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Browse major news stories and see what officials have said.

Sep 27, 2026· Updated

Xi Arrives in Washington Expecting Trump to Freeze Taiwan Arms Sales Under a 1982 Communiqué — the $14 Billion Package Congress Approved in January Is Still Unsigned, John Moolenaar Says Beijing’s Objections Should Be "Rejected Out of Hand," and Pete Ricketts Says China Is "Not Going to Be Allowed to Take Taiwan by Force"

Xi Jinping arrives in Washington on Wednesday, September 23, 2026, for the first Chinese state visit to the United States in eleven years, with formal talks on Thursday. Reuters reported on September 22 that Xi is expected to press President Trump to halt arms sales to Taiwan under the 1982 US–China joint communiqué, in which Washington said it intended to gradually reduce such sales — a commitment Ronald Reagan conditioned in an accompanying memo "absolutely upon the continued commitment of China to the peaceful solution" of its differences with Taipei. The immediate stake is a $14 billion arms package for Taiwan that Congress approved in January and that Trump has never formally notified. It covers F-16 upgrades, ground-based air defenses, anti-ship missiles, anti-drone systems and surveillance infrastructure. Trump put the package "in abeyance" after his own May visit to Beijing, telling Fox News it was "a very good negotiating chip for us," and Taipei Times reported on September 21 that there is a strong possibility he extends the delay to the end of the year. Beijing had already signaled it would cancel the summit outright if the sale were approved beforehand; Congress did not act, and a White House official said only that Trump would make a determination "in a fairly short time." Republicans who work on China policy have spent the week publicly warning Trump against trading Taiwan for a deal. House Select Committee on the CCP Chairman John Moolenaar said Chinese objections to US arms sales and security cooperation with Asian allies should be "rejected out of hand," calling China the United States' "foremost foreign adversary and greatest external threat." Sen. Pete Ricketts, who chairs the Senate Foreign Relations subcommittee on East Asia, said the message to Beijing has to be that "they're not going to be allowed to take Taiwan by force." Rep. Raja Krishnamoorthi, the Select Committee's ranking Democrat, had warned in May that consulting Beijing on Taiwan arms at all was "a troubling break" from four decades of bipartisan practice.

“President Trump continues to say, 'Hey, we sell arms to other people around the world.' … He actually asked President Xi, would he like to buy some, at one point. … [Trump] is as strong on Taiwan as I've ever seen anybody.”
David Perdue (R-GA) · Sep 27, 2026

Sep 25, 2026· Updated

Five Days After Calling AI Risk a "HOAX," Trump Answers the Industry's Safety Warnings by Announcing an "AI Force" Modeled on Space Force and an "AI 'Czar'" — "Only High I.Q. Individuals Need Apply!" — While Ro Khanna Says an Offensive AI Capability "Would Give Me a Lot of Pause" and Calls for an FDA for AI

On September 19, 2026, President Trump posted on Truth Social that he is forming an "AI Force," modeled on the Space Force he created in his first term, and will soon name an "AI 'Czar'" to lead it — adding "Only High I.Q. individuals need apply!" The announcement came days after he dismissed warnings from AI company leaders and researchers about the pace of AI development as a "HOAX" by "Radical Left Dumocrats," and he used the post to promise the industry that "We will not in any way hinder or stifle the Growth of this incredible Industry." The next morning on Face the Nation, Rep. Ro Khanna said he did not know what Trump's vision was and that an offensive military AI capability "would give me a lot of pause," renewing his call for an independent federal AI regulator on the model of the FDA and urging Trump to negotiate an international AI agreement with Xi Jinping at their White House summit later in the week.

“Scott Bessent will not be going to be Super Intelligence (SI) Czar. Number One, he doesn't want to. Number Two, he's doing such a great job at Treasury, and that's where I want to keep him!”
Donald Trump (R-FL) · Sep 25, 2026

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technology

trump-administration

7 statements

Sep 22, 2026· Updated

Eight Months After Threatening to Take It by Force, Trump Announces a Deal With Denmark That He Says Gives the U.S. "Permanent Control Over Security, and All Other Needs, in Greenland" — Rubio Says It "Permanently and Completely Addresses Our National Security Concerns," While Greenland Stays Danish

On the evening of Friday, September 18, 2026, President Trump announced on Truth Social that the United States "has entered into an Agreement with The Kingdom of Denmark, and Greenland, that gives the United States permanent control over security, and all other needs, in Greenland, completely addressing ALL of our many U.S. concerns." He said the U.S. would "immediately begin the process of developing a large Military presence in the appropriate part of Greenland," at no cost to the United States. According to a State Department official, the agreement bars any non-NATO base or troop presence in Greenland, bars adversaries from making investments on the island that could threaten the United States, and remains in force "forever" — even if Greenland becomes fully independent. Greenland remains part of the Kingdom of Denmark, a significant retreat from Trump's January demand for U.S. ownership, when he said "We probably won't get anything unless I decide to use excessive strength and force." Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen called it "an agreement that strengthens our common security in the Arctic and the North Atlantic area," and Foreign Minister Lars Løkke Rasmussen said it respected "the Kingdom's red lines." The deal still requires parliamentary action in Denmark and Greenland, and the official text had not been released as of September 19. For the January confrontation that preceded the deal, see the earlier story on Trump's claimed NATO deal for Greenland control.

“I look forward to working with the wonderful people of Denmark and Greenland. It's been a great experience, amazing experience, and we've really formed a bond.”
Donald Trump (R-FL) · Sep 22, 2026

Sep 19, 2026· Updated

A Chatbot-Assisted Intelligence Report Sent Armed U.S. Troops to Board a Chinese Ship for Nuclear Weapons Parts That Were Never There — and the Top Democrats on Intelligence, Armed Services and Defense Appropriations Demand an Inspector General Investigation of AI Errors in Military Targeting

On September 18, 2026, CNN reported that earlier this year, during the Iran war, a U.S. Special Operations Command analyst used an AI chatbot to help produce an intelligence report claiming a Chinese ship in the Middle East was carrying components for a nuclear weapons program. The report circulated across the military; armed personnel suited up to board the vessel and military aircraft were already airborne before senior officials examined the underlying sourcing and concluded the report was "entirely false." One source told CNN the "hallucination" reflected a trend rather than an isolated incident, and another said it "almost started a war." On September 19, Senate Intelligence Committee Vice Chairman Mark Warner, Armed Services Ranking Member Jack Reed and Defense Appropriations Subcommittee Ranking Member Chris Coons wrote to Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth and Director of National Intelligence Jay Clayton demanding an "immediate investigation by relevant Inspectors General." The letter also cited the February strike on a school in Minab, Iran, which killed nearly 200 people, after commanders bypassed warnings in AI-powered databases that the target intelligence was badly outdated. The Pentagon, which under Hegseth has pushed to accelerate AI adoption across operations, had not publicly responded as of September 19.

“[We ask that officials] promptly investigate this matter [and give inspectors general] unrestricted access to both instances this year in which media reports have suggested significant errors in AI-enabled targeting workflows, as well as any additional instances that may have so far not been publicly reported.”
Chris Coons (D-DE) · Sep 19, 2026

artificial-intelligence

pentagon

intelligence

3 statements

Sep 15, 2026· Updated

The United States Admits for the First Time That It Has Weapons in Orbit — Air Force Secretary Troy Meink Says the Space Force "Now Has On-Orbit Space Control Weapons," and the Chief of Space Operations Says "It Was Time" to Say So Out Loud

On September 14, 2026, in his opening keynote at the Air & Space Forces Association's Air, Space and Cyber Conference in National Harbor, Maryland, Secretary of the Air Force Troy Meink said that the Space Force "now has on-orbit space control weapons capable of defending the joint force against hostile adversary action." It was the first time any US government official has publicly acknowledged that the United States has deployed weapon systems into orbit. Meink later told reporters the acknowledgement was deliberate and the phrasing "very well thought out," while declining to say whether the systems are kinetic or non-kinetic, or whether they have been tested — arguing that specifics would undercut their deterrent value. A Space Force spokesperson subsequently said "space control" encompasses both kinetic and non-kinetic means, used to disrupt, degrade or destroy, offensively as well as defensively. The next day, Chief of Space Operations Gen. Douglas Schiess confirmed and expanded on the disclosure, framing it as an overdue act of transparency about capabilities the service already fields. China called on Washington to stop weaponizing space; Russia warned of potentially catastrophic consequences and renewed its call for "the complete demilitarization of space." As of this writing, congressional reaction has been notably muted — the House adjourned until after the midterms two days after Meink's remarks.

“Today, Guardians operate on-orbit weapons that can defend the joint force against space-enabled attacks.”
Douglas Schiess (I) · Sep 15, 2026

Two Weeks Before Xi Comes to Washington, Trump Calls a Senator's Warning About Chinese Cars "a Total Phony Rumor" — Then Says in the Same Interview That "If China Wanted to Come In and Open a Plant to Build Their Cars Here, I'd Be OK With That"

On September 9, 2026, Sen. Elissa Slotkin (D-MI) posted that she was hearing "rumors that Trump is planning to allow Chinese cars to be sold in the U.S., as part of a larger deal he's putting together," calling it "a strategic mistake." She cited no source and paired the warning with a push for the Connected Vehicle Security Act, her bipartisan bill with Sen. Bernie Moreno (R-OH) that would bar Chinese-linked connected vehicles, software and hardware from the U.S. market. A House version is led by Reps. John Moolenaar (R-MI), chairman of the Select Committee on China, and Debbie Dingell (D-MI), and the Senate Commerce Committee passed the bill in July. Asked about it on Fox News' "The Ingraham Angle" on September 11, President Trump said "I hate this rumor. It's a total phony rumor," pointing to his tariffs on Chinese cars. But in the same interview he said "If China wanted to come in and open a plant to build their cars here, I'd be OK with that," comparing it to Japanese automakers: "The big thing is they hire our people." He said he did not want Chinese companies building cars in Mexico and shipping them north. The remarks came as Trump prepares to host Chinese President Xi Jinping in the United States, a meeting expected around September 24, and a week after the Alliance for Automotive Innovation — representing Ford, GM, Toyota, Stellantis, Honda and nearly every other major automaker — asked Congress to pass a permanent ban on Chinese vehicles by the end of December. A Biden-era Commerce Department rule already effectively bars Chinese automakers from selling or building connected passenger vehicles in the U.S.

“I hate this rumor. It's a total phony rumor. I'm the one that has a 150 percent tariff on any car from China. … If China wanted to come in and open a plant to build their cars here, I'd be OK with that. … Japan does it, but they hire our people. The big thing is they hire our people.”
Donald Trump (R-FL) · Sep 11, 2026

The Transportation Secretary Tells Ford It Is "Actively Intertwining Its Future With Chinese State-Backed Enterprises" — Three Weeks After the Commerce Secretary Said "Ford Is Going to Rock Us" by Bringing Manufacturing Home — and Ford Calls the Letter "a Wrongheaded Attempt to Capture Headlines"

On September 8, 2026, Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy sent Ford CEO Jim Farley a letter expressing "the profound concern of the U.S. Department of Transportation" about "the strategic trajectory of Ford Motor Company," and released it to the press. The letter cited Ford's licensing of battery technology from China's CATL — a company on the Pentagon's list of Chinese military-linked firms — at its BlueOval Battery Park in Marshall, Michigan; its arrangement letting Chinese automaker Geely build vehicles at Ford's plant in Valencia, Spain; reported talks with BYD over hybrid components; and Ford's decision to keep building the Lincoln Nautilus in China until 2030. Ford's choices, Duffy wrote, "paint a troubling picture of a foundational American brand actively intertwining its future with Chinese state-backed enterprises," and a company that "intentionally chooses to deepen operational dependencies on strategic competitors" fails "to act as the reliable partner the American public and this DOT require." Ford answered the same day with unusual bluntness for a company dealing with its regulator. It called the letter "a wrongheaded attempt to capture headlines at the expense of a company that has done more for American manufacturing than virtually any other in the nation's history," said it contained "factual errors," described the CATL deal as "a limited technology-licensing and services agreement, not a joint venture or foreign-owned manufacturing operation" under which "Ford owns the plant, controls the operation and employs the workforce," and noted that "Had Secretary Duffy reached out before issuing his letter to the press, we would have been happy to share more details." Ford also pointed out that Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick had praised the Nautilus decision on August 13, telling Fox Business after a joint interview with Farley that "Ford is going to rock us with bringing manufacturing back to America." On September 9, congressional Republicans lined up behind Duffy. Sen. Rick Scott (R-FL) thanked him for "sounding the alarm about Ford's risky ties to CCP companies," and Rep. John Moolenaar (R-MI), chairman of the House Select Committee on China — who in July had said Ford was "actively helping the Chinese Communist Party" by hosting Geely in Spain — said "Ford should work with our nation's allies, not our adversaries." Michigan's Democratic delegation had not weighed in as of the evening of September 9.

“… sounding the alarm about Ford's risky ties to CCP companies.”
Rick Scott (R-FL) · Sep 9, 2026

Every Branch of the U.S. Military Tells Ron Wyden It Has Switched Off the Advertising Trackers on Its Devices — Months After Foreign Adversaries Began Buying Commercial Location Data to Target American Troops in the Middle East

On Friday, September 4, 2026, Sen. Ron Wyden (D-Ore.) released letters from the Air Force, the Army, the Navy and U.S. Special Operations Command confirming that each had disabled the advertising identifiers on the phones and computers its personnel use — the persistent codes that feed the commercial location-data market. The letters are the Pentagon’s answer to a bipartisan warning Wyden and Rep. Pat Harrigan (R-N.C.) delivered on May 28, 2026, when they and twelve other members of Congress revealed that foreign adversaries were buying commercially available location data to track U.S. servicemembers deployed in Middle East hotspots and using it to aim attacks. The Air Force said it had turned the identifiers off two months earlier; Special Operations Command said it had done so "recently"; the Army said advertising IDs had been blocked on its Windows computers since before 2021 but were only disabled by default on Android and Apple mobile devices as of February 2026. Wyden and Harrigan were not satisfied. The same day, they asked the Pentagon to investigate whether the Defense Department had ever properly countered the danger — with the war against Iran in its seventh month and U.S. bases in Jordan, Kuwait and the United Arab Emirates having taken Iranian missile and drone fire in the preceding weeks.

“The steps the Defense Department has taken so far, Wyden said, “have not been effective at neutralizing this threat.””
Ron Wyden (D-OR) · Sep 4, 2026

Aug 30, 2026· Updated

A Democratic Senator and a Republican Congressman Jointly Tell Hegseth to Reverse the 30 Percent Cut to U.S. Fighter Jets Committed to NATO — "Deterring Russia Is Far Less Costly Than Fighting a War With Russia"

On August 19, 2026, Sen. Michael Bennet (D-Colo.), Rep. Joe Neguse (D-Colo.) and Rep. Don Bacon (R-Neb.) sent a bipartisan letter to Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth urging the Department to reverse planned reductions in the forces the United States commits to NATO operations in Europe. Earlier in the summer, U.S. European Command announced it would scale back its NATO commitment, including a roughly 30 percent cut to fighter jets, a reduction in reconnaissance aircraft, and the withdrawal of aerial refueling tankers. The lawmakers wrote that the decision and the speed of its implementation would weaken allied deterrence and send a troubling signal to Moscow at a moment of strain in the transatlantic relationship. The letter asked Hegseth to reconsider the cuts and to provide Congress, in writing by August 31, 2026, an explanation of how the United States intends to uphold its commitments to allied security. It arrives against a Congress that has already tried to fence in the drawdown: the FY2026 National Defense Authorization Act set a 76,000-troop floor for U.S. forces in Europe and, through a provision secured by Sen. Jeanne Shaheen (D-N.H.), requires the administration to consult Congress and allies before changing force posture there. Neguse and Bacon lead the bipartisan effort from opposite parties — Bacon, a retired Air Force brigadier general, has been among the most consistent Republican critics of the administration's Europe drawdown.

“I doubt that Congress will approve, at this critical moment, reduction in force structure in Europe when Putin is more dangerous and threatening than ever.”
Richard Blumenthal (D-CT) · Aug 30, 2026

Aug 25, 2026· Updated

The Navy Moves to Strip Doris Miller’s Name From the Aircraft Carrier It Named for Him During Trump’s First Term — and Internally Discusses Putting the Sitting President’s Name on It Instead

CNN reported on August 20, 2026 that the Navy is working to rename the Ford-class aircraft carrier CVN-81, which since January 2020 has been designated the future USS Doris Miller. Two of the three sources familiar with the internal discussions said there have been conversations about renaming it for President Trump — a step with no precedent, because no U.S. aircraft carrier has ever been named for a sitting president. Doris "Dorie" Miller was a mess attendant aboard the USS West Virginia at Pearl Harbor. He carried wounded sailors to safety and then manned a .50-caliber anti-aircraft gun he had never been trained to use, firing until the ammunition ran out. Admiral Chester Nimitz awarded him the Navy Cross in 1942, making him the first Black American to receive it. Miller was killed in 1943 when the escort carrier Liscome Bay was torpedoed. The decision to name CVN-81 for him was made during Trump's first term and made the ship the first U.S. carrier named for an enlisted sailor and the first named for an African American. According to the reporting, the effort has been under way since earlier this year; Acting Navy Secretary Hung Cao's office has also been rewriting the official guidance on how ships are named and who may be named, including presidents. The Navy has effectively stopped using the name internally and refers to the ship only by its hull number. One source said the Navy intends to name a different, smaller warship for Miller and is recommending him for the Medal of Honor. The Navy is under time pressure: the keel-laying ceremony is expected at the end of 2026. A Pentagon official said there was "nothing official to announce at this time." Miller's family said they learned of it from the press. His great-nephew Thomas Bledsoe told ABC News that "for our family, it was quite a shock to hear that there was conversation about the possibility of renaming the Doris Miller carrier, and so not only was it a shock but it was a shock in that we found out from a news outlet." The two members of Congress who responded most directly are both combat veterans: Sen. Mark Kelly, a former Navy pilot who flew 39 combat missions, and Rep. Jason Crow, a former Army Ranger. NAACP President Derrick Johnson called the reported plan "a slap in the face to every war hero and every service member who has worn the uniform," and tied it to the conditions aboard the USS Abraham Lincoln, which had just returned from a record deployment.

“The audacity to even suggest that we replace the name of Doris Miller, a hero whose courage shined on one of our nation’s darkest days, with draft-dodging Donald Trump is disgusting.”
Donald Norcross (D-NJ) · Aug 25, 2026

Trump’s Own Envoy Publicly Breaks With Israel Over Its Strike on a Syrian Airbase — Says U.S. Intelligence Found No Turkish Buildup and Floats That Israel Was "Baiting" a NATO Ally Ahead of Its Election

On the night of August 17–18, 2026, Israeli aircraft dropped at least eight bombs on the runway and hangars of the disused Abu al-Duhur airbase in northwestern Syria, roughly 45 miles from the Turkish border. Israel's justification was that Syria was on the verge of breaching a security understanding by allowing Turkish troops to deploy there. What followed was a rare, sustained public break between the Trump administration's own envoy and the Israeli government. Tom Barrack — U.S. Ambassador to Turkey and Special Envoy for Syria, and the official Trump has credited with brokering the first direct Syrian–Israeli talks — said on August 18 that Washington was deeply concerned the strike was "an unnecessary escalation that does not advance regional stability." The next day he went further, warning that because Turkish forces had no idea Israeli jets were inbound or what they were targeting, they "could potentially have been inclined to scramble their own jets in the belief that they themselves were under attack" — a scenario he said "carried a real risk of rapid escalation into a direct military confrontation between Israel and Turkey as well as Syria." Barrack then said the U.S. had checked Israel's central factual claim and could not confirm it: "We went back to our respective intelligence agencies. The answer we got is, no, that's not happening." On August 22 he offered a theory for why the strike happened anyway — that with Israel's election set for October, "one theory is they were just baiting Turkey, and it's a very aggressive, but maybe well-received, pre-election concept." In the same interview he also said Israel still occupies the Golan Heights "against the UN resolutions," a position at odds with stated U.S. policy. Israel pushed back hard. Defense Minister Israel Katz called Barrack's account "full of inaccuracies" and said it contained "positions that contradict the position of US President Trump," insisting Israel had clear intelligence about Turkish intentions at the base. Syrian Foreign Minister Asaad al-Shaibani told Axios he had told Israel directly that his government was not working with Turkey to build up a military presence there, and that Israel struck anyway. The episode matters because Turkey is a NATO ally whose Article 5 protections the alliance has never had to weigh against an Israeli strike, because the Trump administration has treated the new Syrian government as a foreign policy win it does not want destabilized, and because a sitting U.S. ambassador publicly questioning an Israeli government's motives — and floating an electoral one — is not something Washington usually does out loud.

“President Trump has been CLEAR about Israel’s sovereignty over the Golan Heights for years! It seems the Ambassador forgot that or failed to do his research, so here’s a refresher for him.”
Rick Scott (R-FL) · Aug 23, 2026

Jun 11, 2026· Updated

Fight Over Clean FISA Section 702 Reauthorization

A conservative revolt in the House derailed President Trump's push for a clean 18-month reauthorization of FISA Section 702, the warrantless surveillance authority set to expire April 20. After Speaker Mike Johnson pulled the procedural rule vote on April 15 when it became clear he couldn't hold his caucus, leadership tried again on April 16 — but roughly 20 Republicans joined Democrats in tanking both a 5-year and the 18-month extension. In a chaotic late-night session, the House passed a 10-day stopgap extension through April 30 via voice vote at 2 AM on April 17. Rebels demanded warrant protections for Americans' communications and attachment of the SAVE America Act. Trump called FISA 702 vital for "SUCCESS on the battlefield," while civil-liberties critics from both parties — Raskin, Davidson, Wyden, Massie, Boebert, Luna — argued the administration had dismantled oversight safeguards. The fight resumes before April 30.

“Today, we just offered a simple, clean, three-week extension of the FISA national security law. The Democrats, 199 of them, voted against a clean, three-week extension for political purposes.”
Mike Johnson (R-LA) · Jun 11, 2026

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