Policy

Senate Approves Ratcliffe As Nation’s Top Spy

Ratcliffe received more “no” votes than any previous nominee for the position.

Policy

Pompeo Defends Firing Of State IG

Charges that the dismissal was retaliatory are “patently false,” he says.

Policy

Senate Intel Panel Advances Ratcliffe Nomination In Party-Line Vote

The former Texas prosecutor is a deeply controversial pick for the nation’s top spy.

Ideas

2020 Could Be 'Darkest Winter in Modern History,' COVID Whistleblower Says

The United States dropped the ball early in the pandemic, and remains unready for painful months to come, Rick Bright tells Congress.

Ideas

There’s One Big Reason the U.S. Economy Can’t Safely Reopen

The country faces the same problem today that it did two months ago: There are not enough tests to contain the virus.

Policy

Prospective Navy Secretary Vows to 'Restore the Appropriate Culture'

Kenneth Braithwaite answered pointed questions from senators, but he and fellow nominees from DoD and the Air Force appear set for confirmation.

Ideas

Time to Rethink Security Aid to Egypt

More than $40 billion over three decades has bought only dubious benefits to U.S. security.

Policy

China Is Buying Global Influence on the Cheap

The U.S. gives more money than China to many international organizations. So why do they seem more sympathetic to Beijing?

Policy

Trump’s Intelligence-Chief Nominee Vows to ‘Speak Truth to Power’

GOP lawmakers are seeking to fasttrack Rep. John Ratcliffe’s nomination, but his careful answers did not appear to satisfy skeptics.

Policy

Pentagon’s ‘Willingness to Kiss the President’s Ass’ Worries Top Lawmaker

‘I am worried about a culture developing,’ says House Armed Services Committee Chairman Adam Smith, D-Wash., after the latest delay in Navy captain’s fate.

Policy

Pentagon Blasts Lawmakers’ Critique Of COVID-19 Response

Democratic lawmakers accused SecDef of leading a “disjointed and slow” response to the pandemic.

Policy

The Pentagon's Spectrum Defeat May Presage a Loss of Other Key Frequencies

Rejecting appeals by Defense officials and their Congressional allies, the FCC approved a private company's use of spectrum near ones used by GPS.

Policy

Pentagon’s Esper Was Too Slow With Coronavirus Response, Senate Democrats Say

In a letter, lawmakers accuse the SecDef of causing confusion, showing ‘dangerous misunderstanding’ of the virus, and harming readiness.

Threats

Inside the Wild Final Week of the Acting Navy Secretary

How it all fell apart for Thomas Modly in seven days that included a two-plane, 50-hour trip to chastise a fired skipper to his sailors aboard a COVID-stricken aircraft carrier.

Policy

Republicans Seek to Punish China for Coronavirus as Trump Waffles

“Having the relationship I have with China is a good thing,” Trump says. But Republicans say China needs to “pay a price.”

Policy

Congress Hears Options—And Concerns—for Using Smartphone Data to Fight Coronavirus

Other countries have been using various forms of location- and proximity-tracing to slow the spread of the disease, with widely varying levels of privacy protections.

Ideas

Don’t Confirm John Ratcliffe as Director of National Intelligence

The U.S. needs a Dr. Fauci, not a Trump cheerleader, to lead America’s intelligence community.

Policy

Pentagon Delays Budget Deadline to Help Staff Work from Home

Service officials had complained that a June 1 deadline was preventing them from implementing coronavirus-related social-distancing guidelines.