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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  • news

    Trump Picks Retired Marine General as Homeland Security Secretary
    President-elect Donald Trump has chosen retired Marine Gen. John F. Kelly to lead the Department of Homeland Security, news organizations reported Wednesday. If nominated and confirmed, Kelly would join a Cabinet that already promises to be well represented by military figures. Trump has announced his selections of retired Marine Gen. James N. Mattis for secretary…
    Rachel del Guidice
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  • opinion

    Gen. John Kelly Is a Good Pick for a Struggling Department of Homeland Security
    Reports emerged Wednesday that President-elect Donald Trump will nominate retired Marine Gen. John Kelly for secretary of the Department of Homeland Security. Kelly has both the personal character and years of experience that could make him the right choice for the job. Much like retired Gen. James Mattis, who has been picked by Trump for…
    Riley Walters | David Inserra
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  • opinion

    Obama Sent Top Official to Castro’s Funeral, but Not Thatcher’s. Why It Sends the Wrong Message.
    President Barack Obama sent high-level administration officials to Cuban dictator Fidel Castro’s funeral procession last week, a gesture of respect he did not offer for former British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher’s funeral. After Castro’s death, Obama released a statement saying: “History will record and judge the enormous impact of this singular figure on the people and the world around…
    Jarrett Stepman
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  • opinion

    Homeland Security’s Green Card Follies Are Costing Taxpayers and Leaving America Less Safe
    A recent report from the inspector general concluded that U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services mishandled thousands of green cards. The Department of Homeland Security has admitted that these green cards are missing and cannot be accounted for. These missing green cards pose a security risk for American citizens. As the inspector general cautioned in his…
    David Inserra | Ginny Montalbano
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  • opinion

    Top 4 Homeland Security Issues for the Trump Administration
    President-elect Donald Trump and his soon-to-be-selected secretary of homeland security will have a full plate when they take over in January. Indeed, there are so many areas for reform and improvement that any efforts to fix the Department of Homeland Security could easily get bogged down. Luckily, The Heritage Foundation has identified four main priorities…
    David Inserra | Ginny Montalbano
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  • news

    6 Interesting Facts About Elaine Chao, Trump’s Pick for Transportation Secretary
    President-elect Donald Trump tapped Elaine Chao to head the U.S. Department of Transportation, his transition team announced Tuesday. “Secretary Chao’s extensive record of strong leadership and her expertise are invaluable assets in our mission to rebuild our infrastructure in a fiscally responsible manner,” Trump said in a statement. “She has an amazing life story and has…
    Kelsey Bolar
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  • news

    7 Things to Know About Trump’s Pick to Lead CIA
    President-elect Donald Trump has selected a conservative congressman, Rep. Mike Pompeo, R-Kan., as his Central Intelligence Agency director. Pompeo, elected to Congress in the tea party wave of 2010, is considered one of the strongest national security voices in the House as a prominent member of the Intelligence Committee. He’s a vocal opponent of the…
    Josh Siegel
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  • opinion

    Dismantling Dodd-Frank: How Congress Can Begin to Restore Financial Security
    President-elect Donald Trump campaigned on the promise of dismantling Dodd-Frank, and now Senate Democrats are pretty much the only thing that can derail that promise. This week, key Democrats on the Senate Banking Committee indicated they want little to do with dismantling the 2010 law. But in their rush to save Dodd-Frank, they’ve shown just…
    Norbert Michel
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  • opinion

    Remembering Defense Secretary Melvin Laird’s Contribution to America
    Melvin Laird, secretary of defense under President Richard Nixon and nine-term Wisconsin congressman, died Wednesday in a Florida hospital. Before his election to the Wisconsin state Senate in 1946, Laird served in World War II as an ensign aboard the USS Maddox, where he was injured in a kamikaze attack and awarded the Purple Heart. From…
    Rachel Zissimos
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  • opinion

    New Numbers Show Continued Decline of US Military
    As a new presidential administration prepares to take office, the responsibilities it inherits are daunting. Threats to U.S. interests and security around the globe continue to grow and fester. At the same time, budget cuts have forced the Department of Defense into unsustainable practices, foregoing longer-term modernization to service the military’s more immediate needs and…
    Rachel Zissimos | Brian Slattery
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  • news

    Oregon Official Who Shut Down Sweet Cakes Loses Election Bid to a Republican
    The Oregon official who ordered the former owners of Sweet Cakes by Melissa to pay $135,000 in damages for refusing to make a cake for a same-sex wedding lost to a Republican in his bid for Oregon secretary of state. Brad Avakian, commissioner of the Oregon Bureau of Labor and Industries and a staunch Democrat,…
    Kelsey Bolar
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  • opinion

    How Obama Can Facilitate a National Security Transition
    From now until Jan. 20, 2017, Obama administration national security officials need to do everything they can to ensure that the incoming team is ready to take over the government and continue the important work of protecting the security of the United States. The Donald Trump team needs to be ready on Day One for…
    Cully Stimson
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  • opinion

    Why We Celebrate Veterans Day
    Friday is Veterans Day. We celebrate Veterans Day on the 11th day of the 11th month of the year, the day the guns fell silent in Europe following the armistice that ended World War I. For some, it’s a day off from school or work, but for the majority of Americans, it means so much…
    Thomas Spoehr
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  • opinion

    Radical Social Agenda Now Costing the Democrats ‘Big League’
    Donald J. Trump is president-elect of the United States of America. Many, including me, never expected to read those words. But for many Democrats, this election result is unfathomable. Many reasons exist for why Trump will swear the oath of office on January 20, 2017. But among them is the fact that the Democratic Party…
    Casey Mattox
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  • news

    Why Kansas Conservatives Are Pushing Voters to Reshape the State’s Highest Court
    It’s typically a no-drama affair. Every six years, Kansans vote whether to retain the state’s sitting Supreme Court justices. The question is the last item on the ballot. In Kansas history, voters never have voted out a justice on the state’s highest court. But this year, the judicial elections in Kansas—known as retention elections—are especially…
    Josh Siegel
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  • opinion

    DC City Council Votes to Allow Physician-Assisted Suicide. That’ll Change Us All, for the Worse.
    Earlier today, the D.C. City Council voted to allow physician-assisted suicide. But the debate isn’t over. The Washington Post reports that “the council must still hold a final vote on the bill, possibly as early as Nov. 15,” and that the mayor, Muriel Bowser, must decide if she’ll sign or veto the bill. The mayor…
    Ryan T. Anderson
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  • opinion

    US Must Remain Vigilant to Counter Cyberattacks
    Dyn, a New Hampshire-based computer firm whose specialty is in providing the means to access websites through its servers, was brought offline by a sequence of large cyberattacks last Friday. This recent attack highlights the continued challenges that persist in cybersecurity and how the cyberthreat landscape is ever-changing. Dyn’s servers were compromised via a distributed…
    Riley Walters | Jacob Jordan
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  • news

    What Recent Hacking Attack Reveals About Election Security
    A hacking attack last Friday that disrupted major U.S. websites is an example of a new era of cybersecurity vulnerability in today’s interconnected world. The Oct. 21 cyberattack also furthered anxiety about the integrity of next month’s election, which has already been fraught with controversy over voting rights, and foreign interference. While the attack alarmed—but…
    Josh Siegel
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  • news

    ‘Clear Bias’ Against Hiring Veterans Under Obama Administration, Says Former VA Official
    Veterans must be given preference in securing federal jobs, according to long-standing laws, but hiring hasn’t always worked out in their favor. A federal audit found that on numerous occasions, agencies placed Obama administration political appointees into career government jobs with civil service protections—bypassing veterans. Much of the federal bureaucracy has turned against men and…
    Fred Lucas
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  • opinion

    DNC’s ‘Honest Mistake’ Defense of Dumping Sewage Hasn’t Worked for Average Americans
    Dumping raw sewage into a storm drain is a federal crime that has landed some unaware Americans in prison. Someone aboard a bus chartered by the Democratic National Committee, which depicted the Democratic presidential and vice presidential candidates, reportedly dumped sewage into a storm drain in Lawrenceville, Georgia. A DNC spokesperson described the sewage dump…
    John-Michael Seibler
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