Issue Position: National Security and Defense
Issue Position
President Trump is rebuilding our military, defeating terrorist organizations, and confronting rogue nations to protect America and our allies.
Upon taking office, President Trump directed the rebuilding of the United States Military, a new national defense strategy, a comprehensive nuclear posture review, and fielding state-of-the-art ballistic missile defenses.
President Trump has worked with Congress to increase defense spending, reverse the defense sequester, expand our military capacity, and modernize its capabilities.
The President has empowered the Secretary of Defense and our military commanders to make decisions, seize the initiative, and win -- without micromanagement from Washington.
President Trump revived the National Space Council to develop and implement a new national space policy and strategy.
President Trump elevated the U.S. Cyber Command into a major warfighting command, to advance U.S. efforts in cyberspace
President Trump withdrew from the U.N. Global Compact on Migration to reassert American sovereignty over our borders.
President Trump signed Executive Order 13780, which restricted travel from certain countries that do not have sufficient security or share enough information.
President Trump and his Administration worked tirelessly to defeat ISIS and terrorism around the world.
ISIS lost its last town after U.S.-led forces retook Raqqa.
President Trump directed the State Department to send aid through USAID directly to Christians and other minorities facing genocide in the Middle East.
During his first international trip, President Trump pushed for a coalition of nations to confront Iran and attended the opening of the Global Center for Combating Extremist Ideology. It was created to empower Muslim-majority countries in fighting radicalization.
President Trump announced a new strategy for Afghanistan to protect the American people based on stability and security so terrorists cannot use the country as a base to threaten U.S. interests.
The new strategy put pressure on the Taliban, and set conditions for a peaceful settlement between the Afghanistan government and the Taliban.
The President warned Pakistan that no partnership can survive a country's tolerance for militants and terrorists and they must take action.
The partnership with India is vital, and they make important contributions to Afghanistan's safety, security, and development.
President Trump is putting maximum pressure on North Korea to denuclearize.
President Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un agreed to meet on June 12th in Singapore.
Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and other representatives of the United States government traveled to Pyongyang, North Korea on May 9 to prepare for the President's upcoming meeting with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un. During Secretary Pompeo's visit, the North Korean leadership released three American detainees. President Trump appreciates leader Kim Jong Un's action to release these American citizens, and views this as a positive gesture of goodwill. The three Americans appear to be in good condition and were all able to walk on the plane without assistance. All Americans look forward to welcoming them home and to seeing them reunited with their loved ones.
The Treasury Department implemented sanctions on 57 North Korean individuals and entities as part of the Maximum Pressure Campaign.
Under President Trump's leadership, the United Nations Security Council unanimously passed new sanctions on North Korea for their continued aggressive behavior.
The President signed an Executive Order sanctioning parties that engaged in trade or financing with North Korea.
The Treasury Department placed a sanction on the Chinese Bank of Dandong for "illicit North Korean financial activity."
President Trump announced a new Afghanistan strategy that strengthens our support for Afghan security forces, delegates authority to military leaders, and demonstrates our resolve to defeat terrorism.
NATO allies and partners increased troop contribution to NATO's Resolute Support Mission in Afghanistan.
President Trump is confronting Iran's aggression.
President Trump in consultation with his national security team has approved a new strategy for Iran.
Not certifying they are in full compliance with the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action, known as the Iran Deal,
Focusing on neutralizing the Government of Iran's destabilizing influence and constraining its aggression, particularly its support for terrorism and militants,
Revitalizing our traditional alliances and regional partnerships as bulwarks against Iranian subversion and restore a more stable balance of power in the region,
Deny the Iranian regime -- and especially the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) -- funding for its malign activities, and oppose IRGC activities that extort the wealth of the Iranian people,
Counter threats to the United States and our allies from ballistic missiles and other asymmetric weapons,
Rally the international community to condemn the IRGC's gross violations of human rights and its unjust detention of American citizens and other foreigners on specious charges, and
Deny the Iranian regime all paths to a nuclear weapon.
Department of the Treasury sanctioned 25 entities and individuals involved in Iran's ballistic missile program in order to further monitor and prevent any acts of terrorism.
The first week of January, 2018, the Treasury Department sanctioned additional Iranian entities tied to Iran's ballistic missile program and Iran's Revolutionary Guard Corp.
The Department of Treasury put in place new sanctions against Iranian companies in response to Iran's provocative launch of a space vehicle.
President Trump ordered missile strikes against a Syrian airbase after the Assad regime used it to launch chemical weapons attacks against civilians.
President Trump prevented further chemical weapons attacks by announcing detection of their preparation and warning Syria that they would be struck again if the attacks were carried out.
President Trump imposed new sanctions on the Maduro dictatorship in Venezuela, targeting the regime itself, and not just individuals, for the first time.
The new financial sanctions prohibit dealings in new Venezuelan debt and its corrupt oil company. The regime will no longer be able finance its debt using U.S. banks.
NEW ACTIONS AGAINST RUSSIA:
President Donald J. Trump announced additional measures to punish those who seek to undermine American democracy and security.
The Trump Administration will continue to take a direct approach to confront Russia where it threatens our institutions, our interests, or our allies.
The Trump Administration imposed sanctions against 16 Russian entities and individuals that were previously indicted for their roles in Russian interference in the 2016 presidential election.
Additionally, the Trump Administration imposed sanctions against two Russian intelligence agencies and six senior Russian intelligence officials for their significant efforts to undermine U.S. cyber security.
Two of the officials are newly sanctioned. The remaining two agencies and four individuals were previously sanctioned and are being re-designated under the Countering America's Adversaries Through Sanctions Act (CAATSA).
The Trump Administration called out the Russian government for its malicious cyber activity targeting U.S. critical infrastructure, including failed attempts on the energy sector.
This action follows the Trump Administration's January 29, 2018 Report on Senior Foreign Political Figures and Oligarchs in the Russian Federation.
Finally, the Trump Administration released a separate DHS/FBI Joint Analytic Report that shares technical threat information to improve the network defenses of American infrastructure and raises the cost on the Russian government.
A POWERFUL SANCTIONS REGIME:
President Trump has already taken action to counter the challenge from Russia and has previously imposed numerous rounds of sanctions.
On February 13, the Trump Administration proposed a new rule under the Patriot Act that would prohibit Latvia's ABLV bank, which has been laundering illicit Russian funds, from opening or maintaining correspondent accounts in the United States.
On December 20 and 21, the Trump Administration announced Russia Magnitsky Sanctions and Global Magnitsky Sanctions respectively.
On December 20, the Trump Administration imposed export controls against two Russian companies that were helping Russia to develop missiles that violate the INF Treaty.
In response to Russia's occupation of Crime and aggression in Eastern Ukraine, the Trump Administration sanctioned 58 targets on June 20, 2017, and 42 targets on January 26, 2018.
CONFRONTING RUSSIAN INTERFERENCE:
Since the start of his term, President Trump has taken consistent action to call out and stop Russian efforts to undermine the United States.
On February 16, 2018, the Trump Administration attributed the worldwide NotPetya cyber-attack to the Russian military.
On September 13, 2017, the Trump Administration banned the use of Kaspersky Labs software on U.S. government computers due to Kaspersky ties to Russian intelligence.
On March 15, 2017, the Trump Administration charged three Russians, including two officers of the Russian Federal Security Service (FSB), with criminal charges for the 2014 Yahoo hack.
The Trump Administration has maintained the closure of two Russian compounds and the expulsion of 35 diplomats in response to Russian interference in the 2016 election.
In 2017, the Trump Administration established the Election Infrastructure Government and Sector Coordinating Councils to increase coordination and information sharing across all levels of government and with the private sector providers of voting and registration systems.
During the 2017 elections, the Trump Administration provided onsite cybersecurity support to States, which have the responsibility to ensure that their electoral infrastructure is secure, and will continue to provide this assistance in 2018.
COUNTERING RUSSIAN AGGRESSION:
The President is shoring up America's allies and standing up to Russia's malign influence across the globe.
The Trump Administration released a new National Security Strategy that makes clear that Russia is undertaking actions that threaten the security of the United States and our allies, and outlines steps to stop Russia's malign interference.
The Trump Administration has increased funding for the European Deterrence Initiative, providing billions to increase U.S. troop readiness in Europe, deter Russian aggression, and help defend our NATO allies.
The Trump Administration has enhanced its support for Ukraine's Armed Forces to help Ukraine improve its ability to defend itself.
The Trump Administration is working to pressure Russia back into compliance with the INF Treaty to ensure that Russia does not gain strategic advantage from its treaty violations.
On August 31, 2017, the Trump Administration announced the closure of a Russian consulate and two diplomatic annexes in response to Russia's cutting of the number of U.S. diplomatic personnel in Russia.
FULLY FUNDING AND REBUILDING THE U.S. MILITARY:
Signed $700 billion in DoD funding to rebuild our military in 2018, the largest amount in history.
Gave the military a 2.4% pay raise, the biggest since 2010.
President Trump secured an extra $21 billion to rebuild our military in 2017.
DEFEATING ISIS:
Signed a Presidential Memorandum directing the Secretary of Defense to develop a plan to defeat ISIS.
In six months, nearly a third of all territory was reclaimed from ISIS in Iraq and Syria.
Iraqi forces have recaptured Mosul from ISIS, a decisive blow that moves us one step closer towards fulfilling President Trump's commitment to their ultimate defeat.
In Iraq, ISIS lost its last town when U.S.-led coalition forces retook Raqqa.
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