U.S. President Donald Trump faces a daunting second year in office. From midterms to court cases, foreign wars to the World Cup, here are the biggest hurdles to the White House’s 2026 agenda. w/ @jchaltiwanger.bsky.social, @kfj-fp.bsky.social, and Rachel Oswald foreignpolicy.com/2026/01/16/t...

Trump said the killing has stopped, but a lot is up in the air. foreignpolicy.com/2026/01/15/i...

"In nearly 20 cases, agents appeared to use chokeholds & other neck restraints that the Department of Homeland Security prohibits 'unless deadly force is authorized.'”

Apropos of nothing, resharing this piece I wrote in October: The U.S. Is in a ‘Particularly Authoritarian’ Moment foreignpolicy.com/2025/10/15/t...

A DHS use-of-force policy dated 2018, during the first Trump admin., says officers “are prohibited from discharging firearms at the operator of a moving vehicle, vessel, aircraft or other conveyance unless the use of deadly force against the operator is justified.”

Authorities Often Justify Motorist Shootings by Saying the Vehicle Was a Weapon www.nytimes.com/2026/01/07/u...

Justice Dept. Drops Claim That Venezuela’s ‘Cartel de los Soles’ Is an Actual Group www.nytimes.com/2026/01/05/u...

The international community appears powerless to address the attack. foreignpolicy.com/2026/01/05/t...

I spoke with the former presidents of Colombia and Mexico about the escalating situation in Latin America. More on that and other national security news in the latest SitRep from myself and @iyengarish.bsky.social: foreignpolicy.com/2025/12/18/t...

“When human rights defenders get punished and the criminals are received with the red carpet, everyone has a problem and can become the next victim,” Francesca Albanese told FP’s @jchaltiwanger.bsky.social.

Diplomats and experts say Doha and Ankara have leverage, but it may not be enough. foreignpolicy.com/2025/12/15/h...

“There is no peace without the end of the occupation,” Albanese said. foreignpolicy.com/2025/12/10/u...

Rights groups say the Israeli government is complicit. foreignpolicy.com/2025/12/04/w...

Trump’s attacks hit a “new low,” the head of the Committee to Protect Journalists said. foreignpolicy.com/2025/11/21/t...

During a meeting at the White House on Tuesday, MBS pushed Trump to help end the war in Sudan. And it seems his urging worked. More on that and other news in the latest SitRep from me + @iyengarish.bsky.social ⁦‪https://foreignpolicy.com/2025/11/20/trump-sudan-mbs-meeting-saudi-russia/

I spoke with Charlotte Slente, the head of @drcngo.bsky.social, about her recent visit to eastern Chad to meet with Sudanese refugees. The situation is "horrifying," she said, while urging the international community to do more to help end the civil war in Sudan. foreignpolicy.com/2025/11/20/s...

Putin's Unlikely Envoy to Washington - Kirill Dmitriev is a prominent purveyor of the Kremlin’s line—but real power may lie elsewhere. foreignpolicy.com/2025/11/19/k...

What to know about the secret U.S.-Russia peace plan for Ukraine: foreignpolicy.com/2025/11/19/u...

In the past few days, Trump referred to a female reporter as “piggy” and accused another of being “insubordinate” for asking a completely legitimate question. Reporters who only ask questions that the president likes aren’t really reporters at all. That’s not our job.

“Things happen,” the president says re: the brutal murder and dismemberment of a U.S. resident and Washington Post journalist—while sitting next to the man who, according to the CIA, ordered the operation that led to Khashoggi’s killing

U.S. allies are beginning to criticize and distance themselves from Trump’s drug boat war. More on that in this week’s SitRep from me and @iyengarish.bsky.social: foreignpolicy.com/2025/11/13/a...

Quick thread on the BBC and the political and societal significance of recent developments: One of the main reasons the UK has historically been so much less polarised than the US, is that Britain has a shared source of information, consumed and trusted by most people regardless of their politics.

It's been a five-byline kind of week, but I'm proudest of this subhead I came up with for @jchaltiwanger.bsky.social's explanation of Trump's nuclear testing directive in this week's @foreignpolicy.com Situation Report: foreignpolicy.com/2025/10/30/t...

While trade, tariffs, and critical minerals dominated Trump’s agenda, tucked into several of the new agreements were deals on defense investment, cooperation, and production. FP’s @iyengarish.bsky.social and @jchaltiwanger.bsky.social take a look.

My latest piece focuses on why Latin America's reaction to the Trump administration's escalating war on alleged drug boats—and the looming possibility of a U.S. operation against Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro—has been so disjointed. foreignpolicy.com/2025/11/10/l...

The fragile cease-fire is once again at risk of collapsing as Israel accuses Hamas of violations. foreignpolicy.com/2025/10/28/n...

Latest SitRep from me and @iyengarish.bsky.social: The Difficult Art of Bibi-Sitting foreignpolicy.com/2025/10/23/t...

Experts believe the operation is about regime change in Venezuela. foreignpolicy.com/2025/10/23/u...

AUKUS has gotten awkward, but can Albanese overcome? Today's @foreignpolicy.com Situation Report about the Australian Prime Minister's impending Trump meeting, with @jchaltiwanger.bsky.social foreignpolicy.com/2025/10/16/a...

Trump’s “approach to the U.S. military in his second term is basically as a private army whose job is to enforce his personal power and to hurt his domestic enemies, or foreign enemies for that matter, no matter what any law or principle or norm says,” Grossman said.

Trump is treating the military like a “private army,” political scientist @nicholasgrossman.bsky.social warns. foreignpolicy.com/2025/10/15/t...

Hamas returns the wrong hostage to Israel, testing the two sides’ precarious cease-fire deal. foreignpolicy.com/2025/10/15/i...

Read @jchaltiwanger.bsky.social who's been attuned to the threats facing US democracy ---->

Trump’s “approach to the U.S. military in his second term is basically as a private army whose job is to enforce his personal power and to hurt his domestic enemies, or foreign enemies for that matter, no matter what any law or principle or norm says,” Grossman said.

Trump is treating the military like a “private army,” political scientist @nicholasgrossman.bsky.social warns. foreignpolicy.com/2025/10/15/t...

It’s a big deal that living hostages + Palestinian prisoners were exchanged today. Without discounting that, it’s also worth emphasizing that getting Trump’s peace plan across the finish line + laying the foundations for long-term peace will be very hard: foreignpolicy.com/2025/10/09/t...

Doctor in Gaza Says Cease-fire Brings Hope, but Challenges Remain foreignpolicy.com/2025/10/10/m...

To get a better understanding of the situation on the ground in Gaza at this crucial moment, I spoke with Mathieu Bichet, deputy medical director MSF, on Thursday. foreignpolicy.com/2025/10/10/m...

The United States is deploying up to 200 troops to Israel to help oversee the Gaza cease-fire process But the troops, some of whom have already arrived in Israel and will continue to do so through the weekend, won’t be going into Gaza. foreignpolicy.com/2025/10/10/t...

Even as Trump takes a Middle East victory lap and lobbies for the Nobel Peace Prize, he's expanding his military deployment against U.S. citizens across American cities. This week's @foreignpolicy.com Situation Report from myself and @jchaltiwanger.bsky.social: foreignpolicy.com/2025/10/09/t...

Despite the sense of optimism ushered in by the deal for a “first phase” of Trump’s plan, there are still many hurdles to overcome in terms of reaching the next stage and the ultimate goal of ending the war. foreignpolicy.com/2025/10/09/t...

If U.S. states have any degree of sovereignty, if there’s any states’ rights at all, it is the right not to be invaded by the armed forces of another U.S. state.

"Everyone is on eggshells," says Dan Maurer, a retired Army lieutenant colonel and associate law professor at Ohio Northern University. "To me, it's like '1984' where neighbors are turning in neighbors for supposed violations of thought crime."

"Twenty-four active duty and recently retired troops who spoke to Business Insider, including generals, military lawyers, and junior and senior officers, say the administration's actions have stirred up paranoia and challenged the uniformed service's nonpartisan ethos."

From @samfellman.bsky.social: An online army is waging a culture war against US troops www.businessinsider.com/inside-anti-...

While Trump has expressed optimism that the war could soon be over, nothing is set in stone yet, writes FP’s @jchaltiwanger.bsky.social.

There is significant momentum surrounding this round of Israel-Hamas cease-fire talks compared to past negotiations, with Trump raising pressure on both parties to wrap up the war. Still, neither side appears eager to make the first move. foreignpolicy.com/2025/10/06/i...

New SitRep from me and @iyengarish.bsky.social: Trump veers from his “America First” promises with unusual Article 5-like security guarantees for Qatar just weeks after it was bombed by Israel. foreignpolicy.com/2025/10/02/t...

Other countries don’t have government shutdowns like the U.S. foreignpolicy.com/2025/10/01/w...

President Trump signs an executive order for the US to guarantee the security of Qatar, in the wake of Israel's strike on Doha last month https://cnn.it/46LVmgj