In Washington, there are safe picks, and then there are statements. The nomination of Markwayne Mullin to lead the Department of Homeland Security definitely falls into the latter category. On paper, it’s the kind of move that makes half the room cheer and the other half reach for antacids. Supporters see a tough, no-nonsense outsider…
Spies, Security, and the Fourth Amendment: The Never-Ending Fight Over FISA Section 702
Every few years, Washington dusts off one of its most awkward debates: whether the federal government should continue using Section 702 of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA) to conduct warrantless surveillance of foreign targets. The argument has returned again, and like clockwork, it has managed to unite some very strange political bedfellows. Civil libertarians…
When Silicon Valley Meets the National Security State
If you ever wanted to watch two of the most powerful forces in modern society collide—Silicon Valley and the national security state—this lawsuit might be the closest thing we’ve seen yet. Artificial intelligence company Anthropic has filed a lawsuit against the United States Department of Defense and the Trump administration after the government labeled the…
War with Iran: Necessary Show of Strength or Reckless Gamble?
The question of war with Iran is not theoretical anymore. The United States is engaged in active hostilities: coordinated strikes, retaliatory missile fire, and the possible drift toward broader conflict. The debate is fierce and deeply divided. Supporters argue that decisive action was long overdue. Critics warn that we’re stumbling into another Middle Eastern quagmire…
When Politics Meets the Chain of Command
There are political skirmishes that flare up, dominate a news cycle, and disappear. Then there are moments that quietly test the structural integrity of the republic. This controversy falls into the second category. Last fall, six Democratic lawmakers appeared in a video urging U.S. service members to refuse illegal orders. That message, resurfacing in today’s…
War Powers, Warning, and the Weight of Authority
The renewed debate over presidential war powers, sparked by Vice President J.D. Vance’s dismissal of the War Powers Resolution as “fake” and unconstitutional, exposes more than a technical disagreement about statutes. It reveals a deeper conflict over authority, restraint, and accountability in the exercise of force. At stake is not merely how wars are authorized,…
Power Without Righteousness Is Not Strength
Yesterday’s closed-door briefing to lawmakers on U.S. actions in Venezuela did little to resolve the most troubling questions raised by the operation. If anything, it exposed a widening gap between executive power and moral clarity. Members of Congress emerged divided not merely over tactics or outcomes, but over first principles: who authorizes force, what limits…
Power, Precedent, and the Perils of Unilateral Force: The High-Risk Gamble of Capturing Maduro
The U.S. military strike on Venezuela and the announced capture of Nicolás Maduro mark one of the most dramatic assertions of American power in the Western Hemisphere in decades. The operation will likely stand alongside the most consequential unilateral interventions of the modern era, not only because of its immediate tactical audacity but because of…
Strength, Scruples, and the Question of Purity
President Trump’s decision to deploy U.S. forces near Venezuela has landed squarely in the middle of a long-running American struggle: how to exercise power responsibly in a world where every option carries moral risk. On the surface, the debate appears to be about strategy, legality, and geopolitics. Supporters emphasize deterrence, border security, and the disruption…
The “Golden Fleet,” Deism, and the Perils of Designing a World You Refuse to Govern
The U.S. Navy’s so-called Golden Fleet initiative sketches a vision that is at once ambitious and revealing. At the surface level, the story is about ships: numbers, readiness, industrial capacity, and the strategic anxieties of an increasingly dangerous world. But beneath the steel and spreadsheets lies a deeper question about how America understands power, responsibility,…
The Independent Christian Conservative 