• DOGE Threat: How Government Data Would Give an AI Company Extraordinary Power

    The Department of Government Efficiency, or DOGE, has secured unprecedented access to at least seven sensitive federal databases. Since information is power, concentrating unprecedented data in the hands of a private entity with an explicit political agenda represents a profound challenge to the republic. I believe that the question is whether the American people can stand up to the potentially democracy-shattering corruption such a concentration would enable. If not, Americans should prepare to become digital subjects rather than human citizens.

  • U.S. Supreme Court Takes Up Texas Nuclear Waste Disposal Case

    The case could establish the nation’s first independent repository for spent nuclear fuel in West Texas, despite the objections of state leaders.

  • Questions and Confusion as Trump Pauses Key Funding for Shrinking Colorado River

    An executive order issued in the early days of the Trump administration hit pause on at least $4 billion set aside to protect the flow of the Colorado River. Halted funding threatens the sustainability of the entire system, experts say.

  • How DHS Laid the Groundwork for More Intelligence Abuse

    I&A, the lead intelligence unit of the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) —long plagued by politicized targeting, permissive rules, and a toxic culture —has undergone a transformation over the last two years. Spencer Reynolds writes that this effort falls short. “Ultimately, Congress must rein in I&A,” he adds.

  • Undermining Post-Cold War U.S. Foreign Policy: The Trump-Vance Approach to Ukraine and Russia

    The U.S. post-Cold War foreign policy has been built on principles of deterrence, alliance-building, and the defense of democratic nations against authoritarian threats. Trump and JD Vance’s approach to Ukraine and Russia represents a fundamental departure from these principles, undermining decades of bipartisan commitment to countering Russian aggression.

  • How Trump’s Spat with Zelensky Threatens the Security of the World – Including the U.S.

    After the catastrophic press conference on February 28 between Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky and US president Donald Trump, it is clear that there has been a global realignment. What the press conference revealed was that Trump’s position is a lot closer to Russian president Vladmir Putin than long-time US ally Ukraine, and also that other US allies cannot count on Washington to promote the global world order.

  • Concern Grows in Washington, Seoul about China's Disinformation Campaign

    South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol in the closing statements of his impeachment trial this week said that a Chinese-backed disinformation campaign is threatening South Korea’s democracy. The United States has acknowledged Beijing’s global disinformation campaign amid growing concerns in Seoul and Washington about China’s alleged interference in South Korean politics and elections.

  • U.S. Cuts to Science and Technology Could Fast-Track China’s Tech Dominance

    Is the United States now trying to lose the technology race with China? It certainly seems to be. The race is tight, and now the Trump administration is slashing funding for the three national institutions that have underpinned science and technology (S&T) and what advantage the US still has.

  • America’s Trade Wars: Past and Present

    Trump’s trade dispute with China has expanded to Canada and Mexico. But this isn’t the first time the U.S. has conducted trade wars with adversaries and allies alike

  • The Intellectual Origins of Trump’s Economic Policies

    The Trump administration’s tariff announcements revive the age-old policy of import substitution industrialization (ISI) to protect domestic industries and stimulate growth. However, ISI could lead to significant economic disruptions for the U.S. and its trading partners.

  • Trump’s Claim That U.S. Debt Calculation May Be Fraudulent Could Put the Economy in Danger

    The US president, Donald Trump, is challenging official figures around the country’s federal debt, suggesting possible fraud in its calculation. With Trump in the White House, distinguishing between politically charged rhetoric and fiscal sustainability of the US federal debt will be essential for maintaining trust in the US economy and the health of the global financial system.

  • The United States Goes Rogue

    Openly taking sides with a dictator while purveying the same dictator’s verisimilitudes and brazen distortions is a different matter. 

  • Countering Blockship Attacks in Key U.S. Waterways

    Blockship attacks entail obstructing key waterways by deliberately scuttling ships, running them aground, or having them impale themselves onto infrastructure. Such attacks could delay maritime movements in U.S. or key overseas ports, affecting all U.S. military services and potentially disrupting billions of dollars in commerce.

  • Extremist-Related Murders Set to Rise in 2025

    All extremist-related murders in 2024 were committed by right-wing extremists. Growing concern about a return of violent attacks by homegrown Islamist extremists.

  • Election Officials Blast Trump’s “Retreat” from Protecting Voting Against Foreign Threats

    The Trump administration has begun dismantling the nation’s defenses against foreign interference in voting, a sweeping retreat that has alarmed state and local election officials. The administration is shuttering the FBI’s Foreign Influence Task Force and last week cut more than 100 positions at the U.S. Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency.