How national security has gone local under Trump

Politico

2 days ago

With help from Daniel Lippman
Subscribe here | Email Eric
President DONALD TRUMP's conception of national security is much more domestically focused than his predecessors — as we're seeing play out right now in California.
Over the weekend, Trump federalized the California National Guard in response to dayslong protests against immigration raids in Los Angeles — an action no president had taken since 1965.
White House spokesperson KAROLINE LEAVITT said Saturday that those actions were 'essential to halting and reversing the invasion of illegal criminals into the United States.' Others, including analysts at MAGA-aligned America First Policy Institute and the Heritage Foundation, have also used the word invasion to describe the effects of illegal immigration.
It's the latest example of a Trump approach to national security that focuses mainly on immigration, drugs and trade. That's different from other administrations, which largely conceived of national security through the prisms of threats from militant groups around the world, nuclear proliferation and great power competition.
It also may expose the limits of this administration's approach. Constitutional law scholars say the deployment in California strains the legal limits of how the military can be used in domestic law enforcement, as our colleagues Kyle Cheney and Josh Gerstein report today. California Gov. GAVIN NEWSOM is also suing the Trump administration, arguing Trump's decision to federalize the National Guard broke the law.
It's unclear if such challenges could also endanger the larger strategy.
In his first 100 days in office, Trump invoked eight declarations of national emergency regarding the southern border, energy and trade according to an NPR analysis, enabling him to unlock wide-ranging executive powers. He has invoked these emergency powers more than any other modern president.
'What I think is really clear and distinct about his second term so far, is that Trump manifests more animus for the enemy within, whatever that means, than for America's adversaries abroad,' said STEPHEN WERTHEIM, a senior fellow at the Carnegie Endowment for International peace. 'Even China has taken a lower profile in Trump's account of what he and the country are contending with.'
Trump has also dispatched some 9,000 U.S. troops along the southern border with Mexico to support a wide-ranging crackdown on immigration and drug smuggling, blurring the lines between defense and domestic law enforcement.
Director of National Intelligence TULSI GABBARD has likewise called the threat of gangs and cartels at the southern border as the most 'immediate and direct threat' to national security. Last month, she announced a reorientation of U.S. intelligence collection efforts towards border security and counternarcotics as 'the biggest shift in collection priorities in ODNI history.'
To be sure, the international drug trade poses a more real and immediate challenge to many American communities than the overseas national security threats that have long preoccupied Washington. An estimated 48,000 people in the United States died after overdosing on synthetic opioids, including fentanyl, last year.
But it is still a striking break with her predecessors to see Gabbard give the drug trade top billing over, say, threats from China against Taiwan and other East Asian allies or the proliferation of nuclear weapons.
Trump has also repeatedly invoked national security as a reason for applying tariffs on countries ranging from Canada to China.
So far, these redefinitions don't appear to be inspiring much by way of overt Republican criticism, even in the face of accusations Trump is employing an extreme and unconstitutional conception of executive powers in California. Speaker MIKE JOHNSON was the most prominent GOP leader to back Trump's actions, telling ABC on Sunday that the decisions to deploy the National Guard and Marines weren't heavy-handed.
The Inbox
RUSSIA'S DRONE DRIVE: Russia launched its largest-yet drone attack at Ukraine, as peace efforts to end Moscow's three-year invasion have stalled, per our colleague Ali Walker in Europe.
Ukraine is claiming Russia launched almost 500 drones at Ukraine and more than a dozen missiles, in a major attack targeting cities across the country. Ukrainian officials insisted air defenses had shot down hundreds of drones and many missiles, and claimed that injuries were minimal, but Kyiv warns that Russia is likely to keep hitting Ukraine hard.
'Russia is escalating the war and has no intention of stopping it,' said ANDRIY YERMAK, a top adviser to Ukrainian President VOLODYMYR ZELENSKYY. 'Any escalation can only be stopped by force.'
Read: Modern Tech and Old-School Spycraft are Redefining War by The Wall Street Journal's Yaroslav Trofimov, Drew Hinshaw and Joe Parkinson
NATO QUANTUM LEAP: NATO chief MARK RUTTE is warning that Russia could invade the rest of Europe as soon as 2030, and that Europe needs to ramp up defense spending to meet the moment.
'Russia could be ready to use military force against NATO within five years. Let's not kid ourselves, we're all on the eastern flank now,' Rutte said in a speech at Chatham House in London. 'The fact is, we need a quantum leap in our collective defense.'
In line with that desired big buildup in defense spending, Canada announced today it would ramp up defense spending to hit the NATO alliance's 2 percent target by the end of the year, per our colleague Mike Blanchfield in Canada.
IRAN'S ISSUES: The head of the International Atomic Energy Agency confirmed that Iran stole a trove of documents about an Israeli nuclear research facility, which Tehran is trumpeting as proof Israel has a nuclear weapons program.
Per the Associated Press' Stefanie Liechtenstein, IAEA chief RAFAEL GROSSI told reporters that the documents obtained by Iran 'refer to Soreq, which is a research facility which we inspect by the way. We don't inspect other strategic parts of the program, but this part of the program we do inspect.'
As Liechtenstein goes on to explain, it's widely believed Israel has an undisclosed nuclear weapons program and that Israel collaborates partially with the IAEA through an 'item-specific safeguards agreement.'
The yet-unreleased documents, discussed on Iranian state media over the weekend, purport to show information about Israel's nuclear program. The document theft is seemingly in response to a 2018 Israeli cyberattack against Iran's nuclear program.
The breach (it's assumed the documents were obtained via espionage or a hack) could make nuclear talks awkward. Western countries were looking to have the IAEA hold Iran in noncompliance with the United Nations' nuclear watchdog as a way to reimpose sanctions on Tehran.
IT'S MONDAY: Thanks for tuning in to NatSec Daily! This space is reserved for the top U.S. and foreign officials, the lawmakers, the lobbyists, the experts and the people like you who care about how the natsec sausage gets made. Aim your tips and comments at [e-mail], and follow Eric on X @ebazaileimil.
While you're at it, follow the rest of POLITICO's global security team on X and Bluesky at: @dave_brown24, @HeidiVogt, @jessicameyers, @RosiePerper, @nahaltoosi.bsky.social‬, @PhelimKine, @ak_mack, @felschwartz, @connorobrienNH, @paulmcleary, @reporterjoe, @JackDetsch, @samuelskove, @magmill95, @johnnysaks130 and @delizanickel
Keystrokes
ITALY PUNTS PARAGON: Italy ended contracts with an Israeli tech company amid allegations the Italian government used spyware to hack into the phones of government critics.
Per Reuters' Giuseppe Fonte and Alvise Armellini, Italy nixed a contract with spyware maker Paragon after Meta and Italian investigators earlier this year said the software was used against seven users on WhatsApp, including an Italian journalist and members of the charity group Mediterranea that were critical of Italian Prime Minister GIORGIA MELONI.
The announcement, buried in a parliamentary report about the use of Paragon software, was accompanied by accusations the Italian government obtained permission from a prosecutor to use Paragon software on some Italian nationals. The spyware was used to search for ties to potential terrorism, migrant smuggling, organized crime and other criminal activities.
Paragon told Italian outlet Fanpage that it stopped providing spyware to Italy when it became public that Fanpage editor FRANCESCO CANCELLATO was implicated. Paragon also told Fanpage the government declined an offer to jointly investigate whether and how he was spied upon.
The Complex
HEGSETH HIRING HEADACHE: The White House has struggled to find qualified candidates willing to serve in senior Pentagon roles under Defense Secretary PETE HEGSETH, per NBC News' Gordon Lubold, Courtney Kube and Katherine Doyle.
Ever since Hegseth dismissed some of his top personal aides, accusing them of leaking to the press, former and current officials say Vice President JD VANCE and White House Chief of Staff SUSIE WILES have worked to support the hiring of new senior Pentagon officials to support the Defense Department chief. But so far, neither has managed to find people who are both willing to work for Hegseth and who have the requisite political bona fides to serve in the Trump administration. The Pentagon and White House have also disagreed on several candidates, according to NBC.
The Pentagon pushed back on those claims, telling NBC that 'the anonymous sources cited in this article have no idea what they're talking about.' Hegseth's supporters also show no signs of abandoning the charismatic former Fox News personality. But the claims from former and current officials speak to the culture of dysfunction Hegseth is accused of creating at the Pentagon.
Broadsides
WARSAW'S NOT WORRIED: Polish Foreign Minister RADOSŁAW SIKORSKI is reassuring the world that the election of nationalist politician KAROL NAWROCKI won't derail Warsaw's support for Ukraine's war effort.
In an interview with our colleague Gabriel Gavin in Europe, Sikorski recalled how Nawrocki's party, also that of current President ANDRZEJ DUDA, has been pro-defense spending in the past.
'The majority of defense contracts that we are now financing were signed under the previous government, so I expect him to be pro-defense,' Sikorski said.
Sikorski acknowledged that the two camps — the Polish government led by the more pro-Brussels Prime Minister DONALD TUSK and Nawrocki — won't see eye to eye on every issue. But Sikorski said the presence of Nawrocki could even help shore up Poland's ties with Washington and Budapest, which haven't always been on steady footing in recent years.
ICYMI — Graham's 'bone crushing' Russia sanctions bill could freeze U.S. trade with the world's largest economies, by Amy
Transitions
— SHARON BURKE is the new chief engagement officer for global food security organization CIMMYT (a Spanish acronym for the International Maize and Wheat Improvement Center). Burke was assistant secretary of Defense for energy in the Obama administration and served as an aide to Deputy Secretary of State RICH ARMITAGE.
— BRIAN BETTIS joined Rebel Global Security as a senior adviser covering homeland defense. He retired as a colonel in the U.S. Army earlier this year, following his service as protection director for U.S. Army North.
— The University of Virginia announced that CHRIS LU and EVERETT EISSENSTAT will be James R. Schlesinger distinguished professors at the Miller Center of Public Affairs at the University of Virginia. Lu served as U.S. ambassador to the United Nations for management and reform under President JOE BIDEN and Eissenstat was deputy assistant to the president for international economic affairs and deputy director of the National Economic Council in Trump's first term.
— RUSS READ has joined the Transportation Security Agency as assistant administrator for strategic communications and public affairs. He was most recently air programs manager at the National Guard Association of the United States.
— JASON RATHJE announced that he has stepped down as director of the Pentagon's Office of Strategic Capital.
— ELIOT KANG, the former acting undersecretary of State for arms control and international security, announced that he has left the State Department after more than two decades of service.
— Hilco Global has hired former Rep. PATRICK MURPHY and ALEXANDER NIEJELOW, former director for cybersecurity policy on President BARACK OBAMA's National Security Council.
— SHANG YI has been sworn in as acting administrator of the U.S. Maritime Administration. He most recently was director of investigations for the House Homeland Security Committee.
What to Read
— Juan Forero, The Wall Street Journal: Soaring Gold Prices Draw Illicit Miners—and Armed Gangs—to Colombia's Jungles
— Carmen Paun, Amanda Friedman and Robert King, POLITICO: 'It's made up': Democrats say Rubio isn't playing it straight about foreign aid cuts
— MIKE POMPEO, National Review: America Loses If Russia Wins
Tomorrow Today
— Hudson Institute, 8:45 a.m.: 'Defending in Outer Space.'
— Senate Armed Services Committee, 9:30 a.m.: posture of the Department of the Navy in review of the Defense Authorization Request for FY2026 and the Future Years Defense Program.
— Atlantic Council, 9:30 a.m.: 'Marine Energy: Harnessing the Power of the Atlantic.'
— Hudson Institute, 10 a.m.: 'Adapting the U.S. Nuclear Posture in Response to Adversary Threats.'
— House Armed Services Committee, 10 a.m.: 'U.S. Military Posture and National Security Challenges in the Greater Middle East and Africa.'
— George Washington University Elliott School of International Affairs, 11 a.m.: 'Transitional Justice in Syria: An Opportunity for Progress.'
— Quincy Institute for Responsible Statecraft, 12 p.m.: A virtual book discussion on 'Iran's Grand Strategy: A Political History.'
— Atlantic Council, 12 p.m.: Russia's War and the Hague Summit
— Asia Society Policy Institute, 12 p.m.: A Population in Flux: The Consequences of China's Demographic Shift.'
— Council on Foreign Relations, 1 p.m.: C.V. Starr & Co. Annual Lecture on China on 'Reassessing U.S.-China Relations.'
— Tom Lantos Human Rights Commission, 2 p.m.: Human Rights in Turkey Today
— House Foreign Affairs East Asia and Pacific Subcommittee, 2:30 p.m.: Building Bridges, Countering Rivals: Strengthening U.S.-ASEAN (Association of Southeast Asian Nations) Ties to Combat Chinese Influence
— Defense Priorities, 3 p.m.: 'U.S.-China competition and the value of Middle East influence.'
Thanks to our editors, Heidi Vogt and Katherine Long, who should not be considered for senior Pentagon roles.