Trump Administration Memo Proposes Cutting State Department Funding by Nearly Half

The Trump administration could cut nearly 50 percent of the State Department’s funding next fiscal year, according to an internal memo laying out a downsizing plan being given serious consideration by department leaders, said two U.S. officials. The plan was…

Pete Marocco, Who Helped Gut Foreign Aid for Trump, Leaves State Department

Pete Marocco, who worked with Elon Musk’s team to oversee the gutting of foreign aid and the dismantling of the main U.S. aid agency, has left the State Department, administration officials said on Monday. The abrupt departure comes in the…

Hegseth Attends Ukraine Defense Group Only Virtually

When military leaders from roughly 50 nations met in Brussels on Friday to discuss aid shipments to Kyiv, one was noticeably absent: Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth. Instead of attending the gathering, the 27th meeting of the Ukraine Defense Contact Group,…

U.S. Strikes in Yemen Burning Through Munitions With Limited Success

President Trump said this week that Iranian-backed Houthi militants in Yemen have been “decimated by the relentless strikes” that he ordered beginning on March 15. But that’s not what Pentagon and military officials are privately telling Congress and allied countries.…

China’s Military Drills Around Taiwan Are a Warning to Its President

China launched military exercises pressing in on Taiwan on Tuesday, in what Beijing said was a warning to the island-democracy’s president, Lai Ching-te, after he called China a “foreign hostile force.” Chinese land, navy, air and missile forces would “approach…

Hegseth Seeks to Reassure Allies on First Official Trip to Asia

Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth used his first trip to Asia to try to reassure allies that the United States was committed to deterring Chinese “threats” to the region, while also again defending his recent actions in disclosing American battle…

Hegseth Pledges to Step Up Military Cooperation With Japan and Deter China

Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth wrapped up his first official visit to the Asia on Sunday by offering reassurances to Japan that President Trump wants a stronger military alliance in the region to deter an increasingly assertive China. Following an…

Houthis in Yemen Won’t Be Defeated by Airstrikes Alone, Experts Say

The bombshell publication of a group chat involving Trump administration officials discussing U.S. battle plans revealed in unusually stark fashion what the Trump administration hopes to achieve with airstrikes this month against the Houthi militia in Yemen. The attacks, some…

Trump’s Team Calls Europe ‘Pathetic’ in Leaked Signal Group Chat Messages

Trump administration officials haven’t kept their disdain for Europe quiet. But the contempt seems to be even louder behind closed doors. Europeans reacted with a mix of exasperation and anger to the publication of parts of a discussion between top-ranking…

Musk Set to Get Access to Top-Secret U.S. Plan for Potential War With China

The Pentagon is scheduled on Friday to brief Elon Musk on the U.S. military’s plan for any war that might break out with China, two U.S. officials said on Thursday. Another official said the briefing will be China focused, without…