King-Hinds: Think tanks ‘running amok in terms of influencing policy in DC’

08/21/2025 - Delegate Kimberlyn King-Hinds had a rather interesting take on how think tanks view the CNMI during her From the Hill to the Vill town hall meeting last Aug. 13 at the Kagman Community Center.

Think tanks are organizations that conduct research and analysis on public policy issues, offering recommendations to governments, businesses, and other stakeholders. However, King-Hinds said more often than not that they haven’t been shining a good light on the CNMI in the country’s capital.

“Think tanks right now, they have, you know, they have been running amok in terms of influencing policy in D.C. All too often, the people who testify in front of Congress about the Marianas are think tanks. And so now I have to go to these, you know, I make it a point that if there's any conversation about the Marianas, I participate in those committees of jurisdiction. I ask to be waived on so that we can be heard,” she said.

And regardless of what these think tanks say, King-Hinds said the CNMI is “more than corruption. We are more than military. These are people who live here who have [their] own culture and have [their] own way of life.” 

During the town hall meeting, King-Hinds also talked about the political climate in Washington, D.C., and how President Donald J. Trump is focused on how to bring the country’s deficit down and immigration, specifically keeping the United States’ border safe. 

“That's why there are a lot of conversations about the tariffs and the President going out there and renegotiating these deals with various countries. You know, he believes in America First, and I don't think anybody could disagree with that, right, because even in our community conversations, what is the first thing that we say when it comes to labor, for example? Right. We want to hire our people first. We want to train our people first. We want to get our people to be in this job first. And so it's very similar,” she said.

King-Hinds also touched a bit on the conspiracy theory surrounding the untimely death of the late governor Arnold I. Palacios.

“One of the barriers that I do want to share with you, speaking of knowledge is power, right, is how people view the CNMI in Washington, D.C. And, you know, when I got back, I was very dismayed about these videos and these articles that were coming up about, you know, the governor potentially or I don't know, these conspiracy theories that the governor was murdered by the CCP (Chinese Communist Party).”

She said the tin foil hat society couldn’t be more off about the death of the CNMI’s 10th governor.

“For real. I mean, the amount of effort for that to have happened, to top it off, he was transported by military air. It's so silly. And when we share information like that, right, it just further adds to the confusion in the community that that's very unnecessary.”

On tourism, King-Hinds said the CNMI should just steady the course when it comes to its No. 1 economic driver. 

“There was a whole bunch of issues that were ongoing with regard to travel. And what we were seeing was China violating the U.S. air transportation agreement. And so some of these conversations that we're seeing now with Annex VI and trying to move that forward, right, have become a challenge. And we're going to continue working through that. But just because that's a challenge, it doesn't mean that we're not going to explore every and all options. We're looking at all of it.

Report by Mark Rabago