Latest news with #RonaldReaganInstitute
Fox News
20-04-2025
- Business
- Fox News
From Washington: What History Reveals About Elon Musk's Role In The White House
Tech billionaire Elon Musk has become one of the most influential figures in American politics thanks to his significant role in the second Trump administration. Despite his lack of political experience, Musk has become the leader of the Department of Government Efficiency, participates in some cabinet meetings, and even spent millions on federal and state elections. And though Musk's relationship with the White House may be unusual, it's not unprecedented. Senior Fellow at the Ronald Reagan Institute and former Deputy Secretary of Health and Human Services Tevi Troy looks back at other political outsiders who played key roles in influencing presidents throughout history. President Trump's top domestic priority is the 'Big, Beautiful Bill,' which includes key parts of his agenda like strengthening the border, bolstering defense capabilities, and extending the Trump tax cuts. While Republicans control both the House and Senate and seem broadly united on getting many–or all–of the items done, passage is not inevitable. Florida Republican Congressman Byron Donalds discusses the 'Big, Beautiful Bill' and how it will wind up on the President's desk. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit
Fox News
11-04-2025
- Business
- Fox News
President Trump's Tariff Pause Turns Trade Upside Down
On Wednesday, President Donald Trump announced a flat 10% tariff on imports entering the United States, which will remain in effect for at least 90 days. The administration reports that over 75 countries have expressed interest in initiating trade talks. However, China is the exception; products imported from China are now subject to a 145% tariff. Karl Rove, a FOX News Contributor and former Deputy Chief of Staff to George W. Bush, joins to discuss these tariffs, the concerns some individuals have about their impact, and the administration's efforts to appeal to working-class voters. First Lady Melania Trump recently took part in a roundtable event at the Capitol to support the 'Take It Down Act'. This legislation aims to prohibit the intentional publication of sexually exploitative images, including AI-generated deepfakes. An increasing number of states are implementing their own laws to tackle this growing problem. Hayley McNamara, Senior Vice President at the nonprofit National Center on Sexual Exploitation, joins to explain the 'Take It Down Act' and emphasize how easily individuals can become targets of such exploitation. Plus, commentary from senior fellow at the Ronald Reagan Institute and Former Deputy Secretary of Health and Human Services, Tevi Troy. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit
Fox News
06-03-2025
- Politics
- Fox News
Trump's 'Golden Dome' will need Manhattan Project-scale whole-of-government effort, Space Force general warns
President Donald Trump's 'Golden Dome' missile defense project will require a whole-of-government effort on par with the Manhattan Project to develop the atomic bomb, according to a Space Force general. "This is on the order of magnitude of Manhattan Project, and it's going to take concerted effort from the very top of our government. It's going to take a national will to bring all this together," Gen. Michael Guetlein, vice chief of space operations of the U.S. Space Force, told a gathering of defense industry experts on Wednesday. The 'Golden Dome' idea stemmed from Israel's Iron Dome. With the help of the U.S., it employs an invisible boundary that triggers interceptors when short-range missiles are fired toward its territory. But the Golden Dome has proved a more daunting project for guarding the U.S., which is close to 500 times the size of Israel and would likely be threatened more by long-range than short-range missiles. Guetlein said the project will require unprecedented cooperation across the defense and intelligence agencies. "We are in full planning mode," the official said at the National Security Innovation Base Summit hosted by the Ronald Reagan Institute. "We owe an answer back to the White House by the end of the month on what our thoughts are." The Golden Dome would need to protect the U.S. from a range of threats – including hypersonic missiles, ballistic missiles, advanced cruise missiles. Early detection would rely on space-based sensors that would trigger rapid-response missile interceptors. "It's going to be a heavy lift across all the organizations that are going to be participating. And what we've got to really push back on are the organizational boundaries and the cultures that are going to try to slow us down or to prevent us from working together," Guetlein said. The U.S. Missile Defense Agency is "really good at protection of the homeland from an ICBM," according to Guetlein, but they need the Space Force to build space capabilities, and the Air Force and Army to manage counter-drone systems. The National Reconnaissance Office, which operates the U.S.'s spy satellites, also has space capabilities needed for homeland protection. Guetlein said the nation would have to "break down the barriers" between Title 10 and Title 50 of the United States Code, the federal laws that govern the nation's defense and clandestine operations. "Without a doubt, our biggest challenge is going to be organizational behavior and culture to bring all the pieces together," Guetlein said. The Golden Dome would be a major step up from the current Ground-Based Midcourse Defense system, which relies on missile interceptors stationed in Alaska and California designed to protect the homeland from a small number of ballistic missiles that could be fired from North Korea. Guetlein said Iran has provided a "real life example" in the Middle East, where U.S. forces helped thwart a barrage of missiles targeting Israel last year. Trump said during his address to a joint session of Congress on Tuesday that he would be asking lawmakers to appropriate funds for the project. "My focus is on building the most powerful military of the future," Trump said. "As a first step, I'm asking Congress to fund a state-of-the-art, 'Golden Dome' missile defense shield to protect our homeland – all made in the USA." The president claimed that Ronald Reagan had wanted to build such a system, but it wasn't possible given the technology of the time. "Israel has it, other places have it, and the United States should have it, too," he said. "This is a very dangerous world. We should have it. We want to be protected. And we're going to protect our citizens like never before."
Axios
05-03-2025
- Business
- Axios
Where America's fragile defense production and futuristic megafactories meet
There are few words as beloved in the defense-tech zeitgeist as "scale" and "mass." And it makes sense: War is a numbers game. But today's defense industrial base is hurting, and not just by a single metric. Why it matters: It's go big or go home for production lines, as a potential Chinese invasion of Taiwan haunts Beltway thinkers and a protracted war in Ukraine proves just how quickly stockpiles evaporate. Driving the news: The Ronald Reagan Institute's third annual National Security Innovation Base report card, published Tuesday, paints an uncomfortable picture. "While China, America's pacing challenger, continues to outproduce the United States, Washington remains stuck in a self-perpetuating cycle of budgetary and appropriations dysfunction that is threatening its advantage." But, it offers, "This trend is not immutable." Here are some of the study's findings: The U.S. blazes the innovation trail, earning an A- for leadership, a B+ for available cash and another B+ for the growing sense of competition. There were four consecutive quarters of defense-tech venture capital growth last year, from $4.4 billion to $14.7 billion. But the country struggles with modernization and capacity, with caches of "critical weapons" remaining "dangerously low." Both scored a D. Customer clarity — the coherence of conversation between buyer and seller — was slightly better at D+. International cooperation is middling at a C. The labyrinthine foreign military sales process is "interfering with core national security and foreign policy objectives." What they're saying: "I feel like there's this bias or mindset that hardware is not valuable, hardware is not sexy. 'Why can't we just outsource this stuff?' And that's kind of the problem we've been in," Paul Kwan, who leads General Catalyst's global resilience team, told Axios. "This reindustrialization of America is not just critical, but necessary." State of play: Defense contractors are erecting factories and expanding footprints. Others are inking their blueprints. The first products from Anduril Industries' Arsenal-1 are expected to roll off the lines next year. When the company picked Columbus, Ohio, as the location, there were still permitting, renovation and hiring hurdles to clear. Drone-boat maker Saronic wants to open the doors to its futuristic shipyard, Port Alpha, within five years. It still needs to find a location, secure incentives, put a shovel in the ground and attract a workforce. Helsing completed construction of its Resilience Factory, or RF-1, in southern Germany. It's expected to pump out more than 1,000 HX-2 attack drones per month. Saab plans to break ground for its Michigan munitions facility in April. It's expected to come online in 2026. The company also launched its Skapa initiative in San Diego. Bell Textron will support Future Long Range Assault Aircraft work with a recently selected 447,000-square-foot facility in Texas. The company won the FLRAA competition in late 2022. Kongsberg in September said it would build a state-of-the-art factory in Virginia, boosting capacity for Naval Strike and Joint Strike missiles. Our thought bubble: You can't build the future with tools of the past. Automation, robotics, and 3D printing are table stakes. And if you want a great example of spinning up quickly, look no further than Ukraine. Pressure breeds innovation. (The country is on track to build some 3 million military drones this year, according to the Kyiv Post.) The bottom line: "We cannot fight wars unless our troops have the ammunition they need," Vice President JD Vance said Tuesday as he backed a Defense Department nominee on the Hill. "We cannot defend our own national security unless we have the tank shells, the artillery shells, and, increasingly, the drones and other advanced weapon systems that are necessary to actually fight battles when — God forbid — those battles are necessary to fight."
