The Pentagon is cutting bureaucratic hurdles to unleash “American drone dominance” and outcompete hostile powers such as China and Russia.
Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth announced a slate of reforms to jolt U.S. production of drones and equip U.S. service members with the skills to use them effectively. The Department of Defense posted a video on social media Thursday of Hegseth signing orders delivered by drone.
“While our adversaries have produced millions of cheap drones before us, we were mired in bureaucratic red tape. Not anymore,” Hegseth said. 
After noting that President Donald Trump signed an executive <a href="https://www.whitehouse.gov/articles/2025/06/president-trump-signs-executive-orders-on-drones-flying-cars-and-supersonics/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">order</a> in June to energize the drone industry in the United States, Hegseth said, &#8220;Today, I&#8217;m rescinding restrictive policies that stifle production. And this will unleash American manufacturing and the ingenuity of our war fighters.”
The Pentagon’s newest drone strategy has three main pillars, according to Hegseth. First, the Department of Defense will prioritize buying American-made drones to help expand drone-making on the domestic front.
Second, Hegseth said the military would leverage the United States’ &#8220;world-leading engineers and AI experts&#8221; to arm combat units with drones. And third, the secretary plans to stamp out a risk-averse mindset that he suggested has held back senior military staff from innovating with drones.
“We&#8217;re going to train as we expect to fight,” Hegseth said. “Senior officers must overcome bureaucratic risk aversion in budgeting, weaponing, weaponeering, and training.”
“This is the future. We&#8217;re in the fight. We&#8217;re in the fight to win it. And we’re never going to back down,” he concluded.
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="500" data-dnt="true">
Unleashing U.S. Military Drone Dominance <a href="https://twitter.com/DOGE?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@DOGE</a> <a href="https://t.co/ueqQPc7rKI">pic.twitter.com/ueqQPc7rKI</a>
&mdash; Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth (@SecDef) <a href="https://twitter.com/SecDef/status/1943401411431026977?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">July 10, 2025</a></blockquote>
Hegseth’s orders will allow for the first time commanders with the ranks of colonel or captain to obtain and test drones that meet national security standards, according to <a href="https://www.foxnews.com/politics/hegseth-tears-up-red-tape-orders-pentagon-begin-drone-surge-trumps-command">Fox News</a>, which first obtained the memos signed on Thursday. The orders also cut through a series of approval processes so that the drones may be tested immediately.
The orders reclassified drones from being durable military assets to consumables, taking them out of bureaucratic tracking systems and allowing faster acquisition. The orders also directed military officials to coordinate with the Federal Aviation Administration on expanding range restrictions where needed and setting up sites for military training in drone use.
Drones have recently played major roles in the Ukraine-Russia war and in the Middle East. 
Ukraine and Russia used drones to attack and hamper each other’s forces. Israel employed drones as part of its &#8220;Operation Rising Lion&#8221; to damage Iran’s military command structure and nuclear program.

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Hegseth Unleashes U.S. Military ‘Drone Dominance’

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President Donald Trump is threatening to slap a steeper 35% tariff on products from Canada beginning August 1 unless steps are taken to curb the flow of fentanyl over its shared border with the United States.
Trump warned Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney in a <a href="https://truthsocial.com/@realDonaldTrump/posts/114831716625825473">letter</a> on Thursday that the United States would hike the rate up from 25% – and possibly more. Still, Canada could avoid some or all of the added tariff, he suggested.
“If Canada works with me to stop the flow of Fentanyl, we will, perhaps, consider an adjustment to this letter. These Tariffs may be modified, upward or downward, depending on our relationship with your country,” the president wrote.
A White House official <a href="https://www.wsj.com/world/americas/trump-threatens-35-tariff-on-some-canadian-goods-d1306890" target="_blank" rel="noopener">told</a> The Wall Street Journal that goods in compliance with the U.S.-Mexico-Canada Agreement would at least for now be exempt from the 35% tariff rate — as they had been with the 25% penalty Trump implemented earlier this year.
Canadian goods that are “transshipped,&#8221; or products sent to the United States via another country first to evade the tariff on Canada, would still be subject to the heightened rate.
Trump, who noted the larger penalty would be &#8220;separate from all Sectoral Tariffs,&#8221; railed against Canada’s trade policies. He said they &#8220;cause unsustainable trade deficits against the United States&#8221; and placed a focus on dairy farmers.
“Canada charges extraordinary Tariffs to our Dairy Farmers — up to 400% — and that is even assuming our Dairy Farmers even have access to sell their products to the people of Canada. The Trade Deficit is a major threat to our Economy, and, indeed, our National Security!” the president wrote.
Trump also mentioned in his letter how Canada previously &#8220;retaliated&#8221; with its own tariffs rather than &#8220;working with&#8221; the United States.
The escalation in the tariff fight with the United States’ neighbor to the north comes as the president has <a href="https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/donald-trump/trump-tariffs-inflation-hasbro-ukraine-patriot-missiles-nato-russia-rcna218125">prepared</a> an increased blanket tariff for a slate of countries that have either not been notified of increased tariffs yet or have already agreed to a framework of a trade deal with the United States.
“We’re just going to say all of the remaining countries are going to pay, whether it’s 20% or 15%. We’ll work that out now,” Trump told <a href="https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/donald-trump/trump-tariffs-inflation-hasbro-ukraine-patriot-missiles-nato-russia-rcna218125">NBC News</a> on Thursday.
“I’d like to do it today,” Trump said of his plan to send letters laying out new tariff schedules. “I’m talking European Union, which is, as you know, many countries, and Canada. We’ll be putting them out over the next couple of hours.”
In recent days, Trump has posted a number of letters warning of new tariff rates. 
On Wednesday, Trump posted one of his steepest threats, <a href="https://www.nbcnews.com/business/economy/trump-hits-brazil-50-percent-tariff-citing-ex-president-jair-bolsonaro-rcna217859">warning</a> Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva that Brazilian products could face a 50% jump in tariffs over the government’s treatment of former Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro, who is facing charges related to the 2022 election.
“This is nothing more, or less, than an attack on a Political Opponent — Something I know much about!” Trump wrote in a Truth Social <a href="https://truthsocial.com/@realDonaldTrump/posts/114812490799920916">post</a> defending Bolsonaro.
“The Great People of Brazil will not stand for what they are doing to their former President. I’ll be watching the WITCH HUNT of Jair Bolsonaro, his family, and thousands of his supporters, very closely. The only Trial that should be happening is a Trial by the Voters of Brazil — It’s called an Election. LEAVE BOLSONARO ALONE!” he wrote.

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Trump Threatens 35% Tariff On Canada Over Fentanyl Trafficking

Supreme Court Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson’s latest opinion pitted her against her fellow liberals on the bench and revealed her to be far less prepared for her weighty role than her peers, according to a legal expert.
Hans von Spakovsky, a senior legal fellow at The Heritage Foundation’s Edwin Meese III Center for Legal and Judicial Studies, said Jackson’s dissent in a Wednesday court opinion showed her as unserious and unfit for the role of Supreme Court justice.
“What it tells me is that Brown Jackson is really at the far end of the spectrum and that the other justices are getting tired of her,” von Spakovsky told The Daily Wire.
Jackson was the lone dissenter in a court opinion that cleared the way for the Trump administration to begin crafting plans to downsize the federal workforce. The junior justice wrote that the majority opinion is “not only truly unfortunate but also hubristic and senseless.”
Justice Sonia Sotomayor, another liberal on the high court, wrote a concurrence siding with the majority
“I agree with Justice Jackson that the President cannot restructure federal agencies in a manner inconsistent with congressional mandates,” wrote Sotomayor. “Here, however, the relevant Executive Order directs agencies to plan reorganizations and reductions in force ‘consistent with applicable law’ … and the resulting joint memorandum from the Office of Management and Budget and Office of Personnel Management reiterates as much.”
The court opinion and the split on the bench suggests that Jackson is ill-equipped to handle the intellectual rigors of the Supreme Court, according to von Spakovsky.
“This case was eight-to-one. Even justices Sotomayor and [Elena] Kagan joined with the majority because they didn&#8217;t want a dissent in this particular case,” von Spakovsky told The Daily Wire. “Only the lone dissenter, Brown Jackson, was once again, you know, engaging in an emotional tirade about the idea that — horror, shock — federal employees might actually lose their jobs.”
Jackson has been singled out in other cases as well. In a court decision last month over “birthright citizenship,” Justice Amy Coney Barrett <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/justice-amy-coney-barrett-lays-the-legal-smackdown-on-justice-ketanji-brown-jackson">suggested</a> that Jackson’s dissenting argument was vacuous, or at least not motivated by any serious legal theory.
“The principal dissent focuses on conventional legal terrain, like the Judiciary Act of 1789 and our cases on equity,” wrote Barrett. “JUSTICE JACKSON, however, chooses a startling line of attack that is tethered neither to these sources nor, frankly, to any doctrine whatsoever. Waving away attention to the limits on judicial power as a ‘mind-numbingly technical query … she offers a vision of the judicial role that would make even the most ardent defender of judicial supremacy blush.”
“I disagree often with what Justice Kagan and Sotomayor put in their decisions, but they at least try to have a legal basis for what they’re saying,” von Spakovsky said.
Jackson claims Trump’s plans to downsize the federal government is &#8220;needless&#8221; and &#8220;there’s no need for getting rid of federal employees,&#8221; von Spakovsky added. “That&#8217;s a policy decision. That&#8217;s got nothing to do with the law. That’s got nothing to do with the constitutional authority of the president to run the executive branch.&#8221;
&#8220;I think it&#8217;s just another sign that, frankly, she was a big mistake getting put on the court, and that she just doesn&#8217;t have the legal acumen to be on the court,&#8221; von Spakovsky said. &#8220;Sotomayor, Kagan, they do, even though I think they&#8217;re often wrong, but I don&#8217;t think [Jackson] does.&#8221;

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Even Ketanji Brown Jackson’s Liberal SCOTUS Colleagues Tire Of Her Weak Arguments

Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy is taking over NASA as interim administrator, President Donald Trump announced on Wednesday.
Trump announced Duffy’s new role in a post on Truth Social. Who will lead the federal space agency has been an open question since the president pulled the nomination of his first pick, billionaire tech entrepreneur Jared Isaacman, last month.
“I am pleased to announce that I am directing our GREAT Secretary of Transportation, Sean Duffy, to be Interim Administrator of NASA,” <a href="https://truthsocial.com/@realDonaldTrump/posts/114826109463640311">said</a> Trump.
“Sean is doing a TREMENDOUS job in handling our Country’s Transportation Affairs, including creating a state-of-the-art Air Traffic Control systems, while at the same time rebuilding our roads and bridges, making them efficient, and beautiful, again,” he continued. “He will be a fantastic leader of the ever more important Space Agency, even if only for a short period of time. Congratulations, and thank you, Sean!”
The White House pulled Isaacman’s nomination on June 1. Isaacman, who is a private astronaut and has led missions to space, was pushed by Elon Musk to head the space agency before Musk and Trump’s relationship ruptured over the “One Big, Beautiful Bill” and other issues.
On Sunday, Trump said he decided to pull Isaacman’s nomination to lead the space agency after the president learned that Isaacman was “a blue blooded Democrat, who had never contributed to a Republican before.”
“I also thought it inappropriate that a very close friend of Elon, who was in the Space Business, run NASA, when NASA is such a big part of Elon’s corporate life,” said Trump in a post on Truth Social. “My Number One charge is to protect the American Public!”
Isaacman pushed back against Trump’s assertions in a <a href="https://x.com/rookisaacman/status/1942294532202078437">post</a> on X: “I have been relatively apolitical — a right-leaning moderate — and my political donations across both parties (though 10x more to Republicans) were disclosed in writing, with rationale, before my nomination was ever submitted to the Senate.”
Isaacman said of his and Musk&#8217;s relationship that the two men have only known each other “professionally, but having flown to space twice on SpaceX rockets, I have a firsthand appreciation for what he and his companies have accomplished.”
After Isaacman’s nomination was pulled, Musk <a href="https://x.com/elonmusk/status/1928923374929014871">responded</a> in a post on X that “It is rare to find someone so competent and good-hearted.”

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Trump Taps Transportation Secretary Duffy To Head NASA

The United States is imposing sanctions on United Nations Human Rights Council special rapporteur Francesca Albanese over a “campaign of political and economic warfare” against the United States and Israel.
Secretary of State Marco Rubio announced the sanctions on Wednesday in a post on X. Albanese is the UN rapporteur on Palestinian rights and has a long history of downplaying Palestinian terror and mischaracterizing Israeli military and defense operations.
“Today I am imposing sanctions on UN Human Rights Council Special Rapporteur Francesca Albanese for her illegitimate and shameful efforts to prompt [International Criminal Court] action against U.S. and Israeli officials, companies, and executives,” Rubio wrote.
“Albanese’s campaign of political and economic warfare against the United States and Israel will no longer be tolerated. We will always stand by our partners in their right to self-defense,” he continued. “The United States will continue to take whatever actions we deem necessary to respond to lawfare and protect our sovereignty and that of our allies.”
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="500" data-dnt="true">
Today I am imposing sanctions on UN Human Rights Council Special Rapporteur Francesca Albanese for her illegitimate and shameful efforts to prompt <a href="https://twitter.com/IntlCrimCourt?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@IntlCrimCourt</a> action against U.S. and Israeli officials, companies, and executives. 
Albanese’s campaign of political and economic…
&mdash; Secretary Marco Rubio (@SecRubio) <a href="https://twitter.com/SecRubio/status/1942998936874054046?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">July 9, 2025</a></blockquote>
Last week, Albanese released a <a href="https://www.un.org/unispal/document/a-hrc-59-23-from-economy-of-occupation-to-economy-of-genocide-report-special-rapporteur-francesca-albanese-palestine-2025/">report</a> on “the corporate machinery sustaining Israel’s settler-colonial project of displacement and replacement of the Palestinians in the occupied territory.” The report, titled “From Economy of Occupation to Economy of Genocide,” identified nearly 50 corporate entities that it accused of war profiteering for working with the Israeli government.
Last month, Albanese <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/vicious-anti-israel-un-special-rapporteur-calls-for-un-to-expel-israel">called</a> for Israel to be expelled from the United Nations after Israeli forces bombed the headquarters of the UNRWA in Gaza City. Israel carried out the strike after learning that Hamas had set up a military base inside the headquarters after it had been evacuated.
Over the course of the war, close links between Hamas and the UNRWA have been revealed, including members of the UNRWA taking part in the October 7 attack and also being members of Hamas.
Albanese has been a supporter of the antisemitic Boycott, Divest, Sanction (BDS) movement targeting Israel. She has also been an outspoken opponent of Israel’s military operation in Gaza. In February, Albanese <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/un-official-duped-by-fake-rabbis-invite-to-speak-on-morality-of-intifada-at-anti-israel-protest">said</a> that Israel did not have the “right” to invade Gaza after Hamas militants and Palestinians killed around 1,200 people and took hostage hundreds more in the October 7 terror attack.
“It didn’t have the right to act in self-defense, meaning waging a war because it couldn’t wage a war against the people it maintains under occupation,” Albanese told an audience of students at Harvard University. “What Israel had to do was to repel the attack on its own territory, arrest and detain and treat humanely the people who had been arrested and ensure justice.”
Albanese has also appeared to benefit from her close ties to Palestinian groups. In 2023, Albanese took a trip to Adelaide, Australia, that was funded by a cohort of Palestinian groups, including The Australian Friends of Palestine Association and Australia Palestine Advocacy Network.
The trip sparked concern from a watchdog group, UN Watch, that <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/anti-israel-un-official-takes-expensive-trip-funded-by-palestinian-lobby-groups-report">sent</a> a letter to UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres calling for Albanese&#8217;s removal. In the letter, UN Watch pointed out that “independence and impartiality are basic requirements for UNHRC Special Procedures under Article 3 of the <a href="https://www.ohchr.org/sites/default/files/Documents/HRBodies/SP/CodeOfConduct.pdf">Code of Conduct</a>, which requires them to be ‘free from any kind of extraneous influence … either direct or indirect.’”

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Rubio Sanctions UN Official Waging ‘Political And Economic Warfare’ Against U.S., Israel

Hamas has agreed to release 10 hostages as part of ongoing ceasefire talks, the terror group said in a statement on Wednesday.
The statement did not say when the release would take place or which hostages may be freed as negotiations over a possible ceasefire continue. The terror group said that it continues to act “seriously and in a positive spirit with the mediators in order to overcome the obstacles,” according to <a href="https://www.timesofisrael.com/liveblog_entry/hamas-we-agreed-to-release-10-hostages-as-part-of-talks-other-points-remain-under-discussion/">The Times of Israel</a>.
The statement from Hamas identified several points of disagreement between the terror group and Israeli negotiators, including the flow of aid into the Gaza Strip, a withdrawal of Israeli forces from Gaza, and “genuine guarantees for a permanent ceasefire,” according to <a href="https://www.reuters.com/world/middle-east/hamas-agrees-release-10-hostages-part-gaza-ceasefire-talks-says-negotiations-are-2025-07-09/">Reuters</a>.
The list of unresolved issues has apparently grown since U.S. foreign envoy Steve Witkoff said earlier this week that the number of sticking points between the two sides had shrunk to just one.
“We’re in proximity talks now, and we had four issues, and now we’re down to one after two days of proximity talks. So, we are hopeful that by the end of this week, we will have an agreement that will bring us into a 60-day ceasefire,” Witkoff said Tuesday.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu visited Washington this week in part to discuss the situation in Gaza with President Donald Trump. Trump hinted Wednesday that ceasefire negotiations are “close.”
“We want to have a ceasefire,” <a href="https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2025-07-09/trump-touts-push-toward-gaza-deal-as-netanyahu-visits-pentagon?embedded-checkout=true">said</a> the president. “We want to have peace. We want to get the hostages back. And I think we’re close to doing it.”
Netanyahu told reporters that while both he and Trump want a ceasefire, there are some non-negotiable items that must be a part of any deal.
“President Trump wants a deal, but not at any price. I want a deal, but not at any price,” <a href="https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/ce3newwl1zeo">said</a> the prime minister. “Israel has security requirements and other requirements, and we’re working together to try to achieve it.”
Israel has repeatedly said that no ceasefire deal can be agreed to that leaves Hamas in place in the Gaza Strip. That war aim has remained unchanged since Israeli forces invaded Gaza following the terror group’s October 7 terror attack that killed roughly 1,200 people. Hamas militants and Gazans who joined the attack abducted about 250 others as hostages.

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Hamas Says It Will Release 10 Hostages As Ceasefire Negotiations Continue

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Hegseth Unleashes U.S. Military ‘Drone Dominance’

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