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Defense

Foreign policy

Military spending and national defense.

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Positions (159)

Stated positions are documented + sourced; derived positions come from a member's votes on bills tagged to this issue (Yea on a bill that advances it = support, and so on). 1740 bills tagged · 524 members with related votes. A member with no cited stance or directional vote is left off, not guessed.

Recent activity

Everything happening on this issue in one stream — the latest bills tagged to it and news that references it, newest first. Each item links to its source. Coverage-honest: only what we've ingested and tagged appears here.

  • News
    US military bases are ‘ill-equipped’ to stop drone swarms, top commander reveals after Rubio's UAP warning

    Aug 17, 2026 ·Fox News (Politics)(Right)

    A top commander responsible for defending the U.S. homeland warned Thursday that American military bases are "ill-equipped" to repel a swarm of small attack drones . The vulnerability persists even as the Pentagon seeks billions for new counter-drone weapons, and Army Lt. Gen. Joseph Jarrard said the shortfall begins well before troops try to shoot down a drone. Some bases do not have the sensors

  • News
    Trump Burns Allies Over Iran. South Korea and Oman Are Next.

    Aug 17, 2026 ·Mother Jones(Left)

    President Trump spent the weekend turning on two US security partners. He ordered a cutback in joint military exercises with South Korea, citing his “very good relationship” with Kim Jong Un, the North Korean dictator — and threatened to bomb Oman, one of the countries mediating between Washington and Tehran. On Sunday, Trump posted on Truth Social that based on his “very good relationship with Ki

  • News
    South Korea hoping for talks after Trump reduces joint military exercises

    Aug 17, 2026 ·The Hill(Center)

    South Korea is hoping to engage in talks with the Trump administration following the president's announcement Sunday that he is ordering a reduction in U.S. troop participation in joint military exercises with soldiers in Seoul. South Korea's presidential Blue House said it “hopes that the friendly relationship between the U.S. and North Korean leaders will...

  • News
    Trump scales back South Korea military drills, pointing to relationship with Kim

    Aug 17, 2026 ·Straight Arrow News(Center)

    Trump says South Korea won't help with Iran, the exercises are costly and they “send a signal that is totally inappropriate and hostile."

  • News
    Trump’s Break With South Korea Projects Weakness In The Pacific

    Aug 17, 2026 ·The Daily Wire(Right)

    Confusing adversaries and allies is a basic foreign policy mistake. Leveraging enemies to attack friends is a deeper failure. President Trump committed both errors on Sunday when he announced that he was ordering the Pentagon to “substantially reduce the Joint Military Exercises” with South Korea. According to his post on social media, the president’s justifications were his “very good relationshi

  • News
    Trump orders major cut to US-South Korea drills as North Korea ramps up missile tests

    Aug 16, 2026 ·Fox News (Politics)(Right)

    President Donald Trump ordered the Pentagon to scale back upcoming U.S.- South Korea military exercises on Sunday, arguing that the operations cost too much and send a hostile message to North Korean leader Kim Jong Un. At the same time, the president went on to criticize Seoul for declining to join U.S. war efforts to denuclearize Iran . Writing on Truth Social, Trump noted that while it was too

  • News
    Trump says US to scale back military drills with South Korea after it stayed out of Iran war

    Aug 16, 2026 ·BBC News(Center)

    Trump cites his "very good relationship" with North Korea's leader in deciding to downsize the exercises.

  • News
    Trump tells Hegseth to cut back U.S.-South Korea drills

    Aug 16, 2026 ·Axios(Lean left)

    President Trump said Sunday he instructed Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth to "substantially reduce" U.S. military exercises with South Korea. The big picture: Trump cited his "very good relationship" with North Korean leader Kim Jong-un for condemning the drills — and also noted on Truth Social that South Korea declined his request to help the U.S. denuclearize Iran . What he's saying: "These exerc

  • News
    Trump directs Hegseth to reduce U.S. joint exercises in South Korea

    Aug 16, 2026 ·The Hill(Center)

    President Trump said Sunday he told Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth to “substantially reduce” the joint military exercises with South Korea. Trump wrote in a Truth Social post that he’s “not happy with the fact that the United States has, long ago, agreed to participate” in these joint military exercises. He also noted that South Korea...

  • News
    Trump’s ‘Very Good’ Relationship With Kim Jong Un Prompts Korea Drill Reduction

    Aug 16, 2026 ·The Daily Wire(Right)

    President Donald Trump said Sunday he has directed Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth to “substantially reduce” joint military exercises with South Korea, citing his “very good relationship” with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un and what he said was Seoul’s refusal to help the United States denuclearize Iran. “Based on my very good relationship with Kim Jong Un, of North Korea, I am not happy with the

  • News
    Gallego: Congress boosting Iran war funding 'like giving a drunk more money and hoping that they'll stop drinking'

    Aug 16, 2026 ·The Hill(Center)

    Democratic Sen. Ruben Gallego (Ariz.) on Sunday expressed strong opposition to Congress giving the Pentagon more funding amid the Iran war. During an interview on ABC News’s “This Week,” Gallego pivoted when host Martha Raddatz asked him about the Trump administration requesting from lawmakers $17 billion in military operation costs. “We are more focused on...

  • News
    Gallego: USS Lincoln concerns prove Trump views servicemembers as 'toys'

    Aug 16, 2026 ·The Hill(Center)

    Democratic Sen. Ruben Gallego (Ariz.) said Sunday the reported mental health concerns among servicemembers on board the USS Abraham Lincoln are proof that President Trump does not care about their well-being. “The president has shown that he just doesn't really care about the troops,” Gallego told host Martha Raddatz on ABC’s “This Week.” “His… lackadaisical...

  • News
    Ukrainian aerial attack kills at least 6 people in Russia

    Aug 16, 2026 ·NewsNation(Center)

    Kyiv has stepped up its attacks on Russia this year, with long-range missiles and swarms of drones targeting military industries and energy facilities.

  • News
    Russia and Ukraine exchange aerial attacks with Ukraine launching hundreds of drones into Russia

    Aug 16, 2026 ·Just the News(Lean right)

    Ukraine has vastly increased its attacks on Russia this year, using long-range missiles and swarms of drones. The main targets have been military industries and energy facilities.

  • News
    Warmonger’s Son Mongers War

    Aug 15, 2026 ·Mother Jones(Left)

    Tony Blair, the former British prime minister, pushed the United Kingdom into a needless war in Iraq in a wild-goose chase for weapons of mass destruction. Then, he helped British companies make money from that war. Now, his son Nick is carrying on the family legacy. Nick Blair, a 40-year-old former football agent , is seeking funding for a military technology startup called “Pyra” to the tune of

  • News
    Trump accuses nonprofit organization of revealing 'top military secrets' in ballroom case

    Aug 15, 2026 ·The Hill(Center)

    President Trump issued fresh criticism on Friday evening toward the nonprofit organization suing his administration over the White House ballroom project, accusing the National Trust for Historic Preservation of revealing “Top Military Secrets” in their lawsuit. “These are the TREASONISTS that brought the suit against the Military Complex,” the president wrote in a Truth Social...

  • News
    Deputy national security adviser Andy Baker to leave White House: Report

    Aug 15, 2026 ·The Hill(Center)

    White House deputy national security adviser Andy Baker is leaving the Trump administration in the coming weeks, the latest departure from President Trump’s national security team. Baker, who previously served as Vice President Vance’s national security adviser, has been closely involved in the administration’s foreign policy decisions and was part of the U.S. delegation that...

  • News
    Trump argues White House ballroom critics from nonprofit 'revealed top military secrets'

    Aug 15, 2026 ·Just the News(Lean right)

    “There is absolutely no argument that a woman walking her dog in the vicinity of the White House has STANDING to stop such a desperately needed National Security structure,” Trump wrote.

  • News
    Military to reimburse service members freezing eggs, sperm

    Aug 14, 2026 ·The Hill(Center)

    The Pentagon is piloting a reimbursement program for eligible service members looking to freeze their eggs or sperm, according to a notice published Thursday in the Federal Register. The National Defense Authorization Act of 2025 required the implementation of the initiative, which will cover up to $500 in annual costs for sperm cryopreservation services and...

  • News
    Colombia's New President Wants More U.S. Military Help Fighting Cartels

    Aug 14, 2026 ·Reason(Center)

    The Trump administration is expanding the footprint of its war on drugs in Latin America. On Wednesday, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth announced that Colombia would join the "Shield of the Americas" initiative . When the multinational security coalition of the U.S. and Latin American countries formed in March , President Donald Trump said the group was united by a commitment to use "lethal militar