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

    An Opportunity for Real Reform at DHS

    There’s new potential for reform at the Department of Homeland Security. On Wednesday, the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee passed its version of a Department of Homeland Security reauthorization bill that was passed by the House last year. This could be the first time DHS will be reauthorized since its creation—and it also…
    Paul Fredrick
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    • Opinion

    Podcast: The Week in Review, Plus a New Hope for Military Families

    On our week-in-review show, Editor-in-Chief Rob Bluey and Managing Editor Katrina Trinko recap the top stories making news. They cover President Donald Trump’s meeting with North Korea, legislative activity on school safety, tariffs, judicial nominees, and country music’s political controversy. Plus, Bluey talks to Rep. Jim Banks, R-Ind., about his plan to give military families…
    Rob Bluey
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    • Opinion

    Keeping an Obama Holdover at VA Is Proving Disastrous

    Will the VA scandal never end? While the Department of Veterans Affairs secretary lives high on the hog and his lying chief of staff resigns in disgrace while escaping any punishment, legions of vets every day in this country are denied the medical care they earned. President Donald Trump was supposed to drain the swamp….
    Michelle Malkin
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    • Opinion

    Why Congress Should Modernize Impact Aid for Children of Military Families

    Kathleen Jones and her family were “trying to figure out the next chapter in their lives.” Her husband spent 28 years in the military, so the Jones family was making adjustments in Arizona for life after military service. Doctors diagnosed both of their boys as being on the autism spectrum, so finding the best services…
    Jonathan Butcher
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    • Opinion

    Homeland Security Oversight Is a Mess. Here’s What Should Change.

    Since its founding in 2002, the Department of Homeland Security has never been reauthorized, which has allowed various problems to fester. Last July, the House passed a reauthorization bill that addressed many of the problems. But more can be done to address the inefficient and complex congressional oversight structure that continues to plague the department….
    Paul Fredrick
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    • Opinion

    Kansas Republicans Are Standing Up to Transgender Lies, Protecting Kids From Harm

    In 1856, a new political party held its convention in Philadelphia. They called themselves “Republicans.” As violent skirmishes in “bleeding Kansas” foreshadowed civil war, the delegates took their stand, resolving that “it is both the right and the imperative duty of Congress to prohibit in the territories those twin relics of barbarism—polygamy, and slavery.” This…
    Eric Teetsel
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    • News

    Goal of Nuclear Posture Remains Deterrence, Pentagon Official Says

    A new report on the nation’s nuclear defense posture focuses on how to strengthen America and her allies, a top Pentagon official says. The 2018 Nuclear Posture Review “re-establishes deterrence of nuclear attack against us, our allies, and our partners as the top priority of U.S. nuclear policy,” David J. Trachtenberg, the Defense Department’s deputy…
    Rachel del Guidice
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    • Opinion

    Cyberthreats Are Only Growing. Here’s How Congress Can Improve Cybersecurity.

    Whether it’s a new data breach, a scary new vulnerability to cyberattack, or fears of election meddling, it is more important than ever for U.S. authorities to have the tools they need to stop or mitigate cyber aggression. It is also essential for the government to harness the expertise and innovation of the private sector….
    David Inserra
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    • Opinion

    The Military Is Relying Too Heavily on Special Ops Forces. Mattis Must End That.

    At a recent special operations symposium in Tampa, Florida—home of the U.S. Special Operations Command—a senior Marine commander said he was concerned that America was too often going to the special operations “well” to address its military challenges. Unfortunately, he is correct. Lt. Gen. William Beydler, the commander of Marine forces for all of the…
    Steven Bucci
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    • News

    Former Trump Campaign Aide Pleads Guilty in Special Counsel’s Russia Probe

    Former Trump campaign adviser Rick Gates pleaded guilty Friday in a case being prosecuted by special counsel Robert Mueller. Gates pleaded guilty to conspiring against the United States and making false statements to the special counsel’s office and FBI. He is the fifth associate of President Donald Trump to plead guilty in Mueller’s sprawling investigation,…
    Chuck Ross
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    • News

    McCain Associate Invokes Fifth Over Anti-Trump Dossier

    An associate of Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., is invoking his Fifth Amendment right not to incriminate himself to avoid revealing information to Congress about the so-called Steele dossier assembled to damage Donald Trump in run for the White House. David J. Kramer, a former State Department official, pleaded the Fifth in response to a subpoena…
    Chuck Ross
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    • News

    Family Tragedy Prompts Eric Bolling to Take Action on Opioids

    The opioid epidemic is the No. 1 killer of Americans under 50 years old—a startling reality that former Fox News host Eric Bolling spoke about in personal terms. Bolling delivered remarks Thursday at the Conservative Political Action Conference and told The Daily Signal about the tragedy that shocked his family last year. Bolling’s only son,…
    Rob Bluey
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    • News

    Judicial Picks Key to Deregulation, Reining in Bureaucracy, White House Counsel Says

    Selecting federal judges and limiting government are the “flip side of the same coin,” White House counsel Don McGahn told conservative activists gathered outside Washington. McGahn spoke Thursday at the annual Conservative Political Action Conference in an interview conducted by Hillsdale College President Larry Arnn. As White House counsel, McGahn is the chief legal adviser…
    Fred Lucas
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    • News

    Mueller Charges Lawyer With Lying About Associate of Trump Campaign Manager

    A London-based lawyer who worked with former Trump campaign manager Paul Manafort on behalf of the Ukrainian government has been charged by special counsel Robert Mueller with making false statements to federal authorities. Alex Van Der Zwaan lied about his interactions with Rick Gates, a former Trump campaign adviser and business partner of Manafort’s, according…
    Chuck Ross
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    • News

    Veterans Affairs Chief Alleges Hack of Email, but Agency Says No Evidence of It

    In an interview, Department of Veterans Affairs Secretary David Shulkin detailed new claims that his agency was hacked or spoofed, but the VA released a statement within the hour saying it could find no evidence of compromised emails. “It was a request to wire money out of the VA to somewhere else,” Shulkin said of one…
    Luke Rosiak
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    • Opinion

    Frederick Douglass Knew That Racial Identity Is No Antidote to Racial Injustice

    Frederick Douglass, the greatest of all American abolitionists, possibly the greatest American champion of the cause of equal rights, was born 200 years ago in February 1818. Perhaps the infant Douglass arrived on Feb. 14, as he liked to think, remembering a morning in his boyhood when his mother, enslaved as he was, walked miles…
    Peter C. Myers
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    • Opinion

    America’s Long History of Military Parades

    Sometimes it’s good to have a little historical perspective when reacting to the news of the day. The Washington Post reported on Tuesday that President Donald Trump was working with the Pentagon to host a military parade in the District of Columbia after he was so impressed by France’s Bastille Day parade, which he witnessed…
    Jarrett Stepman
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    • Opinion

    Continuing Resolutions Impose Considerable Cost on Military

    The continuing resolution recently passed by the House of Representatives includes a full fiscal year of appropriations for the Department of Defense. That’s good news for anyone that cares about our nation’s defense. Assuming the Senate passes the bill, it will be the fifth continuing resolution for fiscal year 2018, which began on Oct. 1….
    Frederico Bartels
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    • Opinion

    The National Security Challenge of Securing Super Bowl LII

    This weekend, America will once again sit down to watch the “world championship of American football” (our overseas friends indulge us). The Super Bowl always is, and again will be, a huge event. In fact, it is routinely designated a national security special event. Other examples of national security special events are the president’s State…
    Steven Bucci
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    • Opinion

    How Congress Can Help Protect US Companies From Cyberattack

    One of the fastest growing threats to the United States lies in the realm of cyberspace. With the touch of a button, foreign hackers and malicious governments can deliver blows to the U.S. economy by targeting American companies. Recognizing the need to address this issue, Sen. Orrin Hatch, R-Utah, asked Secretary of Homeland Security Kirstjen…
    Paul Fredrick
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