{"id":444,"date":"2026-07-16T19:11:21","date_gmt":"2026-07-16T19:11:21","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/businessrelocationdigest.com\/?p=444"},"modified":"2026-07-16T19:11:21","modified_gmt":"2026-07-16T19:11:21","slug":"cait-conley-fears-trumps-cartel-focus-could-create-a-national-security-blind-spot","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/businessrelocationdigest.com\/?p=444","title":{"rendered":"Cait Conley fears Trump\u2019s cartel focus could create a national security blind spot"},"content":{"rendered":"
\n

Editor’s note: This story was originally published by City & State’s sister site NextGov.<\/em><\/p>\n

Read more Siffert, Martinez win tight Assembly races after recounts<\/a><\/p>\n\n

Democratic congressional candidate for New York\u2019s 17th district Cait Conley fears the Trump administration\u2019s focus on cartels and fentanyl is coming at the expense of U.S. preparedness for threats from China and Russia \u2014 a trade-off she likened to Washington\u2019s overinvestment in counterterrorism after the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks.<\/p>\n

\u201cI think we learned this a decade ago, coming out of the counterterrorism fight,\u201d Conley said in an interview discussing how she\u2019d bring her national security policy and military experience to a congressional seat.<\/p>\n

A West Point graduate and Army officer who later worked at the National Security Council and the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency, Conley is challenging Rep. Mike Lawler, R-N.Y., in the coming general election.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Conley said the federal government spent years rebuilding its ability to compete with major state adversaries after concentrating much of its national security resources on terrorist organizations. She contends that the Trump administration\u2019s focus on cartels and other threats in the Western Hemisphere risks reversing some of that progress.<\/p>\n

\u201cI don\u2019t want illegal drugs coming into America, but I also don\u2019t want to cede key national security interests to China and Russia,\u201d Conley said. \u201cAnd so we have to find a way to do it all. That is the government\u2019s job in keeping America safe.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cMy concern is: what we have seen from this administration is a cozying up to [Vladimir] Putin [and] a willingness to sacrifice national security priorities in order to line pockets of billionaire buddies with China,\u201d she added. \u201cAnd \u2014 in terms of the federal government workforce \u2014 a dismantling of the entities that were there to protect this country against foreign malign influence operations, something that we see Russia [and] China use as the tip of the spear in many of their campaigns against America.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n

She was referring to last year\u2019s disbandment of the FBI\u2019s Foreign Influence Task Force and the Office of Director of National Intelligence\u2019s drawdown of its Foreign Malign Influence Center. CISA also froze much of its election security work and ended funding for programs supporting state and local election officials.<\/p>\n

On Thursday night, President Donald Trump is widely expected to unveil previously classified findings that allies claim would prove the 2020 election was stolen from him, specifically regarding Chinese attempts to meddle in the election. In 2021, the U.S. intelligence community collectively that Beijing \u201cdid not interfere with election infrastructure, including vote tabulation or the transmission of election results.\u201d The IC also said that China \u201cdid not deploy interference efforts and considered, but did not deploy influence efforts intended to change the outcome\u201d of the election.<\/p>\n

Conley expressed concern that political pressure is shaping national security and intelligence assessments. Last year, then-Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard fired two top National Intelligence Council officials weeks after the group authored an assessment that contradicted Trump\u2019s claims about Venezuelan gang members.<\/p>\n

\u201cI do worry about the integrity of the products that are being pushed out,\u201d she said, \u201cnot because I worry about the integrity of the public servants doing it, but because we\u2019re seeing a growing political influence on what those things are.\u201d<\/p>\n

She pointed to the conflict with Iran and the disruption of commercial traffic through the Strait of Hormuz as an example of a risk that national security planners had anticipated well before the current fighting.<\/p>\n

\u201cAny professional in this space who\u2019s looked at Iran, or has been part of these war games or policy discussions \u2026 would tell you that this potential outcome was always known,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

Conley said the danger that Iran could disrupt the strait, withstand an extended air campaign and inflict significant casualties had informed U.S. policy discussions for years. She acknowledged that she had no direct knowledge of the administration\u2019s internal deliberations but questioned whether those risks were fully presented to Trump or disregarded.<\/p>\n

Tensions in the strait have impacted gas prices across the country, including in New York.<\/p>\n

\u201cI don\u2019t know if they failed to tell him the hard truths, or if this administration just didn\u2019t want to hear it,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

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Lawler has voted against multiple House war powers resolutions that sought to limit the administration\u2019s ability to continue hostilities without congressional authorization. He has argued that such measures could constrain the U.S. while American forces remain under threat.<\/p>\n

Conley\u2019s policy interests extend beyond congressional committees associated with homeland security, intelligence and foreign affairs. If elected, she said she would seek a seat on the House Energy and Commerce Committee.<\/p>\n

\u201cI would like to eventually end up on Energy and Commerce,\u201d she said. The panel has jurisdiction over energy, telecommunications, technology and large portions of the nation\u2019s critical infrastructure. Conley said that portfolio increasingly overlaps with national security as cyberattacks, supply-chain vulnerabilities and foreign-made technology create risks beyond the traditional defense establishment.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cNational security in the 21st century is so different than the 20th,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

Conley pointed to the country\u2019s reliance on Chinese-made equipment at U.S. ports as one example. Federal officials have spent years examining cybersecurity risks associated with foreign-made cranes and other port systems.<\/p>\n

\u201cI don\u2019t believe we need to pay extra to manufacture a basic drinking glass in America,\u201d Conley said, \u201cbut I think if it\u2019s necessary to manufacture our critical infrastructure, we should.\u201d<\/p>\n

A position on Energy and Commerce would also give Conley a role in debates over artificial intelligence and large data centers, including their effects on electricity rates, water supplies and local infrastructure. It would relatedly help her focus on legislation geared toward utility costs, an area that she says has been a major issue for constituents.<\/p>\n

New York Gov. Kathy Hochul recently ordered a temporary pause on certain state environmental permits for new large data centers while her administration develops a regulatory framework.<\/p>\n

Conley said policymakers need to assess those facilities\u2019 effects before residents are left to absorb higher utility and infrastructure costs. She framed the issue as an opportunity for Democrats to become \u201cthe party of responsible technology\u201d \u2014 supporting innovation while establishing standards intended to protect communities.<\/p>\n

\u201cCommunities are bearing the costs of these decisions without guardrails,\u201d Conley said, \u201cand we\u2019ve got to stop it.\u201d<\/p>\n

Her concerns about political influence extend beyond the quality of individual intelligence assessments. Asked how she understands Trump\u2019s tendency to rely on his own instincts in national security matters, Conley\u2019s answer centered less on his psychology than on the officials and institutions around him.<\/p>\n

\u201cI also hold a Republican-controlled Congress accountable too for not checking him,\u201d she said, arguing that the GOP \u201cshould have reined him in and forced better judgment in execution and decision-making.\u201d<\/p>\n

That dynamic, in her view, reflects a broader incentive problem in Washington: elected officials focused on retaining power and senior administration officials unwilling to deliver unwelcome advice. Conley said her work at the White House and CISA gave her a close look at \u201cthe people that were there for the right reasons, and the people that were there for the power.\u201d<\/p>\n

She tied that argument to her support for congressional term limits and a ban on members of Congress participating in stock trading. Conley has not settled on a specific term-limit structure but said congressional service should not become a lifelong career.<\/p>\n

She argues that addressing Trump\u2019s approach requires more than just installing different experts or producing better intelligence; it demands electing officials willing to act, regardless of the political cost.<\/p>\n

\u201cAt West Point, there\u2019s a cadet prayer, and one of the lines is having the strength to choose the harder right over the easier wrong,\u201d Conley said. \u201cI believe that same ethos is something that members of Congress should always aspire to.\u201d<\/p>\n

Read more Mamdani raises $304,000 in first reelection filing<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The NY-17 Democratic nominee questioned the administration\u2019s planning for Iran and said she would seek a seat on the House Energy and Commerce Committee, if elected.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":443,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[102,3],"tags":[103,7],"class_list":["post-444","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-donald-trump","category-new-york-state","tag-donald-trump","tag-new-york-state"],"yoast_head":"\nCait Conley fears Trump\u2019s cartel focus could create a national security blind spot - Business Relocation Digest<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/businessrelocationdigest.com\/?p=444\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Cait Conley fears Trump\u2019s cartel focus could create a national security blind spot - 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