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

    Defense Leaders Agree: US Military Readiness Is at a Dangerous Low

    This week on Capitol Hill, several top U.S. military leaders from across the armed services presented a sobering case to Congress: U.S. military readiness is the lowest it has been in decades, leaving it unprepared to defend America’s interests at home and abroad. In testimony before the Senate and House Armed Services committees, the vice…
    John Cooper
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    • Opinion

    Grand Theft Judiciary? The Senate, the President, and the Supreme Court

    Sen. Jeff Merkley, D-Ore., recently accused his Republican colleagues of committing a “crime against our Constitution.” This is a serious accusation, given that all senators are required to swear an oath (or affirmation) that they will “support and defend the Constitution of the United States against all enemies, foreign and domestic.” So is it reasonable…
    James Wallner
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    • Opinion

    Expansion of TSA PreCheck Is Good for US Travelers and Security

    This week, the Transportation Security Administration’s PreCheck program expanded to include 11 new domestic and foreign airlines. With the inclusion of these airlines, the total number of airlines participating in the expedited security process has been brought to 30. The PreCheck program allows passengers to pass through security checkpoints while wearing their shoes, belts, and…
    Garrison Rutledge
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    • Opinion

    Trump’s Executive Orders on Financial Regulation Are a Great First Step

    President Donald Trump has vowed to dismantle the Dodd-Frank Act, and on Friday he signed two executive orders to get that process moving. All Americans should be encouraged by this start, especially since the president is only two weeks into his administration. One of Friday’s executive orders deals with a single Obama administration rule, but…
    Norbert Michel
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    • Opinion

    How the Private Sector Can Remake US Cybersecurity

    President Donald Trump recently reiterated a pledge to build a team that will provide him, in his administration’s first 90 days, with a plan to “aggressively combat and stop” cyberattacks. Topping the list of the new administration’s priorities should be the need to articulate a comprehensive strategy of cyber deterrence. In outlining policies to shape…
    Frank Cilluffo
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    • Opinion

    Trump Refugee Order Balances Security and Compassion

    Read any commentary on the just signed executive order on visa and refugee vetting from several countries in the Middle East and odds are the assessment will tell you more about the writer’s politics than be an analysis of the order. I confess: I have a perspective as well. Mine comes from working on the…
    James Carafano
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    • Opinion

    In Defense of Bill Pryor for the Supreme Court

    Rumor has it that Judge William H. Pryor Jr. topped President Donald Trump’s short list for the Supreme Court. But in recent weeks, he’s come under intense scrutiny from some who claim that he supports the LGBT agenda and would be a foe to religious liberty. I have known Bill Pryor for more than three…
    Ed Meese
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    • Opinion

    How Trump Can Advance the Special Relationship With Britain

    Just seven days after taking office, President Donald Trump will meet with British Prime Minister Theresa May in Washington on Jan. 27. It will be the first visit to the White House by a foreign leader since Trump’s inauguration, and the meeting sends a clear signal that the Anglo-American alliance will be at the heart…
    Nile Gardiner
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    • News

    Trump’s OMB Pick Shares Vision on Social Security, Regulation

    Rep. Mick Mulvaney, R-S.C., appeared before the United States Senate Committee on the Budget Tuesday to share how he will reform entitlement programs and regulations, should he be confirmed by the Senate as the next director of the Office of Management and Budget. In his opening statement, Mulvaney said that the Office of Management and…
    Rachel del Guidice
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    • News

    Veterans Explain Why They Came to Trump’s Inauguration

    Thousands of people gathered in the District of Columbia to watch the inauguration of President Donald Trump and Vice President Mike Pence. Trump was sworn into office Friday at noon, where he marked the event as a time of change for the American people. “Today we are not merely transferring power from one administration to…
    Melissa Quinn
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    • News

    Pentagon Nominee James Mattis Warns of Russian Attempts to ‘Break NATO’

    Russia is the principal threat facing the United States, and the new administration should increase support to allies in the face of the Kremlin’s attempts to “break the North Atlantic alliance,” Donald Trump’s choice for defense secretary testified Thursday. Retired Marine Gen. James Mattis, speaking at his confirmation hearing before the Senate Armed Services Committee,…
    Josh Siegel
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    • Opinion

    Fixing the VA for Our Veterans: What Will Trump’s Pick Need to Do?

    It’s official: President-elect Donald Trump has selected David Shulkin, the Department of Veterans Affairs undersecretary for health, to be the next VA secretary. Shulkin, who has been undersecretary since July 2015, faces substantial challenges in reforming the troubled agency and restoring it to its mission of providing timely care and benefits to veterans nationwide. The…
    John Cooper
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    • News

    Meet David Shulkin, Trump’s Pick to Lead VA

    President-elect Donald Trump announced Wednesday his intent to nominate David Shulkin for secretary of veterans affairs. Trump made the announcement during a press conference in New York City, his first since the November election. “I’ll tell you about David, he’s fantastic,” Trump told reporters Wednesday. “He will do a truly great job. One of the…
    Melissa Quinn
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    • News

    Federal Worker Union Is Blocking Republican VA Reforms

    President-elect Donald Trump promised to fire incompetent and dishonest Department of Veterans Affairs employees, but he will have to fight the American Federation of Government Employees—the largest federal worker union—every step of the way. During the 115th Congress, Trump—along with Republican majorities in both the Senate and House of Representatives—can enact sweeping reforms to improve every…
    Luke Rosiak
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    • News

    VA Hospitals’ ‘Improvement’ Doesn’t Tell Whole Story, Veterans Advocate Says

    MADISON, Wis.—The headlines last month declared that most U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs medical centers saw improvement in fiscal year 2016. It seemed like a positive end to another rough year for the VA and the people the government-run health care system is supposed to put first. But a veterans advocate is advising news consumers to read the fine…
    M.D. Kittle
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    • News

    The Healing Power of Fly Fishing for Combat Veterans

    On 112 acres off Springhill Road in Belgrade, Montana, sits a six-bedroom, 10,000-square-foot home called Quiet Waters Ranch. The ranch belongs to the Warriors and Quiet Waters Foundation, a nonprofit located 10 miles south in Bozeman that teaches combat veterans of Iraq and Afghanistan how to fly fish in the place that’s considered the sport’s…
    Melissa Quinn
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    • News

    So Much for the GOP Blockade: Obama Tops Bush on Judicial Confirmations

    Recent stories in Politico and The Washington Post paint a picture of unprecedented obstruction by Senate Republicans of President Barack Obama’s judicial nominees. “Trump set to reshape judiciary after GOP blockade,” blared Politico’s Burgess Everett on Dec. 16. Nine days later, it was The Post’s turn. “Trump to inherit more than 100 court vacancies, plans…
    Rob Bluey
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    • Opinion

    3 Ways Politicians Play Politics With Public Employee Pensions

    Pensions are a huge part of public employees’ compensation, often providing a quarter to a third of their total compensation. A new report from the American Legislative Exchange Council shows how politicians play politics with public pensions, threatening public employees and taxpayers alike. State and local governments across the U.S. hold about $3.8 trillion in…
    Rachel Greszler
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    • News

    What a Special Committee Investigating Russia’s Cyberattacks Could Do

    A bipartisan group of senators is pressing for the creation of a special panel—known as a select committee—to investigate and provide the definitive account of Russian cyberattacks on the U.S. political system. Sens. John McCain. R-Ariz., and Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., along with incoming Democratic leader Chuck Schumer of New York and Sen. Jack Reed, D-R.I.,…
    Josh Siegel
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    • News

    How Russia’s Cyberattacks Have Affected Ukraine

    KYIV, Ukraine—Ukraine’s May 25, 2014, presidential election was a pivotal moment for the country. A revolution that February, in which more than 100 died, had overthrown pro-Russian President Viktor Yanukovych. Two weeks prior to the election, on May 11, pro-Russian separatists in the eastern Ukrainian cities of Donetsk and Luhansk declared their independence from Kyiv….
    Nolan Peterson
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