U.S. Intelligence Agency News
The Daily Signal provides coverage of intelligence operations, surveillance controversies, and the role of U.S. agencies in national security and civil liberties.
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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 -
- 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 -
- 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 -
- News
Socialist, Refugee Advocate to Run UN for Next 5 Years
While it’s hardly the election to get the most attention this year, the United Nations General Assembly has confirmed a nominee with a background in socialist politics and refugee matters to be the organization’s new secretary-general. The 193-member United Nations General Assembly approved Antonio Guterres, a socialist whom President Barack Obama called a man of…Fred Lucas -
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Think the First Amendment Protects Books and Movies? Government Officials Don’t Agree
Books, movies, satellite radio shows, and streaming video about real-life politics aren’t protected by the First Amendment’s guarantee of a free press, some government officials argue. The Federal Election Commission hasn’t proposed banning books or movies, but in a 3-3 vote last month along party lines, the six-member panel left the regulatory option on the…Fred Lucas -
- Opinion
Time to Reform Social Security Benefits That Most Don’t Understand
Social Security’s benefit structure is so complex that few Americans understand it. There’s a simpler way to provide benefits that also would help to improve the program’s worsening finances. Most Americans don’t understand the rules and details that affect their monthly Social Security retirement benefits, according to a Government Accountability Office report based on data…Lauren Bowman -
- Opinion
Court Ruling Reins in Unaccountable Financial Regulation Agency
The very first line of today’s court ruling in PHH Corporation v. Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) states: “This is a case about executive power and individual liberty.” Today, for once, liberty won in a big way. It would be hard to overstate the importance of the decision by the U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals…Diane Katz -
- News
7 Big Judicial Setbacks to Obama’s Executive Overreach
Much of President Barack Obama’s executive action legacy will be decided by the courts after he leaves office, but he had a rough judicial record while serving. Though Obama has frequently touted his pen and phone policymaking, these actions on immigration, environmental policy, and presidential appointees have often been swatted away by the Supreme Court….Fred Lucas -
- Opinion
Projections Differ, but Social Security Is in Deep Trouble
Millions of Americans depend on Social Security, and the government program is going broke. If Congress doesn’t take action to reform the nation’s largest entitlement program, its looming insolvency likely will lead to large benefit cuts along with large payroll tax increases. The Congressional Budget Office and the Social Security Trustees each year report on long-term…Lauren Bowman -
- News
No Budget? This Senator Says That Should Mean Pay Cuts for Politicians, Staff
After less than two years in Congress, Sen. David Perdue, R-Ga., thinks he’s figured out what’s needed to fix the cumbersome way lawmakers fund the federal government: teeth. More specifically, the freshman senator from Georgia wants members of both the Senate and the House and their staff to suffer “severe consequences” if Congress fails to…Philip Wegmann -
- Opinion
How a President’s Bad Judicial Appointments Threaten Your Liberty
When Americans cast their ballots for the next president this November, they will not only select the next commander in chief and primary enforcer of the law, they will help select a new Supreme Court justice and countless other lower court judges. Selecting judges is not an ancillary responsibility—it is a central and critical duty,…Tiffany Bates -
- News
Judiciary Committee Set to Audit Top IRS Tax Agent
A last-minute deal between House conservatives and Republican leadership delayed a floor vote to impeach the head of the IRS last week. But the top taxman isn’t in the clear just yet. For the first time, IRS Commissioner John Koskinen will come under oath to plead his case, appearing before the House Judiciary Committee on…Philip Wegmann -
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7 Weeks Before Election, Republicans Help Advance Another Obama Judicial Nominee
As President Barack Obama’s time in office nears its end, the Senate Judiciary Committee has advanced another one of his judicial nominees toward a lifetime post. She may not get to the finish line, though. While the Senate has entered that part of the political calendar when confirmations traditionally halt, the Judiciary Committee on Thursday voted…Philip Wegmann -
- News
House Judiciary Committee to Hold Impeachment Proceedings for IRS Commissioner
Conservatives who belong to the House Freedom Caucus are trying to corner any Republicans thinking twice about impeaching the head of the Internal Revenue Service. They’ve framed the debate as a strict binary, telling fellow members of the GOP that they either can be with conservatives or with the IRS. Members of the Freedom Caucus took their…Philip Wegmann -
- Opinion
‘Socialism of the 21st Century’ Collapses in Brazil. Here’s Why It Failed.
With the Senate impeachment vote to remove from office former President Dilma Rousseff, Brazilians joined a lengthening line of Latin Americans who have soured on the populist, corrupting, and impoverishing policies of “21st Century Socialism.” Faced with its disastrous consequences, people in some neighboring countries had already turned the page and moved on. Argentina wised…James M. Roberts -
- Opinion
Extreme Position of Pro-Choice Politicians Contradicts American Consensus
Lurking behind the annual split among Americans over the labels “pro-life” and “pro-choice” is a new reality. The fact is that today, whatever label they choose, Americans overwhelmingly support abortion restrictions. Pro-choice politicians who typically support unrestricted, or almost unrestricted, abortion share the extreme view of a tiny minority of the American people. Consider this….Carl Anderson -
- Opinion
Why Politicians and Taxes Can’t Save Taxis From Extinction
Ride-hailing companies like Uber and Lyft again made headlines this week. In Pittsburgh, Uber announced plans to begin the world’s first self-driving vehicle pilot program. Meanwhile, in the incorrigible liberal bastion of Massachusetts, taxi-friendly lawmakers passed a first-of-its-kind rideshare tax that will transfer profits from successful ride-hailing companies to the foundering taxis they are putting…Jason Snead -
- Opinion
Government by Special Interests Is the Problem, Not the Solution
“Bring back the special interests!” A version of this plea is heard more and more these days from those worried about the current state of our politics. It is the implicit theme of a recent Atlantic cover story, provocatively titled “How American Politics Went Insane.” The author, Brookings Institution scholar Jonathan Rauch, asserts that the…James Wallner -
- News
Security Officials Consider National Hacking of Voting Machines Extremely Unlikely. Here’s Why.
Successful computer hacks at major federal agencies, large corporations, and the Democratic National Committee have sparked concern that clever infiltrators from outside the country might attempt to tinker with the 2016 election results. The Department of Homeland Security asserts there is no credible cyberthreat to the 2016 election results, and state election officials and other…Fred Lucas -
- Opinion
The Heritage Foundation Stands for Freedom, Not Special Interests
This week, The New York Times ran a two-part, two-day piece on its front page titled, “How Think Tanks Amplify Corporate America’s Influence.” It tried to indict multiple think tanks as pawns of corporate America and other special interests. That The Heritage Foundation was not included in this indictment is no surprise to me, nor the hundreds of men and women here whose…Jim DeMint