Threats
Buttigieg Rips Congress Over War Powers
Navy vet's insurgent campaign has skyrocketed him to 14 percent in an early Iowa poll.
Policy
‘Space Force’ Shrinks in House Proposal
A bipartisan amendment would trim several generals from the new space-focused component.
Ideas
Save This One Piece of the INF Treaty
Preserving the ballistic-missile ban would reduce the danger of leaving the treaty — and light a path to its replacement.
Threats
House Democrats Want To Ban Sending New Prisoners To Gitmo
President Trump has vowed to keep the facility open, promising on the campaign trail to fill it up with “bad dudes.”
Science & Tech
Lawmakers Question FBI’s Facial Recognition Program
The bureau for years ignored concerns about the accuracy and transparency of its facial recognition efforts, and the House Oversight Committee isn’t happy about it.
Policy
Lawmakers Want the Final Say on Air Force One Paint Job
A House panel has drafted legislation that would require congressional approval if Trump wants to change the Kennedy-era livery.
Ideas
New, More Usable Nukes for Trump? No.
Congress should use the new defense authorization bill to bar the deployment of new, dangerous, and redundant nuclear weapons.
Policy
Nuclear Experts Beg Congress to Push Back on Trump Administration’s ‘Dangerous Impulses’
A letter asks House and Senate Armed Services leaders to defund small nukes and support an extension for New START.
Policy
Still 'Acting' Shanahan Faces Test With China Face-off and USS McCain Scandal
Raising the stakes for the would-be SecDef, the White House has not yet sent formal nomination paperwork to the Senate.
Ideas
Mueller: Russia Interfered, Trump Obstructed. Now It’s Up to Congress.
Read our report, says the special counsel: the evidence does not exonerate the president.
Policy
Trump Bypasses Congress to Sell Arms to Saudis, UAE
The rare decision, a fallout of last year’s Khashoggi killing, comes as tensions rise with Iran.
Policy
Space Force Clears Senate Committee After House Attempt to Stall
The Senate Armed Services Committee’s legislation “greatly increases the odds that we end up with some sort of a Space Force,” one expert says.
Threats
Senate Panel Votes to Let Gitmo Prisoners Into US for Medical Treatment
With an aging population, Democrats in the House, and Navy officers asking for guidance, there’s a chance it finally passes.
Science & Tech
3 Lawmakers Propose $2.2B Over 5 Years to Advance AI
The Artificial Intelligence Initiative Act would devote resources to education and research, and help coordinate AI adoption across government.
Threats
Iran Briefings Leave Congress Divided Over Trump’s Intentions, War Powers
“Everybody is deeply concerned about Congress getting cut out,” said one Democrat after hearing from Pompeo, Dunford, and Shanahan.
Policy
House Panel Rejects Space Force
The Pentagon’s arguments are unconvincing, a House Appropriations Committee subcommittee says.
Ideas
Can Congress Use Fines to Pry Loose the Full Trump-Russia Report?
The legal framework governing situations such as this is seldom used and little known.
Threats
The Partisan Divide on How to Read the Intelligence on Iran
Adam Schiff lays out his worries on the intelligence, but the Trump administration is pushing back.
Policy
Trump Taps Shanahan To Lead DOD, Ending Months of Speculation
The nomination marks the beginning of the end of the tenure of the longest-serving acting defense secretary.
Policy