Donald Bolduc

The shutdown may be over, but the same entrenched division, weak leadership, and political gamesmanship that brought us to the brink are still eroding our national security from the inside out.

As a military commander who swore to provide for those under my charge, I find it unforgivable that elected leaders would let a shutdown — and the halting of SNAP benefits — become a political cudgel, abandoning the most vulnerable when duty demanded action.

From the economy to foreign policy, this presidency has traded unity for grievance, competence for chaos, and American strength for a politics of division that leaves our people paying the price.

Claiming the War Powers Resolution does not apply to strikes on drug cartels sidesteps Congress, erodes transparency, and risks turning American military power into an unaccountable tool.

Since World War II, Congress has steadily abdicated its constitutional duty to declare war, allowing presidents to launch and prolong conflicts on elastic claims of “national interest” under the flimsy cover of the War Powers Resolution and expansive AUMFs, eroding the checks and balances the framers intended.

Organizing 500-troop quick reaction forces in every state betrays our constitutional separation of military and civilian authority, invites the militarization of civil life, and imperils the very rule of law American soldiers are sworn to defend.

By gagging commanders from speaking to Congress, Pentagon leadership trades trust for control, leaving lawmakers blind to battlefield reality and the force less ready to defend the nation.

You cannot make peace with a group that rejects it, you cannot stabilize Gaza with foreign troops the region distrusts, and you cannot replace political courage with cash.

When Washington lets the government grind to a halt over partisan trench fights, it creates a self-inflicted readiness gap that our adversaries are eager to exploit.

Bombing drug boats can rattle a cartel’s supply line for a moment, but as a strategy it seeds legal and ethical trouble, alienates coastal communities we need as partners, and ultimately cedes the long fight to traffickers who adapt faster than we can drop ordnance.

Bombs can shatter buildings and morale for a moment, but they rarely win wars, breeding more enemies than they kill and leaving civilians to carry the burden long after the smoke clears.

With Marco Rubio serving as both Secretary of State and National Security Advisor, the Trump White House is steering toward another costly small war in Venezuela, an echo chamber for regime change that dismisses sovereignty, sidesteps a cowed Congress, and forgets Powell’s warning that if you break it, you own it.