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

    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,…
    Robert B. Bluey | Ginny Montalbano
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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 | Julia Nista
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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 | David Inserra
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  • news

    FBI’s No. 2 Official Steps Down Amid Growing Suspicions by Trump Allies
    Andrew McCabe, the FBI’s embattled deputy director, announced his resignation Monday ahead of an anticipated inspector general report and likely release of a memo about the FBI’s conduct and use of a surveillance law on his watch. McCabe reportedly has been “removed” from the bureau’s No. 2 position. McCabe had been the FBI’s acting leader…
    Fred Lucas
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  • news

    The NFL Nixes Veterans’ #PleaseStand Ad for the Super Bowl. The Veterans Are Now Fighting Back.
    The NFL has rejected a Super Bowl magazine advertisement from AMVETS urging people to stand for the national anthem, but the veterans organization isn’t sitting still for that.  The veterans group’s advertisement prominently features the words #PleaseStand, a hashtag deemed “too political” by the National Football League for its game-day program. The NFL reportedly asked…
    Chrissy Clark
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  • opinion

    The Government Shutdown Will Further Weaken Our Military
    Congress faced a number of bad options on Friday, when government funding expired for the third time this fiscal year. But lawmakers picked the worst option of all for our military and national security: they decided to let the government shut down. This decision will be incredibly damaging to our national security and to the…
    Frederico Bartels
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  • opinion

    Problematic Women: Aziz Ansari Raises New Questions for the #MeToo Movement
    In this week’s edition of “Problematic Women,” co-hosted with Bre Payton of The Federalist, we cover the fallout from the Aziz Ansari story published on Babe.net, the USA Gymnastics scandal and the bravery of the women coming forward to share their stories, a Hollywood celebrity doing something good, and Sen. Cory Booker, D-N.J., “mansplaining” to Homeland…
    Kelsey Bolar
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  • opinion

    This Man Gave Free Haircuts to Veterans and Got Clobbered by Regulators
    Few things could be more American than volunteering to help others. So it’s a shame when our altruism is thwarted by another, far more lamentable American trait: big government. Juan Carlos Montes de Oca knows firsthand. A cosmetology student from Tucson, Montes de Oca felt inspired when he heard about a barber in London who…
    Ed Feulner
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  • opinion

    Podcast: New Fight Brewing Over DACA and Border Security, and Oprah 2020?
    With government spending soon to run out, some lawmakers want to attach a Deferred Actions for Childhood Arrivals “fix” to must-pass legislation. Heritage legal expert Hans von Spakovsky discusses why such a move would ignore the lessons of history. We also hear from Hans about why a promising voter fraud commission was suddenly shut down…
    Katrina Trinko | Daniel Davis
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  • opinion

    ‘Internet of Things’ Devices Have Their Security Risks. How Regulators Should Address Them.
    Most Americans own some sort of “smart” device, whether it’s a smartphone, a smart thermostat, or a smart fitness tracker. These devices are benefiting Americans in countless ways, from helping them become more energy-efficient, to saving money and even tracking their health. But many of these devices can also pose a security risk to unsuspecting consumers….
    Riley Walters
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