Lara Seligman

A memo from Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth abruptly cancelled the deployment of 2nd Armored Brigade Combat Team to Poland; the deployment later this year of a long range fires battalion to Germany; and directed the removal of multi-domain command personnel in Europe. Prepared DOD talking points on the change viewed by CNN said the Europeans “have not stepped up when America needed them,” and that “recent Germany rhetoric has been inappropriate and unhelpful.” cnn.com/2026/05/14/pol…

Over 100 U.S. ambassador posts around the world are sitting empty in the Trump administration, a vacancy rate without modern precedent and one that some current and former officials warn is hamstringing U.S. diplomatic power abroad. Excellent reporting from @RobbieGramer wsj.com/politics/polic…

Pentagon leaders say they could start running out of money for operations this summer unless Congress passes a new wartime spending bill, warning that the services will have to cut back on training exercises and other priorities because of the war in Iran and troop deployments along the U.S. southern border. From @MarcusReports wsj.com/politics/natio…

Adm. Brad Cooper, the chief of U.S. Central Command, knocked down news reports that Iran retains 70% to 75% of its prewar missiles and launchers as “not accurate.” wsj.com/livecoverage/i…

Iran’s ability to threaten the U.S. and its partners in the Middle East has been “significantly degraded” by U.S. and Israeli military operations over the past year, Adm. Brad Cooper, the commander of U.S. Central Command, told lawmakers Thursday. wsj.com/livecoverage/i…

U.S. spy planes and drones are increasing surveillance of Cuba to give American political and military leaders greater insights into Cuba at a critical moment w/@FrancesRobles, @julianbarnes nytimes.com/2026/05/13/wor…

H/t @patriciakime for first reporting

The Pentagon abruptly canceled the deployment of an armored brigade to Europe, a major step toward shrinking the U.S. military posture in Europe that caught some military officials by surprise. W @mgordonwsj wsj.com/politics/natio…

HAC-D's top Dem @BettyMcCollum04 tells DOD it must produce an Iran supplemental request by June 11 that breaks out costs for: - military personnel - operational activities - ship maintenance - munitions used - equipment lost - updated fuel costs - damage to US facilities

NEW: A senior Pentagon official estimated the latest cost of the Iran war at roughly $29 billion, about $4 billion higher from the previous estimate given less than two weeks ago. wsj.com/livecoverage/i…

The U.S. and Iran are locked in a diplomatic stalemate over issues that have bedeviled the two sides for years, as the conflict settles into a gray zone that is neither war nor peace. Insightful story by @laurnorman @RobbieGramer wsj.com/articles/u-s-a…

The new battleship named after President Trump will be nuclear-powered, the U.S. Navy said Monday, a move expected to increase the cost and complexity of the multibillion-dollar project that was already facing questions about whether it would actually be built. From @MarcusReports wsj.com/politics/natio…

The Pentagon announced that a U.S. Navy nuclear-armed submarine has arrived in Gibraltar, a rare acknowledgement of the whereabouts of one of America’s most secretive weapons a day after President Trump forcefully rejected Iran’s latest peace offer. wsj.com/livecoverage/i…

U.S. military forces carried out airstrikes on Friday, hitting multiple empty tankers attempting to circumvent the American naval blockade against Iranian ports, according to a senior U.S. official. Confirming @JenGriffinFNC wsj.com/livecoverage/i…

UPDATE: The American attacks targeted military sites on Qeshm, an island off Iran’s southern coast in the Strait of Hormuz, Bandar Abbas, a major port city on the strait, Garuk, a small coastal city and port on the strait, and other locations, the official said.

The ceasefire has given us the opportunity to make a list of strait-related targets

W @alexbward

American military strikes on Thursday hit Iranian drone launch sites as well as coastal defense cruise missile sites and radars, U.S. officials said. Iran had launched missiles, drones and small-boat attacks at U.S. warships from those locations and was about to do so again, according to one of the officials, who called the U.S. strikes “defensive.” wsj.com/livecoverage/i…

Faboulous WSJ Teamwork! Saudi Arabia and Kuwait lift U.S. military restrictions as Trump administration moves to restart Strait of Hormuz operation wsj.com/world/middle-e… via @WSJ

No, I don't think CUI is overused. Why do you ask?