Senate Intel Chair Cotton: Intel Agencies Not 'Well-Postured'

The Republican chairman of the Senate Intelligence Committee has told the leaders of America's intelligence community that it has become too bureaucratic and political to keep up with emerging national security threats.

"As the world has become more dangerous, our intelligence agencies have gotten more politicized, more bureaucratic, and more focused on promulgating opinions than gathering facts," Sen. Tom Cotton, R-Ark., said in his opening statement Trump administration's top intelligence officials face Congress for back-to-back hearings this week to testify about the threats facing the United States.

"As a result of these misplaced priorities, we have been caught off guard and left in the dark too often."

Cotton asked, "Are our intelligence agencies well-postured facing against these threats? I'm afraid the answer is 'no,' at least not yet."

Cotton said, after years of "drift," the intelligence community "must recommit" to what he said is its core mission of "collecting clandestine intelligence from adversaries."

At the hearing, Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard and CIA Director John Ratcliffe faced questions about The Atlantic report of having been on a Signal chat where alleged "war plans" were being shared – an allegation rejected by senior Trump administration officials.

The hearing comes a day after The Atlantic magazine reported that top national security officials for Trump, including his defense secretary, texted war plans for upcoming military strikes in Yemen to a group chat that included the magazine's editor-in-chief in a secure messaging app.

"My communications to be clear in the Signal message group were entirely permissible and lawful, and did not include classified information," Ratcliffe told lawmakers during the hearing.

Democrats have said the leaked military plans in a Signal group message that included a journalist show a sloppy disregard for security, but Ratcliffe said no rules were violated.

Sen. Mark Warner, D-Va., ranking member of the Senate Intelligence Committee, called the leak "sloppy, careless, incompetent behavior."

Warner said that if a lower ranking officer had texted similar secret plans, "They would be fired."

During heated questions from Warner, Gabbard said there is a difference between "inadvertent" releases of information and intentional leaks.

"There was no classified material that was shared," Gabbard said.

Gabbard also testified China has heavily invested in stealth aircraft, hypersonic weapons, and nuclear arms and is looking to outcompete the U.S. when it comes to artificial intelligence.

Noting Russia's large nuclear arsenal, she called the country a "formidable competitor." She added, while Iran is not currently seeking to build a nuclear weapon, it has become a critical supplier of weapons to Russia.

And North Korea, she said, remains committed to pursuing military capabilities that would allow it to strike U.S. forces in the region or the U.S. homeland.

"These actors are in some cases working together in different areas to target U.S. interests," Gabbard told lawmakers.

Investigation Underway Into Signal Chat

The Atlantic editor-in-chief's account of being added to a Signal group chat of U.S. national security officials coordinating plans for airstrikes has raised questions about how highly sensitive information is supposed to be handled.

The National Security Council has since said the text chain "appears to be authentic" and it is looking into how a journalist's number was added to the chain.

Signal is an app that can be used for direct messaging and group chats as well as phone and video calls.

Signal uses end-to-end encryption for its messaging and calling services that prevents any third-party from viewing conversation content or listening in on calls.

In a social media post, White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said "war plans" were not discussed and that no classified material was sent to the thread.

She said the counsel's office has provided guidance on different platforms that Trump's top officials can use to communicate "safely and efficiently."

Leavitt reiterated that the National Security Council is looking into how a telephone number for Jeffrey Goldberg, The Atlantic magazine's editor-in-chief, was added to the thread.

She said U.S. military strikes against Iran-backed Houthi rebels in Yemen were successful, "terrorists were killed and that's what matters most to President Trump."

Since plunging during the COVID-19 pandemic, international student enrollment in the U.S. has been rebounding — a relief to American universities that count on their tuition payments. Two months into the new Trump administration, educators fear that could soon change.

Unnerved by efforts to deport students over political views, students from other countries already in the U.S. have felt new pressure to watch what they say.

Educators worry it's a balancing act that will turn off foreign students. As the U.S. government takes a harder line on immigration, cuts federal research funding and begins policing campus activism, students are left to wonder if they'll be able to get visas, travel freely, pursue research or even express an opinion.

Some students are waiting to see how policy changes will play out, while others already have deferred admission offers for fall 2025, he said. Student social networks are active, and news about immigration-related developments in America — like a Republican proposal to prevent Chinese students from studying in the U.S. — spreads quickly.