Seth Jacobson

#Legislative Expert. #NatSec focused. #SmallBiz owner @ and now a #Substack writer @

[Seth Jacobson @SethJacobson]

@Acyn Say what you want about Kellyanne. She definitely knows what she's talking about here.

[Seth Jacobson @SethJacobson]

@DefenseBaron I dunno, this sounds kinda woke.

[Seth Jacobson @SethJacobson]

@ShaisTaub @AviZimmerman You don't like that. Nobody does. Nobody can.

[Seth Jacobson @SethJacobson]

@ShaisTaub @NoamNechama Then I discovered good coffee and became a coffee snob.

[Seth Jacobson @SethJacobson]

@ShaisTaub @NoamNechama To be perfectly candid, I used to hate coffee, and I literally did what you describe. After my first child was born, I drank bad coffee with milk and sugar in order to get through my day at work. Before that I avoided coffee, and caffeine in general.

[Seth Jacobson @SethJacobson]

Um, ok... Who's in charge of US trade policy?

[MeidasTouch @MeidasTouch]

Trump just posted this:

[MeidasTouch @MeidasTouch]

Trump just posted this:

[Seth Jacobson @SethJacobson]

@EvansRyan202 We'll see.

[Briana Reilly @briana_reilly]

New: The Pentagon has finally transmitted its plan for spending $400 million in already appropriated Ukraine aid to the Hill. But Senate Dems are not happy with it.

Sen. Coons called it “dramatically insufficient." Sen. Shaheen said it didn't include money for interceptors.

[Briana Reilly @briana_reilly]

$350B of the Pentagon’s $1.5T budget request is predicated on Congress passing reconciliation.

Top appropriators are finally acknowledging publicly that the military recon gamble is all but dead.

[Seth Jacobson @SethJacobson]

@briana_reilly @AnthonyAdragna They couldn't have included that in the $1.5T budget?

[Samantha Handler @sn_handler]

NEW: Top Senate Approps Dem Patty Murray says she and Chair Susan Collins are “miles apart” on a topline.

Murray told reporters that she and Collins traded offers over the weekend. Murray most recently sent an offer last night.

Murray added that Collins hasn’t yet noticed a markup for this week. Said Dems want to offer amendments but Rs have issues with that

[Samantha Handler @sn_handler]

🚨APPROPS UPDATE: Senate GOP appropriators will NOT mark up any bills this week.

Statement from Collins:

“We are not proceeding with the Senate Appropriations Committee markup this week because Democratic committee leaders have made clear they are not willing to work with us to pass fiscal year 2027 Appropriations bills.

“Their insistence that it is not possible to move forward without a topline agreement is not accurate, as this committee has proven multiple times in the past, including when Senator Murray was Chair.  

“Last Congress, Chair Murray said, ‘let’s be clear: we will not be able to get any of our bills done [if they contain] partisan poison pills that we all know are non-starters.’  

“Our subcommittees have made good progress on their bills and will continue their important work.”

[Seth Jacobson @SethJacobson]

Every Democrat: Don't threaten me with a good time.

[Acyn @Acyn]

Cruz: If the Democrats take the House, it will be nonstop impeachment. If they take the Senate, they will shut down every confirmation for every cabinet member and judge.

[Grok @grok]

No, Bill Pulte would not rank among the one million most qualified Americans to serve as Director of National Intelligence.

His background is in homebuilding, private equity, and—since 2025—leading the Federal Housing Finance Agency. Public information shows zero experience in intelligence collection, analysis, national security policy, or managing elements of the US intelligence community.

The DNI role requires deep domain expertise typically developed over decades in the IC, military intelligence, or senior foreign policy positions. The pool of people with relevant credentials is far smaller than one million, and Pulte does not appear in it.

[Seth Jacobson @SethJacobson]

This is hilarious.

[Jake Tapper 🦅 @jaketapper]

@grok if I made a list of the one million most qualified people to be director of National Intelligence for the US government would Federal Housing Finance Agency chair Bill Pulte be on that list?

[Dovi Safier @safier]

“It was one of the most monumentally unselfish things one group of people did for another.”

-#DDay veteran Andy Rooney on the young 🇺🇸 🇨🇦 🇬🇧 soldiers who stormed the beaches of Normandy 82 years ago.

Required watching for every young person today!

[Briana Reilly @briana_reilly]

Notable: New White House AI executive order would require the Pentagon to update within 90 days its autonomy in weapon systems policy — a bedrock directive that DOD most recently refreshed in 2023 — and ensure it is reviewed annually going forward.

https://t.co/ULsQpmoMvh

[Seth Jacobson @SethJacobson]

The HASC marked up its version of a FY27 NDAA this week, so that's what's on my reading list this weekend.
If you're looking for something light and perfect for the pool/beach this weekend.... look elsewhere. If you want something dense, click here:
https://t.co/oJn7LgtI4K