National Security on CrossGov.com

Iran War Costs Reach $43.6 Billion by the Pentagon's Count as Congress Stalls on Funding and Interceptor Stocks Run Low

Sat, 10 Oct 2026 00:00:00 +0000

The Pentagon’s latest estimate puts the cost of the war with Iran at $43.6 billion as of 3 September. Of that, $11.2 billion has been spent on operations and $32.4 billion is the cost of replacing munitions and equipment, which hasn’t been funded. The figure leaves out repairs to bases in eight countries.

Every estimate so far has been overtaken by the next. The Defense Department’s inspector general counted $33.4 billion through June. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth told Congress in July the war would cost $37.5 billion through September. CBO, in a letter on 15 September, put the cost through 1 August at about $38 billion, with $2 billion to $3 billion more each month.

US Boat Strike Death Toll Reaches 238 a Year After the First Attack, With Maduro Awaiting Trial in New York

Wed, 07 Oct 2026 00:00:00 +0000

On 4 October a US military strike on a boat in the Caribbean killed four people the administration described as drug traffickers. It was the first strike in 15 days and brought the total killed since September 2025 to 238, according to a USNI News count. By early September there had been at least 68 strikes. Most in 2026 have been in the eastern Pacific.

The campaign began on 2 September 2025 with a strike that killed 11. Thirteen months on, its legal basis still rests on an administration position that Congress has argued over and never voted to endorse.

ODNI Cut to About Half Its Size as Jay Clayton Becomes the Third Intelligence Chief in a Year

Mon, 05 Oct 2026 00:00:00 +0000

The Office of the Director of National Intelligence had about 2,000 staff in January 2025. After five rounds of layoffs and reassignments, it has “little more than half” that, according to officials quoted by Federal News Network in July 2026. Senator Tom Cotton, who chairs the Senate Intelligence Committee, has proposed capping it at 650.

ODNI also has its third leader in a year. Jay Clayton, the former chair of the Securities and Exchange Commission, was confirmed as director of national intelligence on 28 July by 51 to 47 and sworn in on 3 August. On 4 October the President named him to lead a new federal AI task force as well.

FISA Section 702 Lapsed in June, but Collection Runs to March 2027 Under Court-Approved Certifications

Sat, 26 Sep 2026 00:00:00 +0000

Section 702 of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act expired at midnight on 12 June 2026. Congress had extended it twice in short bursts that spring and then failed to agree on a longer renewal. It was the first time the programme’s legal authority had lapsed since it was created in 2008.

The surveillance hasn’t stopped. In March 2026 the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court approved a new set of yearly certifications, which tell the government what categories of foreign intelligence it may collect. Under the statute, collection continues under approved certifications until they expire, on 17 March 2027.

Rubio Made Permanent National Security Adviser as the NSC Runs With Fewer Than 50 Policy Staff

Wed, 23 Sep 2026 00:00:00 +0000

On 22 September the White House said Marco Rubio is now the permanent national security adviser, after 16 months as acting adviser. He stays Secretary of State. The only other person to hold both jobs at once was Henry Kissinger, from 1973 to 1975.

The appointment formalises how the National Security Council has worked since May 2025: a small White House staff, with the State and Defense departments doing the policy work the NSC once coordinated.

National Guard in US Cities After Trump v. Illinois: Troops Leave Chicago, LA and Portland but Stay in DC Until 2029

Sun, 06 Sep 2026 00:00:00 +0000

On 23 December 2025 the Supreme Court refused, by 6 to 3, to let the administration deploy federalised National Guard troops in Illinois. The Court read the law the President relied on, 10 U.S.C. 12406, narrowly. It allows the Guard to be federalised when the President can’t execute the laws with the “regular forces.” The Court said that means the active-duty military, so the Guard can be sent in only where active-duty troops would be insufficient and could lawfully do the job themselves.