News

Evening Brief: Fentanyl Seizures Down Dramatically, White House Staffer’s Phone Breached, Falcon 9 Launch

As fentanyl seizures fall sharply at the border, SpaceX rockets a GPS satellite into orbit at record speed, a hacker uses AI to mimic Trump’s chief of staff, and the Pentagon slashes PCS moves to ease the burden on military families—all in a week that proves national security isn’t slowing down, it’s shifting gears. Welcome to SOFREP’s Evening Brief for May 31st, 2025.

Seized bags of fentanyl. Image credit: The Brookings Institute

Fentanyl seizures at the U.S.-Mexico border have dropped off a cliff in recent months, marking a sharp reversal from the steady climb seen over the past several years. Between January and April 2025, U.S. authorities confiscated around 3,159 pounds of the deadly drug—a whopping 48% decrease compared to the same stretch in 2024. That’s not a one-off dip, either. Seizures were already down 21% in fiscal year 2024 compared to 2023, and the downward momentum has carried into fiscal year 2025, with numbers between October and January showing a 22% drop from the same time the previous year, and 38% lower than two years ago.

Advertisement

No one seems entirely sure what’s driving this sudden slump, but there are a few possible culprits. Some reports point to internal chaos among Mexican cartels—particularly a supposed crackdown on fentanyl production in the Sinaloa region. Others suggest that broader access to overdose-reversal drugs like naloxone or a dip in user demand could be shifting the tide. What hasn’t changed is where the fentanyl is coming through: nearly all of it is still being seized at legal ports of entry, especially in Arizona and California, rather than in the no-man’s-land between official crossings.

Interestingly, the decline in seizures lines up with a 24% drop in fentanyl-related overdose deaths in the U.S. from fiscal year 2023 to 2024. You’d think a development like that might make headlines, but Washington hasn’t made much noise about it. Meanwhile, the Trump administration has kept its focus on hammering cartel activity and even rolled out new tariffs on both Mexico and Canada in response to the ongoing fentanyl crisis.

 

Advertisement

Falcon 9 Launches Newest GPS Satellite

On May 30, 2025, the U.S. Space Force and Lockheed Martin teamed up with SpaceX to launch the latest GPS satellite—GPS III-7, also known as Space Vehicle 08—into orbit. The mission lifted off at 1:37 p.m. EDT from Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Florida, riding a Falcon 9 rocket into medium Earth orbit. This satellite is the eighth in the modernized GPS III series, which brings serious upgrades to the table: it’s up to three times more accurate and nearly eight times harder to jam than its predecessors. That’s a big win for both military and civilian users who rely on precise positioning, navigation, and timing services.

What really makes this launch stand out, though, is how quickly it came together. SpaceX got the green light for the mission on March 7 and had the satellite ready to go in under three months. That kind of speed is unheard of for a national security payload—most of these missions take a year and a half or more to prepare. This record-setting turnaround shows the Space Force is getting better at responding to urgent needs in space, where timing and flexibility are becoming more critical by the day.

Adding a meaningful touch, the GPS III SV-08 has been named in honor of Katherine Johnson, the groundbreaking NASA mathematician whose work helped put America into space. The launch marks another step forward in modernizing the U.S. GPS network, reinforcing America’s ability to maintain secure and reliable navigation in an increasingly contested domain above our heads.

 

White House Chief of Staff’s Personal Phone Compromised

An impersonator recently pulled off a bold breach by targeting White House Chief of Staff Susie Wiles—not through her government phone, but by breaking into her personal device. The attacker got hold of Wiles’ private cellphone contacts and used them to send messages and make calls to high-profile individuals, including U.S. senators, governors, and business leaders. These weren’t just random texts—the impersonator pretended to be Wiles herself. Although the calls and messages didn’t come from her actual number, many recipients were convinced they were speaking with her.

Several people reported hearing a voice that sounded strikingly like Wiles’. Officials now believe the impersonator used artificial intelligence to clone her voice, adding a layer of credibility to the scam. As of now, the FBI and the White House are still trying to figure out how the attacker got access to her contacts in the first place. Importantly, the FBI says there’s currently no indication that a foreign government was involved.

This incident throws a spotlight on a growing problem: the personal tech of high-ranking officials remains a vulnerable point of entry. With AI tools making it easier to mimic voices and identities, it’s becoming harder to tell real from fake—even for those at the highest levels of power.

 

Pentagon to Slash Permanent Change of Station Budget by 50%

The Pentagon is rolling out a plan to slash its Permanent Change of Station (PCS) budget in half over the next five years, aiming to rein in spending by cutting back on moves that aren’t absolutely necessary. These so-called “discretionary moves” make up around 80% of all PCS relocations and include stateside assignments, overseas rotations, and moves tied to training—not the kinds of transfers required for critical missions or career milestones. The cuts will be phased in gradually, starting with a 10% reduction in fiscal year 2027 and climbing to a full 50% cut by 2030, using the 2026 budget as a baseline and adjusting for inflation.

Each branch of the military now has four months to hammer out the details on how they’ll make this work without letting important assignments or career development fall through the cracks. The goal here isn’t just to save money—it’s also about giving military families a bit more breathing room. Fewer moves mean fewer disruptions to spouses’ jobs, kids’ schooling, and overall family life. It’s a quality-of-life issue as much as a financial one.

At the same time, the Pentagon wants to see changes in how careers are structured, encouraging promotion paths that don’t depend on constantly packing up and shipping out. Long story short, the Department of Defense is trying to strike a balance: maintain mission readiness and professional growth while keeping service members and their families grounded a little more often. Each service gets to decide for itself what counts as “discretionary,” but the pressure’s on to make smart choices without shortchanging the troops.

 

 

Advertisement

What readers are saying

Generating a quick summary of the conversation...

This summary is AI-generated. AI can make mistakes and this summary is not a replacement for reading the comments.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR