple: there is no greater or more idealistic symbol of U.S. power in the world than the Panama Canal. As Trump seeks a way to enhance the country's power in the world, leaning on imagery regarding the Panama Canal provides just the right message.