Congress Is Fiscally Reckless. Will Lawmakers Step Up?
Trump is talking about cutting government spending, but that's mostly in Congress' hands.
Defense Spending
Belated Loosening of Restrictions on Ukraine Leaves World Stumbling Towards Greater Danger
Ukrainians may be too exhausted to benefit from the new rules.
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.
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.
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.
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."
The Air Force's New Nuclear Missile System Will Now Cost $131.5 Billion
It's just one reason the program should likely be terminated altogether.
The U.S. Shouldn't Give Israel or Ukraine Any More Money
The Senate's $95 billion aid bill would only throw more good money after bad.
Trump Had a Point About NATO Free-Riding Off American Defense
It’s true that the U.S. pays too much of the continent’s defense bills even as it’s going broke.
All I Want for Christmas Is for Congress To Exercise Fiscal Restraint
Lawmakers can take small steps that are uncontroversial and bipartisan to jumpstart the fiscal stability process.
Congress Renews Warrantless Digital Spying Program as Part of $886 Billion Spending Bill
Section 702 will continue until April, when Congress will have another shot at seriously reforming a program that desperately needs it.
Weapons for Christmas
Plus: Elon Musk's mom tells off the FCC, A24 tackles civil war, Nate Silver talks F.A. Hayek, and more...
Pentagon Fails Sixth Audit in a Row
Though federal law has required annual financial reports, the Department of Defense simply did not complete them until 2018. It has since failed each year.
Americans Learned a Lesson About Interest Rates. Washington Has Not.
Higher rates lead to more debt, and more debt begets higher rates, and on and on. Get the picture?
After Hamas Attack, There Are No Good Options in the Middle East
Plus: Chaos in Congress, and bums in the parks
Shut It All Down
Plus: Nonessential government programs (all of them?), AI firefighting, tech-world hit pieces, and more...
Zelenskyy Goes To Washington
Plus: Rupert Murdoch retires, Ibram X. Kendi blew through millions of dollars, and more…
Congress Is Still Using 'Emergency Spending' on Non-Emergencies
Since Congress won't cut spending, an independent commission may be the only way to rein in the debt.
5 Dissenters in the House
Plus: DeSantis' awkward pot situation, San Francisco's "overpaid executive" tax, and more…
Hunter Biden Gets Caught in America's Double War on Drugs and Guns
Plus: A listener asks for the editors’ advice on how to spend his money.
Don't Let the Government-Shutdown Charade Distract You From the Debt Crisis
America’s biggest fiscal challenge lies in the unchecked growth of federal health care and old-age entitlement programs.
Politicians Continue To Make a Mockery of 'Emergency Spending'
Legislators abuse the emergency label to push through spending that would otherwise violate budget constraints.
Ukraine's Sluggish Counteroffensive Raises Questions About U.S. Support
Should the U.S. continue to bankroll the counteroffensive?
Is the Budget Process Broken, or Is Congress Just Refusing To Do Its Job?
Since Congress designed and implemented the last budget process in 1974, only on four occasions have all of the appropriations bills for discretionary spending been passed on time.
When Our Weapons Go Missing
Washington is doing a poor job of monitoring whether the weapons it sends to Ukraine are ending up in the right hands.
Cluster Bombs Aren't the Only Weapons That Kill People After a War Is Over
Progressive Democrats' opposition to sending cluster bombs to Ukraine is welcome. Their arguments apply to much of the military aid the U.S. is sending the country.
