Issue Papers
Donald Trump Has Made the U.S. Vulnerable to Attacks in the Homeland
This heightened threat is emerging at a time when the Trump administration has significantly dismantled the nation’s counterterrorism infrastructure and reduced America’s ability to detect and stop attacks before they occur. Read more »
The Financial Cost of Trump’s War in Iran – And How It’s Hitting Americans’ Wallets
Instead of pouring money into another open-ended conflict overseas, those resources could be used here at home – lowering health care costs, building affordable housing, or making everyday goods more affordable for working families. Read more »
Rebutting Trump’s Foreign Policy Claims in the State of the Union
Tomorrow night, Donald Trump will stand before Congress and deliver the first State of the Union address of his second term. In it, he’s likely to make false or exaggerated claims about his foreign policy and national security record. Read more »
Memo: Tying Trump’s Tariffs to Voters’ Negative Feelings about the Economy
Donald Trump promised to “end inflation on day one.” Instead, he doubled down on sweeping tariffs that have raised costs, slowed hiring, disrupted supply chains, and injected instability into the economy. Read more »
Why a War with Iran Would Be a Huge Mistake
Direct military action against Iran would put U.S. troops in danger, risk a much bigger conflict across the Middle East, and make Americans less safe, not more. As this situation escalates, it is critical to be clear about what is at stake and why this is the wrong path. Read more »
Deadly Consequences of Trump's Use of Force at Home
This tragedy starkly illustrates the danger Trump’s reckless escalation poses to the American people. His administration’s actions have produced predictable and devastating consequences for communities, local governments, and public safety. Read more »
Correcting the Record: Why the United States Does Not Need to Control Greenland
Donald Trump has dramatically escalated his rhetoric and actions around seizing control of Greenland, threatening to undermine our strategic alliances with Europe and leave the United States isolated on the global stage. Read more »
How Trump’s Immigration Crackdown Is Making Americans Less Safe
All other federal public safety efforts now take a back seat to arresting and detaining immigrants – including those who came to the United States legally, have served in the U.S. military, have lived in the U.S. since childhood, and who are married to American citizens. Read more »
How to Seize on Trump's Politically Perilous Campaign in Latin America
What began as a campaign against alleged drug-trafficking vessels is rapidly evolving into something far broader: a regime-change operation and potential U.S. invasion. Read more »
Donald Trump is Not the President of Peace
Rather than restraining U.S. military involvement abroad, Trump has expanded it by entering new conflicts, escalating existing ones, and repeatedly threatening military action in service of his own political ambitions. Read more »
Donald Trump Is Stumbling Into a Crisis in Venezuela
Donald Trump is escalating a dangerous confrontation in Venezuela. He has ordered unprecedented strikes against alleged drug traffickers, deployed major military assets to the region, and openly threatened further action – even strikes inside Venezuela. Read more »
Trump’s National Guard Deployments Are a Costly Misuse of Our Military
With yet another unnecessary and wasteful escalation, Trump is desperate to distract from his administration’s ever-growing list of failures — disastrous tariffs raising prices on families, a sagging job market, outright corruption across his government, and endless political scandals. Read more »
Trump, A Convicted Felon, Is Ordering the Military into American Neighborhoods
With yet another unnecessary and wasteful escalation, Trump is desperate to distract from his administration’s ever-growing list of failures — disastrous tariffs raising prices on families, a sagging job market, outright corruption across his government, and endless political scandals. Read more »
How Trump’s Disastrous Tariffs Are Dragging Down the U.S. Economy
Despite campaign promises to improve the economy for everyday Americans, Trump’s start-and-stop tariffs have plunged the economy into chaos — driving up living costs for millions of families, risking thousands of U.S. jobs, and undercutting businesses of all sizes. Read more »
Donald Trump’s Flip-Flopping Has Failed Ukraine and Helped Putin
Donald Trump’s volatile approach to Ukraine has serious consequences for our allies in Kyiv – and allowed Putin to double down on the war. Here’s a closer look at how Donald Trump has failed Ukraine — and undercut U.S. leadership in the world — as Commander in Chief: Read more »
Why the United States Should Not Give Up on Ukraine
Continued U.S. support for Ukraine and increased economic pressure on Russia offer the clearest path to achieve a lasting peace, hold Putin accountable for his illegal invasion, and deter future wars of aggression that would cost America far more — in lives, resources, and global stability. Read more »
Caught in the Crossfire: Americans Unlawfully Detained by the Trump Administration
On the campaign trail, Donald Trump vowed to carry out the largest mass deportation operation in American history. To accomplish that goal, the Trump Administration has adopted aggressive and often legally dubious tactics that are spurring a backlash from voters. Read more »
Outstanding Questions on U.S. Involvement in Iran
What, if anything, did Trump’s decision to bomb Iran’s nuclear facilities accomplish? U.S. military strikes on Iran’s nuclear facilities “did not destroy the core components of the country’s nuclear program and likely only set it back by months. Read more »
What We’ve Lost: The Consequences of Trump’s Decision to Pull out of the JCPOA
Trump argued that the deal failed to protect America’s national security interests, enabled the Iranian regime’s malign activities, and failed to prevent Iranian nuclear research and development. But in reality, Trump’s decision to pull out of the deal greatly exacerbated all of those challenges. Read more »
Donald Trump’s Longstanding Effort to Turn the U.S. Military into a Personal, Political Tool
Obsessed with the strongman rule of dictators like Vladimir Putin, Xi Jinping, and Kim Jong-Un who often use the military as a political prop or a tool for domestic political enforcement, Donald Trump has long been fascinated with using the military for his own personal, political aims. Read more »
Outstanding Questions on Trump’s Deranged Deportation Flights
In addition to the obvious constitutional concerns, Donald Trump’s apparent obsession with shipping migrants to countries he deems unsuitable raises some other serious questions. Here are just a few of ours: Read more »
Five Things to Know about Qat-Air Force One
This story isn’t going away. Here are five things to keep in mind as Trump shamelessly continues his grift: Read more »
The American people elected Donald Trump because they believed he was a fighter and changemaker – not a chaos agent. But 100 days into his second administration, self-imposed errors are quickly coming to define the president. We would be wise to underscore this reality. Read more »
The More We Learn about SignalGate, the Worse It Gets
More than a week since The Atlantic exposed the Trump team’s use of an unsecured Signal chat to plan military strikes, the scandal keeps deepening. This isn’t just chaos – it’s a dangerous disregard for American national security. And unless there’s a full investigation and real accountability, it will only get worse. Here’s what we’ve learned so far: Read more »
Trump’s Funding Freeze Undermines Efforts to Combat Fentanyl Trafficking
Donald Trump implemented a series of costly tariffs on goods imported from Canada, Mexico, and China – purportedly meant to pressure those nations into stepping up their anti-drug efforts. But Trump’s blustering and expensive trade war actually undermines U.S. counternarcotics work with key countries. And his decision to pause most U.S. foreign aid has halted critical programs to counter fentanyl production and trafficking in Mexico, China, and India. Read more »
Trump and Putin: A Dangerous Duo
It’s no secret that Donald Trump has a strange and longstanding obsession with Russian leader Vladimir Putin. Ever since he first ran for president, Trump has lavished the Russian dictator with praise, and enacted policies that undermine U.S. interests while supporting Putin’s. Read more »
How Foreign Aid Benefits the American People and Bolsters National Security
Every year, across Republican and Democratic administrations, the United States distributes billions of dollars in foreign assistance to bolster American national security… Why do we do this, rather than investing that money at home? In short, because it is in our own self-interest. Read more »