National Security Action

Oct. 22, 2020 – Four years ago, then-candidate Donald Trump pledged to be the greatest dealmaker in American history.He claimed to know deals “better than anyone knows deals.” During his last nomination acceptance speech, Trump told the audience: “I have made billions of dollars in business making deals,” and promised to leverage that supposed prowess for the […]

October 1, 2020 – A review of Donald Trump’s tax returns confirms him to be a failed businessman, a serial tax evader, and a walking national security threat, who also happens to be the Commander-in-Chief. Within the next four years, hundreds of millions of dollars in personal loans will come due for Trump—a dangerous liability for a President […]

September 16, 2020 – The recent whistleblower complaint alleging that senior Trump administration officials attempted to “censor or manipulate” intelligence on Russian election interference, immigration statistics, the threat from white supremacists, and the reality of COVID-19 is another unmistakable signal that this administration continues to put Trump’s political interests ahead of our national security. The administration has proven, […]

August 27, 2020 – As Donald Trump prepares to accept the Republican nomination, his previous acceptance address, four years ago in Cleveland, is emblematic of his presidency. The lofty promises and proclamations have amounted to nothing more than empty bluster.  Rather than fight corruption, pursue peace, and deliver prosperity, as he pledged, Trump’s self-serving administration […]

August 5, 2020 – President Trump in recent days has repeatedlylabeled as “fake news” and “a hoax” swirling allegations that Moscow placed bounties on U.S. soldiers in Afghanistan. But his words — which echo the Kremlin’s propaganda  — ring characteristically hollow. That’s because numerous reports have now confirmed that Trump — who vowed “to always protect our great warfighters” — […]

July 27, 2020 – Donald Trump’s presidency has settled into a familiar pattern: acts of corruption that benefit him personally followed by furious attempts to cover up his wrongdoing. From personal scandals and legal violations to relentlessly using the Presidency for personal gain, there is nothing Trump won’t do to help himself—no matter the cost to […]

July 16, 2020 – Two years ago today, President Trump stood next to Russian President Vladimir Putin in Helsinki and, in front of the entire world, sided with him over American intelligence. By rejecting the conclusion that Russia interfered in the 2016 election and instead parroting Russian propaganda, Trump once again put his personal interests over the national […]

July 14, 2020 – Five years ago, the Obama-Biden administration — in lockstep with allies and partners — negotiated an historic deal to verifiably prevent Iran from ever obtaining a nuclear weapon. From his first day in office, Trump has centered his entire Middle East policy on dismantling Obama’s legacy and tearing up the deal. In doing so, […]

June 29, 2020 – President Trump and his administration have sat for months on intelligence that Russia offered Afghan militants bounties to kill American troops, a conclusion that reportedly, and tragically, has been borne out. But Trump failed to take any action, again displaying a disregard for the lives of American troops serving in harm’s way.  Instead, he […]

June 23, 2020 – As states across the country fight to prevent a resurgence of the virus, which has already taken more than 120,000 lives, countries around the world provide examples of safe and effective re-opening policy. In these countries, successful re-openings were made possible by leaders who developed policy informed by scientific expertise, communicated clearly […]

June 17, 2020 – Republicans are treating the Senate as a de facto arm of the Trump campaign, and no two Senators have been more willing to abuse their authority to advance the President’s electoral prospects than Ron Johnson and Lindsey Graham. Both are helming “investigations” whose sole aim is to advance Trump’s conspiracy theories and […]

June 8, 2020 – Over the past week, hundreds of former Department of Defense and other national security officials have added their voices to the chorus of condemnation of President Trump’s militarized response to the demands for justice and displays of solidarity in the wake of George Floyd’s killing. Former officials have penned op-eds, signed open […]

June 2, 2020 – The protestors demanding justice in the wake of George Floyd’s killing are confronting what is uniquely American. Our history of institutionalized racism, systemic injustice, and the struggle to right these wrongs are hallmarks of our founding, America’s coming of age, and our society today. There is nothing more American than the belief […]

May 21, 2020 – What Congressman John Ratcliffe lacks in national security experience and expertise he makes up for with blind loyalty to Trump. And that blind loyalty explains why Trump tapped him for the post earlier this year — even after Ratcliffe withdrew his name from consideration last year.   We have every reason to […]

May 13, 2020 – President Trump has made clear that he accepts, in his words, no “responsibility at all” for the devastating coronavirus toll. That’s why, rather than focus nearly singularly on solving this unprecedented crisis, Trump has instead attempted to take advantage of an understandably distracted public and media to accelerate his authoritarian, divisive, and dangerous agenda. From […]

May 8, 2020 – President Trump’s mismanagement of the Coronavirus response — and the resulting public health and economic crises that the nation faces — has obscured his administration’s broader ongoing national security malpractice. But it hasn’t gone away. Far from it. As all eyes are on Coronavirus, the Trump administration continues to mismanage and neglect […]

May 6, 2020 – President Trump in recent days has attempted to downplay the volume of intelligence in early 2020 that warned him of the impending pandemic. The White House claimed that Trump received only two virus briefings in late January, apparently dismissing the more than one dozen warnings in Trump’s written President’s Daily Brief — and confirming, unsurprisingly, that Trump does […]

April 23, 2020 – Only in the midst of the coronavirus crisis, which has taken tens of thousands of American lives and compromised the livelihoods of millions more, did we learn that President Trump was warned about the impending pandemic — repeatedly. Beginning in the first week of January, the Intelligence Community provided frequent warnings in the President’s […]

April 10, 2020 – On March 2, President Trump described the Coronavirus outbreak as entirely unpredictable, adding that “six weeks ago, eight weeks ago, you never heard of this.”  The historical record, however, proves otherwise.  We have since learned more about the spate of increasingly dire warnings Trump and his advisors began receiving late last year and […]

April 3, 2020 – Unsurprisingly, the President who has made more than 16,000 false or misleading claims during his time in office has failed to level with the American people when it comes to issues of public health and safety — an arena in which candor can be a matter of life or death. President Trump’s embrace of […]