National Security News

The Daily Signal provides reports on national and homeland security issues, including military readiness, intelligence operations, border protection, and global conflicts. Featuring news, analysis, and commentary, this section explores how security policy decisions affect America’s national defense and freedom.
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    • Opinion

    It’s Actually OK to Be Proud of the Military on Independence Day

    Some are hyperventilating over reports that this year’s annual Independence Day celebration in Washington will feature remarks by President Donald Trump, military flyovers, and stationary displays of Army equipment, including tanks.  The Washington Post highlighted the increased costs of the event and expressed anxiety over how there was a chance that tanks and other heavy…
    Thomas Spoehr
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    • News

    2020 Election Meddling by China, Iran, N. Korea Likely, Administration Officials Warn

    Russia isn’t the only threat to election security going into 2020, as Trump administration officials say they are preparing for meddling from Iran, China, and North Korea.  The federal government anticipates that Russia will again meddle in the U.S. election in 2020 through “Russian-controlled or influenced English-language media, false-flag operations, or sympathetic spokespersons,” a senior…
    Fred Lucas
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    • News

    Homeland Security Investigations Uncover Hundreds of ‘Fraudulent Families’ at the Southern Border

    The Department of Homeland Security revealed just how common “fraudulent families” are among the thousands of illegal immigrants reaching the U.S.-Mexico border every month. “Beginning in April 2019, [Homeland Security Investigations] dedicated over 400 personnel to assist [Customs and Border Protection] in combating this issue. HSI interviewed teams to interview persons suspected of attempting entry…
    Jason Hopkins
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    • Opinion

    How Sole Sources of Military Spare Parts Squander Defense Dollars, Risk National Security

    How would you react to a store selling a gallon of milk for $180, a price about 45 times the average cost? The House Oversight and Reform Committee confronted this question recently at a hearing on TransDigm, a company that left the Defense Department with the dilemma of choosing between wasting taxpayer resources or failing…
    Emma Watkins
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    • Opinion

    Latin America Is Pivoting From Socialism to Freedom

    South America’s attempt at a leftist version of the European Union is on life support. The regional grouping, called the Union of South American Nations, was founded in 2008 and funded by Hugo Chavez’s then-oil rich Venezuela. The group aimed at spreading Chavez’s “socialism for the 21st century” throughout South America. In the years since…
    James M. Roberts
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    • Opinion

    Why a Bigger Social Security Program Would Make Us Worse Off

    The truth is unavoidable: Social Security is insolvent. It’s set to run out of money to pay scheduled benefits in about 15 years, barring action from Congress. Policymakers have only a handful of options to avoid a roughly 25% cut in benefits for everyone. They can raise taxes, cut benefits, or enact a combination of…
    Rachel Greszler
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    • Opinion

    Celebrating Juneteenth in the Long March to Freedom and Racial Equality

    A review of American history and the nation’s relationship to blacks reveals a slow and often bloody march to equality. In a now-famous letter that President Abraham Lincoln wrote to Horace Greeley, editor of the New York Tribune, Lincoln noted that his primary mission was to save the Union and that he would do so…
    Christopher Metzler
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    • Opinion

    He Grew Up Under Socialism. Now He’s Urging Young People to Reject It.

    Daniel Di Martino grew up in Venezuela, and left the country after socialism took its grip. Now, he’s on a mission to convince young people that socialism is destructive. Our colleague and senior news producer, Kelsey Bolar, recently sat down with Di Martino to hear his story, and today we share that exclusive interview. Plus:…
    Daniel Davis
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    • Opinion

    What It Will Take to Rebuild and Sustain the Military

    The House Armed Services Committee and its Senate counterpart have finally passed their respective versions of the 2020 National Defense Authorization Act, with the House coming in at $733 billion and the Senate matching, in general terms, the Trump administration’s request for $750 billion. While the $17 billion difference between the two is a significant…
    Dakota Wood
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    • Opinion

    How Victim Mentality Is Pushing Women Toward Socialism

    Americans are no longer just flirting with the idea of socialism. They’re increasingly enamored by it. And women, in particular, are some of its biggest fans. It makes sense, in a way. When women are told enough times that they’re oppressed victims who need expansive government programs to address structural inequalities, they’re likely to start…
    Kelsey Bolar
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    • Opinion

    Maine’s Adoption of Physician-Assisted Suicide Accelerates an Ominous Trend

    Maine just became the eighth state to legalize physician-assisted suicide, a practice that turns medicine on its head. Instead of promoting the health and wholeness of the patient, physician-assisted suicide–also legal in the District of Columbia–promotes the dangerous idea that some lives are not worth living. That message has far-reaching effects for the medical profession,…
    Monica Burke
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    • Opinion

    How Racial Quotas Are Hurting Minority Kids in Connecticut

    Connecticut has put in place diversity quotas for certain magnet schools, meaning the racial breakdown of those schools has to stay relatively fixed. That policy is backfiring on the state, which is now being sued by parents—largely African American—saying that it adversely affects their kids. I recently sat down with Gwen Samuel, the plaintiff in…
    Daniel Davis
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    • News

    Trump Lauds Departing Press Chief Sanders as ‘Special Person’ for Doing ‘an Incredible Job’

    White House press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders will leave her post at the end of June and will return to Arkansas. President Donald Trump announced the departure on Twitter late Thursday afternoon. “After 3½ years, our wonderful Sarah Huckabee Sanders will be leaving the White House at the end of the month and going home…
    Fred Lucas
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    • Opinion

    ‘Socialist’ Nordic Countries Are Actually Moving Toward Private Health Care

    Rising support for socialism in the United States comes at a time when politicians like Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., promise a great many “free” services, to be provided or guaranteed by the government. Supporters often point to nations with large social programs, such as Canada, the United Kingdom, and the Scandinavian states, particularly when it…
    Kevin Pham
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    • Opinion

    Problematic Women: Women Are Increasingly Embracing Socialism … but Why?

    In a recent poll for “Axios on HBO,” 55% of American women say they would prefer to live in a socialist country over a capitalist country. This week on “Problematic Women,” we discuss why women are embracing socialism and what can be done to stop this trend. Also, we break down why freshman Rep. Alexandria…
    Lauren Evans
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    • Opinion

    How 1 Trump Official Restrained an Out-of-Control Agency

    In one of her first public speeches as director of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, Kathy Kraninger stated that the agency would switch its focus to working with financial institutions to protect consumers, rather than enforcing laws against them as the first option of protection. She is exactly right. When reading the name of the…
    Jeff Joseph
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    • Opinion

    Socialism, the True Gospel of Greed

    “Tonight, we renew our resolve that America will never be a socialist country.” That’s from President Donald Trump’s last State of the Union address. I’m sure many people found it as encouraging as I did, especially in light of surveys indicating that socialism is gaining popularity here in the United States. And not just at…
    Ed Feulner
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    • News

    Homeland Security Chief Tells Congress the Border Crisis Is ‘Unlike Anything We’ve Seen’

    Acting Homeland Security Secretary Kevin McAleenan appeared before a Senate committee Tuesday and reiterated his requests for Congress to help fix the border crisis. “It’s been over 18 months since the administration asked for the legislative fixes that would’ve prevented the current crisis, and 40 days since we asked for the emergency funding necessary to…
    Jason Hopkins
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    • Opinion

    What Americans Really Think About Socialism

    A new Gallup poll confirms what other surveys have reported: A disturbingly high percentage of Americans, about 4 in 10, now look favorably on socialism. Forty-seven percent of Americans even say they would vote for a socialist candidate for president. What’s going on here? Is Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, D-N.Y., that persuasive? Are that many Americans ready…
    Lee Edwards
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    • Opinion

    Scott Rasmussen Explains Pollsters’ Flaws on Trump, Socialism

    Scott Rasmussen founded one of the leading polling firms in America. He’s observed decades of polling trends and knows the industry better than anyone. I had the chance to sit down with Scott recently to discuss some of the major trends in American public opinion. Read the interview, posted below, or listen on the podcast:…
    Daniel Davis
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