Lawmakers War-Game Conflict With China, Hoping to Deter One

(L–R) Lawmakers in a new House select committee on China Rep. Jake Auchincloss (D-Mass.), Rep. Haley Stevens (D-Mich.), committee Chairman Rep. Mike Gallagher (R-Wis.), and Rep. Carlos Gimenez (R-Fla.) gather for a tabletop war game exercise in the House Ways and Means Committee room in Washington on April 19, 2023. Ellen Knickmeyer/AP Photo

WASHINGTON—It’s April 22, 2027, and 72 hours into a first-strike Chinese attack on Taiwan and the U.S. military response. Already, the toll on all sides is staggering.

It was a war game, but one with a serious purpose and high-profile players: members of the House select committee on China. The conflict unfolded on Risk board game-style tabletop maps and markers under a giant gold chandelier in the House Ways and Means Committee room.