A Sixteenth Member of the U.S. Intelligence Community
With the creation of the Department of Homeland Security in 2002, the U.S. intelligence community gained its fifteenth member.
Last week, the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) became the sixteenth member.
“This designation does not grant DEA new authorities, but it does formalize the long-standing relationship between the DEA and the IC,” according to a February 17 news release from the Office of the Director of National Intelligence.
By preparing credible, bipartisan options now, before the bill becomes law, we can give the Administration a plan that is ready to implement rather than another study that gathers dust.
Even as companies and countries race to adopt AI, the U.S. lacks the capacity to fully characterize the behavior and risks of AI systems and ensure leadership across the AI stack. This gap has direct consequences for Commerce’s core missions.
The last remaining agreement limiting U.S. and Russian nuclear weapons has now expired. For the first time since 1972, there is no treaty-bound cap on strategic nuclear weapons.
As states take up AI regulation, they must prioritize transparency and build technical capacity to ensure effective governance and build public trust.