Policy
Where’s the New Transgender Troops Ban Headed? Look at the Travel Ban Fight
Like Trump’s effort to bar visitors from several Mideast countries, a long legal battle awaits the newest limits on who can serve in uniform.
Policy
F-35 Sale to Taiwan Not Worth the ‘Risk,’ Experts Warn
As the Trump administration takes an aggressive stance on China, senators push an F-35 Joint Strike Fighter deal with Taiwan.
Policy
How John Bolton Views US Allies and Adversaries
His 2007 memoir lays out the incoming national-security adviser’s worldview.
Policy
Trump Backs Off Budget Veto in Odd White House Event Laden with Misstatements
The mischaracterization of the 2018 defense budget as the biggest ever was just the start.
Ideas
John Bolton Will Not End Well
Wait until Trump starts working with this swamp veteran with bad press and Pentagon push-back who likes to name-drop Edmund Burke.
Policy
What John Bolton's Appointment as National Security Adviser Means
Until today, Lt. Gen. H.R. McMaster was considered Trump's most militant adviser on North Korea.
Policy
Defense Hawks Soak Up Defense Spending Win. Now What?
The backs of the men and women in uniform — which defense hawks say have so long borne the weight of Congress’s fiscal stumbles — helped carry the $1.3-trillion 2018 spending bill over a key hurdle on Thursday.
Policy
Senators Signal Resistance to Proposed Low-Yield Nukes
Several Democratic lawmakers on a key committee are pushing back on the given rationale for a new warhead and cruise missile.
Policy
What's Next for Trump's Border Wall?
This week, the president inspected eight prototypes, but his administration still has a long way to go before bringing his campaign pledge to fruition.
Policy
Trump Calls for a Space Force, a Concept His Pentagon Opposes
The president’s words could reanimate a legislative proposal that the defense secretary and others thought they had killed.
Policy
Here’s What the Services Want from Congress This Year
After lawmakers pass the budget promised by February’s bipartisan deal, the three secretaries have other priorities for legislative action.
Policy
Trump Says His New Tariffs Are About National Security. They’re Not.
Few people believe him, and that’s a problem for him—and the world.
Ideas
Putin Just Gave Trump the Arms Race He Sought
'Let it be an arms race,' Trump said, two years ago. Now we have one. It doesn't have to be this way.
Policy
Space Corps Is At Least ‘Three to Five Years Away,’ Its Congressional Champion Says
A bipartisan team of House lawmakers slams the Air Force for pushing back on the idea of a separate service for space operations.
Policy
The Air Force One Deal May Be Less Rosy Than Claimed
The White House’s “fixed-price deal” may still leave the taxpayer on the hook. And a spokesman seems to have inflated the projected savings.
Threats
Russia ‘Incredibly Destabilizing’ as Syrian Conflict Threatens Region, Top US General Warns
Weeks after Tillerson said the U.S. and Russia share a postwar vision, Votel says Moscow is playing both “arsonist and firefighter.”
Policy
It Could Get Harder to Track US War Spending
The administration plans to push “enduring” costs from the Overseas Contingency Operations war fund back into the base budget in future years.
Science & Tech
Trump Has Not Asked Us To Stop Russian Election Meddling, Intelligence Chiefs Testify
The intelligence community agrees Russia will try to influence the 2018 midterms, but they’re less clear on how to stop the Kremlin.
Policy