This week, the Trump administration took over command of the D.C. police department, and surged federal law enforcement officers and National Guard units into the city. While the United States has a long tradition of leaving most policing to state and local agencies, federal law enforcement has specific powers, and there are well-established limits on the use of military forces for domestic law enforcement, but the rules for DC are particular.

In this episode, host David Aaron is joined by Carrie Cordero, General Counsel at the Center for a New American Security and former Counsel to the Assistant Attorney General for National Security and Senior Associate General Counsel at the Office of the Director of National Intelligence, and Donell Harvin, Visiting Fellow at the National Security Institute at George Mason University and former Chief of Homeland Security and Intelligence for the District of Columbia. Together, they unpack significant legal and policy considerations concerning the Executive Branch’s recent actions and the open questions still in play.

Show Notes:

• Center for a New American Security, The 21st Century National Guard: Expanding Missions, Modernizing Authorities
• Just Security’s Law Enforcement and National Security Archives
• Donell Harvin’s essay at Just Security coming soon

Ukraine’s response to the 2022 full-scale Russian invasion has been defined by extraordinary civilian mobilization. As millions of Ukrainians face the devastation of their homes, schools, and communities, volunteers—especially women—have stepped up in unprecedented ways to support the nation’s survival.

In this episode, host Viola Gienger is joined by Lauren Van Metre, President and CEO of Women in International Security (WIIS) and a non-resident Senior Fellow at the Atlantic Council’s Eurasia Center, and Ella Lamakh, founder of the Kyiv-based Democracy Development Center, to discuss how Ukraine’s women in frontline communities have stepped up to lead the local response. The episode also features the voices of three of the women in Ella’s network who are serving their frontline communities with humanitarian aid, organizing, and in one case, as a military administrator. Special thanks to those community leaders – Valentyna Holovata, Yuliia Porhenko, and Tetiana (who asked to use only her first name for security purposes), and to Dmytro Lysak for translation.

Show Notes:

• Voices from the Frontlines of Democracy in Ukraine: Supporting and Protecting Civil Society by Lauren Van Metre
• Ella Lamakh’s Democracy Development Center
• Just Security’s Russia-Ukraine War Archive

Yesterday, the White House released its long-awaited AI Action Plan and signed three executive orders on AI, laying out the Trump administration’s strategy to secure what it calls “unquestioned and unchallenged” U.S. dominance across the entire AI tech stack. Framing AI as a global race for technological supremacy, the Plan envisions nothing short of an industrial revolution, an information revolution—and even a renaissance—all driven by AI.

To achieve that vision, the Plan is centered around three pillars: innovation, infrastructure, and international diplomacy and security. It calls for upskilling the workforce, revising federal rules, building high-security data centers, and tightening export controls—all whilst removing what the administration views as regulatory obstacles to faster AI adoption.

The plan also raises major questions. What’s the role of government in steering this technology responsibly? Are we building the right guardrails as we scale up? And what message is the U.S. sending to allies and adversaries as it charts a new course in AI policy?

Show Notes:

• Sam Winter-Levy’s article, "Assessing the Trump Administration’s AI Action Plan" (July 25, 2025)
• Joshua Geltzer’s article “The Trump Administration’s AI Action Plan Is Coming. Here’s What to Look For.” (July 18, 2025)
• Alasdair Phillips-Robins’s and Sam Winter-Levy’s article, “What Comes Next After Trump’s AI Deals in the Gulf” (June 4, 2025)
• Clara Apt and Brianna Rosen’s article “Shaping the AI Action Plan: Responses to the White House’s Request for Information” (Mar. 18, 2025)
• Brianna Rosen interview with Joshua Geltzer, “The Just Security Podcast: Trump’s AI Strategy Takes Shape” (April 17, 2025)
• Just Security’s Tech Policy Under Trump 2.0 series
• Just Security’s Artificial Intelligence Archive