Bethan Saunders

National Security @ U.S. Senate | NextGen @FP4America | @Kennedy_School & @Georgetown Hoya. CA Native

[Charlotte Clymer 🇺🇦 @cmclymer]

Staffer: Sir, good news. One of the F-15 pilots ejected safely and is on the ground. Calm and cool under pressure. Badass aura. A video taken by a thankful Kuwaiti civilian is going viral.

Hegseth: Fuck yeah. What's his name?

Staffer: Okay, so, here's the part you won't like...

[Jim LaPorta @JimLaPorta]

New from @CBSNews - on the 6 U.S. troops who died at Shuaiba port in Kuwait: no U.S. C-RAM. The incoming warning system would sound late. Some do not recall the siren prior to the deadly attack. Troops asked for more drone defeat capabilities, none came. It was recommended that the makeshift tactical operations center not be used because it was hard to defend and concentrated too many troops in one place.
https://t.co/Z5SUuWVJ9z

[Jake Sherman @JakeSherman]

DefSec Hegseth, a Princeton and Harvard grad. Army Sec Driscoll, a Yale Law grad. Navy Sec Phelen, a Harvard Biz grad.

[Peter Baker @peterbakernyt]

The US ran a war game during Trump 1.0 to assess what Maduro’s fall might unleash. It found that chaos and violence would likely erupt as military units, rival political factions and even jungle-based guerrilla groups jockeyed for control. @michaelcrowley https://t.co/Ub8O6BcYTn

[Richard Fontaine @RHFontaine]

It’s a dramatic and even historic moment in the Western Hemisphere. Seven brief reflections:

1. Maduro’s fall is good, for Venezuela and the United States. It was a brilliant military operation and the world should be better off because of it.

2. Whether it WILL in fact be better off depends on what happens next. One of the lessons of other regime change operations is not to topple a government without a plan for what comes next. What comes next in Venezuela seems as vague as the plan for running postwar Gaza under a Board of Peace.

3. The default could well be to work with a compliant President Delcy and most of the existing government for now. It would be a head of state change more than regime change. 

4. Maduro stole the last election but Trump is dismissive of the opposition that won, and enthusiastic about working with Maduro’s VP. That causes an immediate problem of democratic legitimacy, at least until elections take place. Many would-be supporters of this move hoped for the restoration of democracy in Venezuela, not just a different approach on drugs and oil.

5. Countries in the Western Hemisphere will have mixed reactions. Most wanted Maduro gone, not least because they seek the return of Venezuela refugees now in their countries. But forcible regime change will make them nervous indeed, with Colombia, Cuba, and even Mexico worried the most.

6. Russia, Iran, and Cuba were unwilling or unable to save their friend in Caracas, just as Moscow, Pyongyang and Beijing stood by when Iran was attacked. Autocratic friendship has its limits.

7. For 25 years, every U.S. president has opposed nation-building abroad and then gotten involved in it. Trump, with the commitment to run Venezuela, appears to be the latest. The welcome fall of Maduro is not the end, or the beginning of the end, but the end of the beginning.

[Natasha Bertrand @NatashaBertrand]

Direct quote from the IG review: "The Secretary’s actions created a risk to operational security that could have resulted in failed U.S. mission objectives and potential harm to U.S. pilots." https://t.co/eJdl2FJQXT

[Bethan Saunders @saundersbethan]

Huge thank you to Rep @JasonCrowCO for elevating the @FP4America NextGen Initiative application!! It’s been an honor to serve as the co-chair of this incredible community. If you’re excited about advocating for a principled foreign policy, apply by 11/24!!

[Jason Crow @JasonCrowCO]

If you want to be part of America’s next generation of foreign policy leaders, don’t miss the chance to apply for @FP4America’s NextGen winter cohort! Apply here by 11/24: https://t.co/yKqIE6ZeMY

[Winnona 💾 @__winn]

🚨 NEW PAPER 🚨: “From Chaos to Capability: Building the U.S. Market for Offensive Cyber”
by myself and @SergeyBratus
👉 https://t.co/fDOWmEY6Nr
Should the U.S. outsource its cyberattacks? We talked to 30 experts across gov, VC, and industry to find out.

[Senator Tim Kaine @SenTimKaine]

The GOP is trying to con Americans into accepting a deal that will make their health care more expensive by fearmongering about health care for undocumented immigrants. Undocumented people aren’t eligible to enroll in Medicare and Medicaid. Don’t fall for their scam.

[Bethan Saunders @saundersbethan]

Vote-a-trauma

[Frank Thorp V @frankthorp]

The Senate vote-a-rama just started vote #45, which means this vote-a-rama now has the record for most votes in vote-a-rama history.

There were 44 votes during a 2008 budget resolution vote-a-rama, which had previously held the record.

[Bethan Saunders @saundersbethan]

A must read 🚨⬇️ very proud of @__winn for this important and impactful work!!

[Winnona 💾 @__winn]

🚨 NEW PAPER on the 0day Supply Chain 🚨:
I gathered open source data & interviewed Gov employees, VR and China researchers to figure out what the zero day marketplace looks like in the U.S. and how it compares to China.

Key findings below ⬇️ 0/🧵 
https://t.co/0P9sK1hoKM

[Dan Lamothe @DanLamothe]

Fact check: The Women, Peace, and Security Act was enacted in 2017, during the first Trump administration.

Among its supporters were Marco Rubio and Mike Waltz.

[Senator Patty Murray @PattyMurray]

Just a reminder: Congress could reverse these insane tariffs TODAY.

Republicans are just choosing not to.

Every Republican in Congress who refuses to do something is endorsing Trump's tax hike on YOU.

[chris randle @randlechris]

DEI stood for Da Economy Intact

[Shane Harris @shaneharris]

In 25 years of covering national security, I’ve never seen a story like this: Senior Trump officials discussed planning for the U.S. attack on the Houthis in a Signal group--and inadvertently added the editor-in-chief of The Atlantic. https://t.co/IQfcvZHqmW

[Senator Mazie Hirono @maziehirono]

President Trump’s decision to fire General CQ Brown, Admiral Lisa Franchetti, General James Slife, and the senior uniformed attorneys of the Army, Navy, and Air Force is an incredibly reckless decision that dangerously politicizes our military and undermines our national security, military readiness, and the rule of law, ultimately making Americans less safe. 

These senior leaders have faithfully and apolitically served our country for decades, providing exactly what the Constitution expects of them - their best military advice to civilian leadership. There is no reasonable justification for these terminations. Instead, the dismissals reveal the President’s true intention - installing a group of “yes men” with fealty to him and not the Constitution or the American people. It’s also revealing that General Brown and Admiral Franchetti, both fired, are the only person of color and woman, respectively, serving on the Joint Chiefs of Staff. 

The firings of each of the Services’ senior uniformed legal advisors is particularly troubling and completely unprecedented. These nonpartisan attorneys serve continuously in both Republican and Democratic administrations, without fear or favor. Our military leaders rely on them to provide their best legal advice, regardless of party.  It’s clear these individuals were singled out to ensure their successors understood that only the President’s expansive and legally dubious interpretations of military law would be tolerated. Ultimately, these dismissals will have a chilling effect on the willingness of uniformed attorneys to speak truth to power, undermining the rule of law.

At a time of global uncertainty, we need steady, experienced leadership at the highest levels of our military.  While President Trump and Secretary Hegseth have claimed repeatedly they want the military to focus solely on “lethality,” firing senior leaders willing to push back and installing “yes men” in their place will have the opposite effect. My Republican colleagues say they care about the military and are willing to spend billions more to increase lethality, but shamefully put their heads in the sand as the President threatens the foundation of our military and our democracy with these unprecedented firings. Now is the time for all of my colleagues, Republican and Democrat, to prove they really care about the military by pushing back against this brazenly political attack.

Preserving the integrity of our armed forces is not a partisan issue. Every Member of Congress took an oath to support the Constitution and that oath compels each of us to push back against the President’s dangerous attempt to politicize our military.

[Archive: Lloyd J. Austin III @SecDefAustin]

Team 28,

Thank you for your dedication, commitment, and service.

- Lloyd J. Austin III

[Amy McGrath @AmyMcGrathKY]

I guess General Mattis, who served 41 years in the INFANTRY, and General Austin, who served another 41 years in the INFANTRY...didn't have "dust on their boots."

Hegseth is just so offensive.

[Democrats @TheDemocrats]

“I hardly think you’re prepared to do the job.” 🔥

Senator Hirono held Pete Hegseth’s feet to the fire during his confirmation hearing.