Exactly 90 days ago, Donald Trump was inaugurated as president of the United States. That means Thursday marks his administration's whiff on a major self-imposed deadline — one to assemble a team that would, within 90 days, assess claims of Russian interference in the presidential election and examine American cybersecurity. Trump made the promise repeatedly: "My people will have a full report on hacking within 90 days!" he tweeted Jan. 13.
The Intercept tried to check in last week to see how that was coming along:
Reached by phone, Senior Assistant White House Press Secretary Michael Short said, "I'm in the parking lot, I don't have an update" on the promised report. Asked when he might be able to provide an update, Short repeated, "I'm in the parking lot." Then he said "I've got to run" and hung up. [The Intercept]
Politico also had no luck:
The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
The National Security Council would normally be involved in creating such a report. But on Wednesday, a NSC spokesperson told Politico that he was unaware if the NSC was in charge of compiling it, or if that responsibility fell to [Rudy Giuliani, who was tasked by Trump to build partnerships on cybersecurity with the private sector] — or if the report exists.Giuliani is continuing his work talking to the private sector, but a spokesperson for the former New York City mayor confirmed that he is not involved in any 90-day report.The White House spokesperson wouldn't directly address why the deadline was missed. [Politico]
Missing the cybersecurity deadline is of particular concern to critics, including Ned Price, who was a spokesman for the National Security Council under former President Barack Obama. Missing the deadline shows "a lackadaisical approach to what intelligence officials have routinely said is our biggest national security threat," Price told Politico. "It speaks to the level of priority that this administration apparently has attached to cybersecurity, which apparently isn't much."
-
The rise in unregulated pregnancy scansUnder The Radar Industry body says some private scan clinics offer dangerously misleading advice
-
Democrats seek 2026 inspiration from special election routsIN THE SPOTLIGHT High-profile wins are helping a party demoralized by Trump’s reelection regain momentum
-
Film reviews: ‘Bugonia,’ ‘The Mastermind,’ and ‘Nouvelle Vague’feature A kidnapped CEO might only appear to be human, an amateurish art heist goes sideways, and Jean-Luc Godard’s ‘Breathless’ gets a lively homage
-
Has Zohran Mamdani shown the Democrats how to win again?Today’s Big Question New York City mayoral election touted as victory for left-wing populists but moderate centrist wins elsewhere present more complex path for Democratic Party
-
Senate votes to kill Trump’s Brazil tariffSpeed Read Five Senate Republicans joined the Democrats in rebuking Trump’s import tax
-
Border Patrol gets scrutiny in court, gains power in ICESpeed Read Half of the new ICE directors are reportedly from DHS’s more aggressive Customs and Border Protection branch
-
Shutdown stalemate nears key pain pointsSpeed Read A federal employee union called for the Democrats to to stand down four weeks into the government standoff
-
Trump vows new tariffs on Canada over Reagan adspeed read The ad that offended the president has Ronald Reagan explaining why import taxes hurt the economy
-
NY attorney general asks public for ICE raid footageSpeed Read Rep. Dan Goldman claims ICE wrongly detained four US citizens in the Canal Street raid and held them for a whole day without charges
-
Trump’s huge ballroom to replace razed East WingSpeed Read The White House’s east wing is being torn down amid ballroom construction
-
Trump expands boat strikes to Pacific, killing 5 moreSpeed Read The US military destroyed two more alleged drug smuggling boats in international waters
