Maxwell School News and Commentary

The breach indicates a general need to strengthen safety training measures for government workers who must live and work in a digital age, says Michael Williams, associate professor of public administration and international affairs. “The danger of this kind of mistake is a challenge across all administrations,” he says.

“Now the Trump administration is claiming this is an attempt to pressure Iran but it's unclear to me, quite frankly, by bombing a port, killing paramedics and port workers, is somehow going to pressure Iran in negotiations,” says Osamah Khalil, professor of history. “If the United States wants to neotiate with Iran, it should negotiate with Iran. There's no reason to be bombing Yemen to do that.”

“In my experience from the standpoint of having served as an appointee in the Pentagon and as secretary of the Navy, using such an unsecured channel to coordinate plans is unheard of and would never have occurred in previous administrations,” says University Professor Sean O'Keefe.

“There are people whose lives are literally on the line, whether that's service personnel, whether that's intelligence personnel,” says Michael Williams, associate professor of public administration and international affairs. “These guys are supposed to be leaders of the free world, the responsible leaders of the military, the greatest country in the world, and they can't perform basic operational security.”

“Military and surveillance tech aren’t bad or unethical as such. Instead, supporting national security and doing so in the right way is incredibly important. And supporting national security is, in fact, arguably the ethical thing to do," says Johannes Himmelreich, assistant professor of public administration and international affairs. 

“Although the Alien Enemies Act does not authorize military participation in law enforcement, if other laws permit their use, Trump could enable the military to implement summary detention and deportation of immigrants lawfully in the United States,” says William Banks, professor emeritus of public administration and international affairs.

“Tariffs will hurt the Mexican economy, which will further weaken the Mexican system and the rule of law, and that’s going to make Mexico much more vulnerable to further incursions from organized crime,” says Gladys McCormick, Jay and Debe Moskowitz Endowed Chair in Mexico-U.S. Relations.

William Banks, professor emeritus of public administration and international affairs, says the flights are possible because of Trump’s emergency declaration at the border. “In doing so, he evoked a series of statutes under something called the National Securities Act. Gives him additional authorities beyond his everyday authorities,” he says.

Musk’s “significant financial resources, established business ties in China through Tesla, and prominence in the social media industry via X make him a potential candidate for brokering a deal acceptable to multiple stakeholders,” says Dimitar Gueorguiev, associate professor of political science.

“The Roosevelt administration had attempted to reign in the Japanese, particularly by the use of economic boycotts. In mid-1941, especially, the Roosevelt administration had boycotted all sales of gasoline and aviation fuel to the Japanese. Now the idea was that this would be a detterent to the Japanese. It would persuade them to withdraw from China. But ironically, it ended up having the opposite effect,” says Alan Allport, professor of history.