The Lawfare Podcast Lawfare Live: The Trump Administration’s 2025 National Security Strategy
Dec 12, 2025
In this discussion, Scott R. Anderson, a national security expert, joins Daniel Byman, a specialist in Middle Eastern threats, and Corey Shockey, an authority on U.S. defense policy. They dissect the 2025 National Security Strategy of the Trump administration, criticizing its framing of immigration as a threat and its unrealistic worldview. The guests highlight the document's economic focus on China, its downplaying of Russian threats, and troubling implications for U.S. alliances. Their insights reveal a strategy ripe for controversy and skepticism.
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Immigration Recast As Primary Security Threat
- The 2025 NSS reframes immigration as the principal national-security threat rather than an American strength.
- That reversal treats immigration policy as central to foreign policy and reshapes threat priorities.
Rhetoric Outpaces Interagency Process
- The NSS mixes grand rhetorical claims with inconsistent policy signals and lacks serious interagency grounding.
- That mismatch raises questions about authorship, implementation, and internal coordination.
Document Speaks Primarily To Domestic Base
- The strategy appears aimed at domestic constituencies and a narrow White House circle more than traditional foreign audiences.
- That makes it both performative and a window into the administration's ideological milieu rather than a durable policy blueprint.