Policy

House Votes to Override Trump’s Defense Authorization Veto

On Tuesday, the Senate could overturn a veto for the first time in Trump's presidency.

Policy

Trump Vetoes Defense Authorization Bill

For the Confederacy, conservative speech, and the desire to bring troops home, Trump rejected the $700 billion NDAA at the last minute before Washington breaks for Christmas.

Policy

Trump Officials Deliver Plan to Split Up Cyber Command, NSA

An end to the “dual hat” arrangement has been debated for years — but the timing raises questions. The plan requires Milley's certification to move ahead.

Policy

Space Force Troops Get a Name: ‘Guardians’

VP Pence revealed the moniker for Trump’s oft-teased newest military service branch to stand alongside soldiers, airmen, sailors, and Marines.

Science & Tech

Amid Massive Hack, Lawmakers Urge Trump to Sign Defense Bill with New Cybersecurity Legislation

As the government scrambles to understand the widening compromise, legislation to shore up the nation’s cyber defenses sits unsigned on the President’s desk.

Threats

Milley Meets With Taliban In Fragile Peace Negotiations

The Joint Chiefs chairman's meeting comes at a profound moment of uncertainty for the U.S.-brokered talks on Afghanistan.

Threats

NATO Gears Up for Biden, Big Decisions on Afghanistan, China

“We are faced with a very hard and difficult dilemma,” NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg said in an exclusive interview.

Ideas

Biden’s First Move on Nuclear Weapons

When Putin calls to congratulate the new U.S. president, Biden should seize the opportunity.

Exclusive Policy

Trump Officials Reviewing DOD Support To CIA

Some officials familiar with the review see it as an effort to cut vital DOD support to the agency.

Exclusive Policy

White House Shipbuilding Plan Would Shrink Ford Carrier Class Over Navy Objections

Critics say the bulked-up fleet plan would cut dangerously into Army, Air Force budgets — if Congress and the Biden administration followed it.

Policy

Austin Pick Thrusts Pentagon Into Identity-Politics Debate

His confirmation would be historic. But for whom?

Ideas

The Problem With the SecDef Purity Test

You don’t want a general, a man, a war veteran — and everyone in the defense industry is evil?

Policy

Biden Selects Retired Gen. Lloyd Austin for Defense Secretary, Reportedly

Austin, the last commander of the Iraq War, would be the nation's first Black defense secretary.

Exclusive Policy

Trump Admin to Rename Two Bases for Space Force Over Military Objections

The Air Force had quietly agreed with Congress not to change anything until the NDAA settles a way forward on Confederate base names.

Policy

2021 NDAA Would Create a National Cyber Director

If the bill passes next week and is signed into law, another amendment would codify cybersecurity roles for sector-specific agencies.

Policy

US Has Achieved ‘Modicum of Success’ in Afghanistan, Top General Says

But years of military stalemate make negotiating with the Taliban the only option, Gen. Mark Milley says.

Exclusive Policy

EXCLUSIVE: Details Revealed in Trump’s Lame-Duck Pentagon Budget Draft

Some of the numbers are “fabricated,” says one official. But they shed light on GOP lines of attack awaiting Biden.

Policy

Dems See GOP Electioneering in Air Force Choice of Georgia for C-130 Base

A Trump appointee wants Air National Guard planes sent to the state that holds the key to Senate control.

Policy

IC Vets, Dem Lawmakers Applaud Selection of Haines as Intelligence Director

Biden picks an Obama administration intelligence community veteran to be the first woman to serve in the role.

Policy

Personality, Not Policy, Will Determine Top House Armed Services Republican

The pick may telegraph whether the GOP intends a cooperative or combative approach to the Biden administration.