China’s artificial intelligence advances are fueling unease among U.S. lawmakers concerned about the privacy and security of Americans. China-based DeepSeek unveiled a powerful AI model earlier this year that reportedly compared favorably to U.S. models for a fraction of the cost. While skeptics cast doubt on some of the cost claims, the House Science Committee is probing DeepSeek’s potential threats to national security. 

Rep. Jay Obernolte, California Republican, said Tuesday that people’s increasing willingness to share private and personal data with AI systems is creating a dangerous environment. “The deployment of DeepSeek provides the [Chinese Communist Party] with a backdoor to this sensitive information,” Mr. Obernolte said during a committee hearing. “This risk will only grow as we enter the era of agentic AI, where AI systems will actively book our travel, manage our finances, analyze our health records, and handle other sensitive personal affairs on our behalf. We cannot allow DeepSeek and other CCP-controlled entities access to this information.”

Rep. Zoe Lofgren, California Democrat, said America needs an offensive and defensive strategy to win the global AI race. She said she is particularly concerned that China is recruiting technologists ousted as a result of the Trump administration’s efforts to downsize the federal government.

Several high-stakes questions surround the U.S.-Iran nuclear talks slated to take place in Oman this weekend, starting with whether the Trump administration will push for the full dismantlement of Iran’s plutonium production and uranium enrichment programs or accept something short of that.

Should the administration simultaneously focus on rolling back Iran’s ballistic missile program? Will Tehran’s financial support of terrorist groups such as Hamas, Hezbollah and the Yemen-based Houthi rebels also be on the table? What about Iran’s provision of drones to Russia for its war in Ukraine?

National Security Correspondent Ben Wolfgang offers a deep dive on the extent to which the administration intends to aim for a deal — perhaps with lucrative financial incentives through the lifting of sanctions and potential U.S. investment in Iran — that could chip away at Tehran’s military and economic alignment with Russia, China and North Korea.

Mr. Trump’s overhaul of the cyber apparatus of America’s military and intelligence agencies was on full display in Washington on Wednesday as a new leader of the National Security Agency and U.S. Cyber Command testified on Capitol Hill. 

Army Lt. Gen. William Hartman is now the acting director of both agencies following the sudden ouster of Air Force Gen. Timothy Haugh last week. With much remaining unknown about the cause of Gen. Hough’s dismissal, Gen. Hartman told the Senate Armed Services Committee that Cyber Command’s mantra remains: “We win with people.” 

Lawmakers have expressed alarm at the sudden changes. Sen. Jack Reed, Rhode Island Democrat, complained that Gen. Haugh’s “sudden and inexplicable firing is disrespectful to his service but also disrespectful to every military member in or out of uniform.” Republicans have also raised concerns. “The departure of Gen. Haugh is a loss for our nation but will be a tremendous gain for any private or public entity where he decides to lend his expertise and leadership,” said Sen. Mike Rounds, South Dakota Republican. “I wish him Godspeed.”

Debate rages in Washington about splitting the leadership of the NSA and Cyber Command. Mr. Trump’s removal of Gen. Haugh has put a fresh spotlight on whether the president seeks to implement a new structure that could create civilian leadership at the NSA.

The Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency has identified 15 companies that will compete to prove they can build a useful quantum computer while the Pentagon tries to poke holes in their plans. Three more companies are expected to join the project at a later date. 

Washington is interested in the theoretical machines because a cryptanalytically relevant quantum computer promises to break the encryption that secures everything from state secrets to financial transactions. DARPA’s Joe Altepeter, program manager of the Quantum Benchmarking Initiative, describes the new contest that he is overseeing as “crazy.”

“We’re going to do whatever we can to show that these companies’ plans won’t work, but we’re going to be honest brokers,” Mr. Altepeter said in a video. “And if we find out that it does work after a lot of hard work, a lot of analysis and a lot of independent testing, then we’re going to tell the other agencies of the government who care about if quantum computers work or not.”

The program begins with a six-month sprint in which the companies must provide technical details of their concepts to show they could plausibly build the machines. The companies receive up to $1 million from DARPA for this stage of the race, according to a DARPA presentation.  

Given the “nuclear buildup of Russia, China and North Korea and the likelihood that other countries will work to acquire nuclear weapons capability or purchase nuclear weapons, the Trump administration has emphasized the need to pursue an ambitious missile defense capability for the U.S.,” Joseph R. DeTrani writes.

“This ‘Golden Dome for America’ is long overdue,” writes Mr. DeTrani, a former director of the National Counterproliferation Center and a contributor to Threat Status.

“President Reagan pursued a missile defense system, the Strategic Defense Initiative, in the 1980s, but the technology was lacking,” he writes. “We now have the technology, and with a Missile Defense Agency working closely with the U.S. Space Force and our defense industry partners, we have an opportunity and responsibility to better protect the U.S. from the threat of a nuclear attack.”

• April 10-11 — Summit on Modern Conflict and Emerging Threats, Vanderbilt University

• April 14 — Tech Cold War: The Geopolitics of Technology, Stimson Center

• April 17 — Persistent Access, Persistent Threat: Ensuring Military Mobility Against Malicious Cyber Actors, Foundation for Defense of Democracies

• April 28- May 1 — RSAC 2025, RSA Conference

• April 30 — The Hill & Valley Forum