Anudari Oyunbold. On November 14th, 2024, the Michael V. Hayden Center for Intelligence, Policy, and International Security at George Mason University’s Schar School of Government hosted an event titled “New Term, New Challenges: National Security in the Trump Administration.”
Panelists Included:
Ken Dilanian is a justice and intelligence correspondent for the NBC News based in Washington, D.C. Dilanian has previously covered national security for the Associated Press, the Los Angeles Times, USA Today, and the Philadelphia Inquirer. He has served as a foreign correspondent and covered various places around Europe and the Middle East.
Amy Mackinnon is a national security and intelligence reporter at Foreign Policy. She has reported from across Eastern Europe and was previously based in Moscow, Russia and Tbilisi, Georgia. Mackinnon speaks Russian and is a recipient of the Alfred I. duPont-Columbia Award for her reporting on homophobic vigilantes in Russia.
Warren Strobel covers intelligence and security at the Wall Street Journal’s D.C. Bureau. He has traveled the world with seven U.S. secretaries of state and two presidents. Strobel was formerly the White House and State Department correspondent for the Washington Times. Strobel and his colleague’s work at Knight Ridder Newspapers is well known for challenging the Bush administration’s case for invading Iraq.
Before the panel began to discuss, General Michael Hayden gave a warm introduction regarding the importance of the intelligence community today. Director Larry Pfeiffer then took over and started introducing the importance of the Hayden Center and what the Schar School has to offer to young scholars studying international security.
The panel began discussing the cruciality of handling classified information as a reporter and actually working in the intelligence community.
Mackinnon asked “What does this say to foreign partners now that you have a previous and future president who has been accused of mishandling classified information at the most senior levels and ordering the declassification of information potentially for political gain?”
Mackinnon and the other panelist emphasized that they think the U.S. may experience a decline in intelligence sharing from other countries who do not feel comfortable sharing classified information with the Trump Administration. Moreover, the panel added they believe Trump has signaled his administration may also be more selective with intelligence sharing and security agreements.
The event concluded by reviewing the conflicts the second Trump administration will inherit, namely between Russia and Ukraine in Easter Europe and Israel and Palestine in the Middle East. Finally, the panelists reviewed Trump’s nominations for senior intelligence positions and the impact of those appointments on the intelligence community and greater government.
Anudari Oyunbold is a recent graduate from the George Mason with a Bachelor of Science in Criminology, Law, and Society
