Origins of a Bipartisan

Growing up with 69 first cousins in a small Arizona town where his dad was the nonpartisan mayor, Flake explained that he arrived in Washington in 2001 in shock at the hyperpartisanship of Congress. “There are people in Washington on both sides of the aisle trying to do good, but the incentives are terrible,” he lamented.

In 2014, Flake and New Mexico Democrat Martin Heinrich attempted to prove that Republicans and Democrats could work together in perhaps one of the more unique episodes in legislative history. The pair, with the help of the Discovery Channel, filmed a Survivor-style reality TV show on a deserted island in the Marshall Islands, learning to survive with nothing but each other and a machete. 

June 2017 brought home that hyperpartisanship is no game: along with other congressional Republicans, Flake was practicing for the annual Congressional Baseball Game when a gunman opened fire, critically injuring two. Just months later, Flake announced he would not seek reelection to the Senate, saying he was out of step with the direction of the Republican party under Donald Trump.

The Diplomat

Türkiye was no small post. Normally occupied by a career diplomat, the Biden administration entrusted the ambassadorship in Ankara to Flake during what would prove to be a contentious time in Turkish-American relations.

For years, Turkish president Recep Tayyip Erdoğan had steered Türkiye further away from democracy, jailing opposition leaders and vilifying unfriendly media. Flake, who prided himself on speaking his conscience during his political career, suddenly had to walk the line between trying to improve the situation and getting expelled from the country. 

“You never want to be condoning human rights abuses or democratic backsliding,” he told the audience. “That doesn’t mean you lecture at every opportunity,” he added.

To balance out his criticisms of the regime’s actions, Flake noted that he tried to find common ground and give credit where credit is due. For example, he explained, Türkiye is home to more refugees than any other country, and Flake found it important to praise that humanitarianism both in public and directly to Turkish leadership. “In truth, it’s a difficult thing for them to do, politically,” he said. “I tried at every avenue I could to compliment them there.”

The War

Six weeks after he arrived at the U.S. embassy in Ankara, Russia invaded Ukraine, and Flake spent much of the next year trying to build a bridge between NATO and its most Russia-friendly member.

The ambassador spent week one persuading the Turkish government to close the key Bosphorus Strait to Russian military ships, and they eventually did. Flake maintains that Türkiye’s ultimate decision was not just due to international pressure. “They did it because [NATO] was important to them,” Flake said of the Turkish government.

And when Erdoğan came under fire among NATO members for blocking Sweden’s accession into the alliance, Flake positioned himself at the front lines of negotiating with Türkiye to lift its veto.

To do this, Flake tried to understand the veto’s roots in Türkiye’s resentment of Sweden’s position on the PKK, a U.S.-designated terrorist organization which promotes Kurdish nationalism in Türkiye. “[The veto] wasn’t just something Erdoğan was trying to use for leverage,” Flake explained.

When he went to Washington to negotiate the sale of F-16s to Ankara as part of the deal to lift the veto, Flake described finding that the issue cut across party lines, reassured that not all matters were constrained by partisanship.

A Hint of Bipartisanship in the 119th Congress

Having ushered Sweden into NATO (earning a knighthood from the Swedish king along the way), Flake left Türkiye at the end of the Biden administration as the Trump team assumed a more alliance-skeptic international outlook.

When Kathryn Stoner, the Mosbacher Director of the Center on Democracy, Development and the Rule of Law at FSI and professor in the Political Science department moderating the discussion, asked Flake about the prospects of bipartisanship after the November midterms, he responded optimistically. He pointed out that the Lindsey O. Graham Sanctioning Russia and Iran Act of 2026 passed both the House and Senate with large majorities, revealing members’ continued belief in promoting American principles abroad. “That’s where they are, that’s where they want to be,” Flake said. 

“We’ve been through bouts like this before,” he said of President Trump’s change in foreign policy, expressing optimism about a future return to transatlanticism. “If his policies were more popular, his influence would be stronger.”

Flake also described a “longing for U.S. leadership” in Europe, but he added that the U.S. is an unreliable partner. “Our allies have found themselves turned upside down,” Flake exclaimed.

To reassure allies of America’s support, Flake called on his former colleagues in elected office to continue speaking their minds on foreign policy issues. “Heads of state listen,” he said.

Towards the end of the talk, a community member asked what role Secretary of State Marco Rubio could realistically play in shaping U.S. foreign policy. 

Flake’s reply: the example of Mike Pence taught him the necessity of having reasonable, level-headed members in Trump’s inner circle, and Flake is convinced Rubio is working effectively behind the scenes. “I don’t fault those who feel they can influence a president,” Flake said. “I’m glad he’s there.”