David Welna

Defense Secretary James Mattis is one of most influential figures in the Trump administration, and yet recently he has been trying to keep the lowest profile possible. NPR accompanied him on a trip to Asia and has been watching his recent appearances on Capitol Hill.

Former FBI Director James Comey testified about his relationship with President Trump in the Senate on Thursday. NPR takes a look at what comes next in this story, especially given the limits of what Comey said he could discuss about the classified information in the case.

Three Gulf Arab states and Egypt cut diplomatic relations with Qatar, site of the largest U.S. air base in the Middle East. U.S. officials say the dispute will not affect the coalition against ISIS.

Washington has been springing more leaks during the nascent Trump presidency than it has for years. Some are coming from officials alarmed by Trump and his entourage. Trump and his supporters are demanding they be ferreted out and prosecuted. But other big leaks — ones that experts say truly could affect national security — appear to be coming from Trump himself, who can spill state secrets with judicial impunity.

The Pentagon quietly disclosed the results of its investigation into a deadly airstrike in March that killed more than 100 civilians in Mosul, Iraq. A small American bomb ignited "a large amount of explosive material" that ISIS fighters had hidden in the house.

There were angry reactions on Capitol Hill Tuesday to reports of President Trump sharing highly classified intelligence with Russia's foreign minister and ambassador in the Oval Office. Democrats are demanding the White House provide the intelligence committees with unedited transcripts of Trump's remarks to his Russian guests. They say Trump may have endangered both a key source of intelligence and trust in his administration.

James Comey was supposed to testify Thursday before the Senate Intelligence Committee about worldwide threats. Instead, Acting FBI Director Andrew McCabe showed up. He insisted the agency's investigation of Russian malfeasance continues and is adequately resourced; he contradicted the White House in affirming Comey had wide and strong support at the FBI; and he said it was not usual to inform someone he's not being investigated.

Military tensions are escalating over North Korea's steady march to being able to hit the U.S. mainland with a nuclear warhead. The Trump administration vows that won't happen. Some experts say such a risk is low, and it beats starting a second Korean war.

The next phase of Congress' investigation into the Trump-Russia story could be a major focus on U.S. intelligence — and what Republicans call its abuse.

Republican officials are outraged by leaks indicating U.S. intelligence agencies spied on Trump associates. But their anger is also tainting a top priority for national security hardliners: the reauthorization of an expiring warrantless surveillance program known as Section 702. It currently sweeps up countless Americans, and lawmakers are demanding at least an estimate of how many before the statute is extended.

NPR takes a look at what law authorized the U.S. to attack the Syrian regime, and if Congress will need to pass legislation to clear the way for subsequent action.

North Korea is likely to cast its shadow over the splendor at Mar-a-Lago when President Trump hosts Chinese leader Xi Jinping there this week. Trump is promising "if China is not going to solve North Korea, we will." A nuclear weapons drive that could allow Pyongyang to hit the U.S. mainland worries Washington, and a missile defense battery the U.S. is installing in South Korea has China on edge.

Getting Republicans and Democrats to cooperate in investigations that could be damaging to a president has long been a challenge. It happened in Watergate, but it seems unlikely now.

Former national security adviser Mike Flynn says he would testify to congressional committees in exchange for immunity. President Trump encouraged him to try to make such a deal.

The chairman and vice chairman of the Senate Intelligence Committee briefed reporters on Wednesday about their investigation into President Trump's potential connections to Russia's election meddling.

Former Trump campaign chairman Paul Manafort has volunteered to testify before the House Intelligence Committee as part of its investigation into potential ties between Trump aides and the Russian mischief in the 2016 presidential campaign. But partisan rancor and unusual revelations threaten to derail the committee's investigation — or at least, per critics, its credibility.

Rep. Adam Schiff, top House Intelligence Committee Democrat, breaks with chairman Devin Nunes' decision to close some hearings in the panel's probe of President Trump's connections to Russia.

The fallout continues Thursday after the chairman of a House panel investigating President Trump's connections to Russia revealed that Trump and aides might have been swept up in "incidental" surveillance. The chairman, Rep. Devin Nunes, reportedly apologized to the committee, and its top Democrat, Adam Schiff, and all but confirmed a CNN story suggesting there's more than circumstantial evidence tying the Trump camp to the Russians.

House Intel Committee Chairman Devin Nunes says then-President elect Trump and members of his transition team were captured by U.S. surveillance as part of "incidental collection" when members of the incoming administration phoned foreigners being watched by American intelligence. That is not a "wiretap" but the White House has a new opening to persist with charges that then-President Obama surveilled Trump in the past.

Members of Congress on the House Intelligence Committee questioned witnesses on Monday about the role played by Russia in the 2016 presidential race, including its potential ties to the Trump campaign.