In November 2020, the Trump administration announced that it would reduce U.S. military troops in Iraq and Afghanistan during the president’s final days in office. Christopher Miller, then-acting secretary of defense, said that U.S. troop levels in Afghanistan would drop from 4,500 to 2,500 and troop levels in Iraq would reduce from 3,000 to 2,500 by Jan. 15, 2021. The move received a mixed response. Some lawmakers praised the plan as a key step in the larger push to unwind the U.S. military’s nearly 20-year involvement in the two countries, while others said it could be a security risk given…

Congress demonstrated its disapproval of the Trump administration’s recent military action against Iran when it approved a bipartisan resolution (S.J. Res. 68) limiting the president’s war powers against that country. Weeks after the Trump administration ordered an airstrike in January that killed Qassem Soleimani, a top Iranian general, the Senate passed S.J. Res. 68 in a 55-45 vote, with eight Republicans joining all Senate Democrats in approving the measure. In March the House passed the measure by a vote of 227-186, with several Republicans joining Democrats in support of the resolution. President Trump, however, is likely to veto it. “With…

On July 26, right before adjourning for a five-week recess, the Senate failed to failed to pass legislation to establish security standards to prevent large-scale cyber attacks on the Nation’s critical infrastructure, including the electrical grid and transportation system. Despite a final push by the White House and the military, the 52-to-46 vote fell short of the 60 needed to overcome a Republican-led filibuster and advance the bill to final passage. The legislation ― S. 3414, the Cybersecurity Act of 2012, sponsored by Senator Joe Lieberman (CT-I) ― was a national security priority of the Obama Administration. (See the December…