In the News: National Security Action Community Pushing Back on Trump’s Chaotic Leadership
In recent weeks, members of National Security Action’s community have been hard at work driving accountability for the Signalgate leaks, drawing attention to the economic fallout from Trump’s tariffs, shedding light on the humanitarian catastrophe caused by shuttering USAID, and raising awareness on the politically motivated firings of our nation’s top military officers.
This work is incredibly valuable because these stories don’t grow and evolve on their own. As the Administration continues to enact disastrous policies that test the limits of our democratic institutions, it is incumbent upon all of us to keep up this vital work.
Susan Rice on The Bulwark: This is Bloody Serious
“This is how they conduct the foreign policy of the United States. Anybody who knows anything about national security, knows that a Signal chat can be hacked and stolen by our most sophisticated adversaries. And even knowing that, they continue to do it.”
Tony Blinken on CNBC: Instead of 'America First' we're heading to 'America Alone'
“The message this is sending to countries around the world, including some of our closest allies and partners is — ‘We need to move away from the United States. We can't rely on the United States. We’ve got to work around the United States.’ So we’re going to do more with each other, and, in some cases, more with China… I’m afraid that we’re heading to a place where instead of America First it’s America Alone.”
Ned Price on Reddit: I’m a former CIA officer, National Security Council staffer, and diplomat – AMA about Signalgate
“At the end of the day, though, the most important check on an Administration like this might be everyday Americans. The more people learn about the mistakes this Administration is making and the damage they’re inflicting on our national security, foreign policy, and economy – among other realms – the more likely they are to put pressure on Members of Congress, take part in peaceful protests, and, ultimately, make sound decisions at the ballot box.”
Sam Vinograd on CBS News: Israeli officials furious over Trump Administration Signal Group Chat Leak
“This whole incident, I fear, could have a chilling effect on intelligence sharing because of the callousness with which the National Security Advisor and the Secretary of Defense treated sensitive information that it turns out may not have even been ours.”
Jeremy Konyndyk on This is Not a Drill Podcast: What happens when the West walks away?
“There is no clean way to just shut down humanitarian nutrition assistance programs in Darfur, there’s no clean way to shut down anti-retroviral programs in sub-Saharan Africa, without massive human consequences, and we indeed have begun to see massive human consequences as a result of this…If you have a malnourished child who is at the point of needing in-patient therapeutic malnutrition treatment, and you pull that treatment, that kid will die. That’s just humanitarian math, that’s not exaggeration.”
Chris Meagher on CNN: Hegseth Takes ‘No Accountability’ for Signal Leak
“They're losing the trust of the troops, who should be the main focus in all of this… You need our leadership, our most senior leadership at the Pentagon, our most senior leadership in the United States government, to take steps to mitigate that risk, to take steps to keep our troops safe. Pete Hegseth, he did the opposite. He put classified, sensitive material about an operation hours before that operation took place into an unclassified setting, which is one of the biggest no-no's at the Department of Defense. If somebody like me did that, I'd be [...] out on the sidewalk.”
Marie Harf on Fox: ‘Do You Think It’s Fair for Veterans to be Fired by Elon Musk?’
“I support better government efficiency. I think that the government could do a lot of things better. The question is, is DOGE doing it in the right way?”
“Do you balance the budget and cut the deficit by actually tackling entitlements, by looking at these tax cuts, much of which go to high-income earners. Or do you do what DOGE is doing, [...] which is firing veterans at the VA, people who work on curing cancer and working on vaccines?”
Sabrina Singh on CBS News: Former Pentagon press official on Hegseth's texts in Signal group chat with Trump team
“You automatically need to have the Inspector General of the Department of Defense launch an independent investigation into the Secretary, into these text threads, into this texting [...] chain, to figure out what happened and to determine rightfully that classified information was in fact typed out and put in this text message… The second thing is – it’s going to be painful – but you have to work with Congress. And you have to let Congress also investigate.”