Cipher Brief Experts Question Trump's National Security Actions

President Donald Trump has wrapped his initial actions in office in the name of keeping the United States safe, but several experts and former top U.S. officials say they worry his moves on refugees, immigration, and reorganizing the National Security Council could hurt the country’s national security.

On Friday, Trump signed an executive order indefinitely blocking all refugees from Syria, suspending the entire broader refugee admissions program for 120 days, and stopping citizens from “countries of particular concern” — Iran, Iraq, Libya, Somalia, Sudan, Syria, and Yemen — from entering the United States for 90 days. The following day, he issued a memo giving the president’s chief strategist a permanent seat at the National Security Council table while diminishing the role of the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff and the Director of National Intelligence. The Cipher Brief spoke to several members of its network to assess whether these actions will, as Trump claims, “make America safe again.”