Meaningful Pentagon Cuts Will Require Rethinking What 'Defense' Means
If Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth is serious about reducing military spending, he will need to embrace a narrower understanding of national security.
Defense
Cutting 8 Percent
Plus: Border update, a shift in U.S. policy on Taiwan (Beijing is pissed), and more...
U.S. Tells Europe To Handle Its Own Defense
The U.S. is no longer willing to subsidize prosperous countries that won’t defend themselves.
Elon Musk's 'Proof' of Government Waste Is in the Pudding
Is the fraud in the room with us right now? Yes.
The DOGE Bait and Switch
The pretend department’s downgraded mission reflects the gap between Trump’s promise of "smaller government" and the reality of what can be achieved without new legislation.
Washington's Debt Delusion: Economic Growth Cannot Fix the Deficit
Republicans are betting trillions on the hope that the economy will grow fast enough to cover their deficit spree.
America Is Going Broke. Will the Department of Government Efficiency Help?
Eliminating the deficit requires cutting the biggest spending—defense, Medicare, Social Security. So far, Trump says he won't touch those.
The Best of Reason: The Pentagon Keeps Losing Equipment and Buying Stuff It Doesn't Need
How the U.S. military busts its budget on wasteful, careless, and unnecessary "self-licking ice cream cones."
Neocons Wage a Rearguard Action Against Trump's Middle East Peace Drive
Trump wants to negotiate instead of bombing Iran. Jilted war hawks are blaming his advisers.
Hegseth Faces the Senate
Plus: L.A.'s price gouging crackdown, more Rachel Maddow in your life, and more...
The Pentagon Keeps Losing Equipment and Buying Stuff It Doesn't Need
How the U.S. military busts its budget on wasteful, careless, and unnecessary 'self-licking ice cream cones.'
Pete Hegseth's Acceptance to West Point Is a Story
When bureaucrats mislead you, expose them.
Congress Is Fiscally Reckless. Will Lawmakers Step Up?
Trump is talking about cutting government spending, but that's mostly in Congress' hands.
Belated Loosening of Restrictions on Ukraine Leaves World Stumbling Towards Greater Danger
Ukrainians may be too exhausted to benefit from the new rules.
Lindsey Graham's Bipartisan Vision To Keep America In the Middle East Forever
The Republican senator wants to bring Biden and Trump together to commit American lives to Saudi Arabia in order to "change the region and change the world."
Pentagon Fails 7th Audit in a Row but Hopes To Pass by 2028
Congress required all federal agencies to submit annual financial reports in 1990. The Pentagon finally got around to complying in 2018, and it still hasn't passed an audit.
Trump Has No Discernible Interest in Fiscal Responsibility
The president-elect’s record and campaign positions belie Elon Musk’s talk of spending cuts.
How Donald Trump and Elon Musk Could Cut $2 Trillion in Government Spending
If Musk is truly serious about fiscal discipline, he'll advise the president-elect to eschew many of the policies he promised on the campaign trail.
Who Are Langley's Favorite Candidates?
Campaign finance records reveal what the community at the heart of U.S. national security policy thinks about outside politics.
Pentagon Paid Nearly 8,000 Percent Markup on Boeing's Bathroom Soap Dispenser
The Air Force paid nearly $150,000 above market value for airplane bathroom fixtures, a Department of Defense watchdog found.
A Year of War in the Middle East Cost Americans Nearly $23 Billion
U.S. taxpayers are underwriting wars in Gaza, Lebanon, Yemen, Syria, and Iraq.
America's Trial Courts Have a NIMBY Problem
Plus: the transformation of California's builder's remedy, the zoning reform implications of the Eric Adams indictment, and why the military killed starter home reform in Arizona.
Take Two
Plus: The Senate wrestles with IVF funding, a dictator dies, and SpaceX passengers conduct the first-ever private spacewalk.
Why Is the U.S. Military Buying Tinder Ads in Lebanon?
Uncle Sam is resorting to some unusual methods to support the Israeli war effort.
RFK Jr. Pays Lip Service to the Debt While Pushing Policies That Would Increase It
It's good to hear a candidate actually talk about our spending problem. But his campaign promises would exacerbate it.
Have Republicans Abandoned Free Markets?
Reason's Emma Camp attended the Republican National Convention to ask attendees if they still believe in the power of free markets.
We Showed Trump Voters the National Debt
We asked delegates at the Republican National Convention whether a second Trump term would address America's debt problem.
The National Debt Is Crossing an Ominous Line
The U.S. has successfully navigated past debt challenges, notably in the 1990s. Policymakers can fix this if they find the will to do so.
Biden, Trump, and RFK Jr. Are All Anti-Freedom
Those three presidential candidates are making promises that would have bewildered and horrified the Founding Fathers.
The Best of Reason: What If the U.S. Cuts Off Aid to Israel?
Ending U.S. aid would give Washington less leverage in the Middle East. That's why it's worth doing.
The National Debt Is Now So High That Every American Essentially Owes $100,000
We could grow our way out of our debt burden if politicians would limit spending increases to just below America's average yearly economic growth. But they won't even do that.
Abortion, Guns, and Hunter Biden.
Plus: A listener asks the editors about the Selective Service.
House Passes Bill To Automatically Register Young Men for the Draft
The Selective Service should be abolished, not made more efficient and equitable.
What If the U.S. Cuts Off Aid to Israel?
Ending U.S. aid would give Washington less leverage in the Middle East. That's why it's worth doing.
Glenn Greenwald and Alan Dershowitz Debate Bombing Iran
The Pulitzer Prize–winning journalist Glenn Greenwald takes on famed lawyer and author Alan Dershowitz.
Biden Wants a Defense Pact With Saudi Arabia While 9/11 Victims Are Suing the Kingdom
The White House announced a “near final” defense pact with Saudi Arabia yesterday, just as new evidence about Saudi links to 9/11 is emerging.
World War War III May Already Have Started—in the Shadows
Cyber intrusions, arson, bombings, and other mayhem feature in the conflict between West and East.
Campaigns Can't Get Worse, Can They?
Plus: A listener asks the editors about President Joe Biden holding up arms shipments to Israel.
Is America's Blank Check for Israel Ending?
President Biden is holding up a shipment of 3,500 bombs to Israel, after months of resisting any conditions on U.S. aid to Israel.
Worst 4/20 Ever
Plus: A listener asks the editors to steel man the case for the Jones Act, an antiquated law that regulates maritime commerce in U.S. waters.
Democrats and Republicans Unite To Give Weapons Manufacturers $59 Billion
House Speaker Mike Johnson worked with President Biden to push through a $95 billion foreign military aid package—most of which goes to the American military-industrial complex.
U.S. Defense Spending Continues To Spiral Out of Control
Increased spending does not automatically equate to higher quality—something that is often lost in this debate.
Say No to This: America's Fiscal Norms Are in Decline
Despite their informal nature, those norms have historically constrained U.S. fiscal policy. But they're eroding.
Opposition to U.S. Steel Sale Shows How Similar Biden and Trump Are on Trade
Economic nationalists are claiming the deal endangers "national security" to convince Americans that a good deal for investors, employees, and the U.S. economy will somehow make America less secure. That's nonsense.
Brian Riedl: Who Bankrupted Us More—Trump or Biden?
"I'm concerned about a Trump-Biden rematch," argues Riedl. "You have two presidents with two of the worst fiscal records of the past 100 years."
