Author Archive

Katie Bo Williams

Katie Bo Williams

Senior National Security Correspondent

Katie Bo Williams is the senior national security correspondent for Defense One, where she writes about defense, counterterror, NATO, nukes, and more. She previously covered intelligence and cybersecurity for The Hill, including in-depth reporting on the Russia investigations and military detention issues. Before her journalism career, Katie Bo worked in thoroughbred horse racing, helping breed, sell, and prepare the next generation of Kentucky Derby winners. She is a graduate of the University of Virginia. A native of Goochland County, Virginia, she now lives in D.C. and can usually be found haunting one of the various bookstores on Capitol Hill.
Katie Bo Williams is the senior national security correspondent for Defense One, where she writes about defense, counterterror, NATO, nukes, and more. She previously covered intelligence and cybersecurity for The Hill, including in-depth reporting on the Russia investigations and military detention issues. Before her journalism career, Katie Bo worked in thoroughbred horse racing, helping breed, sell, and prepare the next generation of Kentucky Derby winners. She is a graduate of the University of Virginia. A native of Goochland County, Virginia, she now lives in D.C. and can usually be found haunting one of the various bookstores on Capitol Hill.
Defense

D.C. Guard Commander Says ‘Unusual’ Restrictions Prevented Swift Response To Capitol Riot

“I believe that number could have made a difference,” he said.

  • Katie Bo Williams
Defense

Biden: ‘I Will Never Politicize’ US Troops

Biden also announced a new Pentagon-led review of military strategy towards China.

  • Katie Bo Williams
Defense

US Flies B-52 Bomber To Gulf In Show of Force Against Iran

“We were also thinking…'Would they try to test the U.S. military in the early days of the new administration?'”

  • Katie Bo Williams
Defense

Austin Promises Healthy Civilian Control At DoD

“I look forward to working with the chairman, but I have no desire to be the chairman of the Joint Chiefs,” the retired general told senators.

  • Katie Bo Williams
Defense

Here’s Who Will Be Running the Pentagon When Biden Takes Office

Dozens named in the most comprehensive roster published to date of who will be running DoD when the president-elect is sworn in.

  • Katie Bo Williams
Defense

Troops at Inauguration Pre-Screened for Extremism, Says DC Guard Commander

“We will use the minimum force required to protect ourselves,” said Maj. Gen. William Walker, in an exclusive interview.

  • Katie Bo Williams
Defense

Joint Chiefs Affirm Election Results, Condemn ‘Assault on Our Constitutional Process’

“President-elect Biden will become our 46th Commander in Chief.”

  • Katie Bo Williams
Featured eBooks
Budget Outlook for Fiscal 2025
President's Management Agenda: Where it Stands
Connect Everything: JADC2 & networks
Oversight

Congress Launches Investigations into Capitol Police Following Siege

Two Senate committees add an inquest to the House inquiry announced on Thursday.

  • Katie Bo Williams
Defense

Right-Wing Extremists Storm U.S. Capitol

Tear gas in the Rotunda after Trump-incited insurrectionists overwhelm Capitol Police, disrupts election certification.

  • Katie Bo Williams and Bradley Peniston
Defense

DC Guard To Deploy for Pro-Trump Demonstrations In Washington

About 350 troops will help with crowd control — seven months after a fraught deployment in June.

  • Katie Bo Williams
Defense

Trump Officials Deliver Plan to Split Up Cyber Command, NSA

An end to the “dual hat” arrangement has been debated for years — but the timing raises questions. The plan requires Milley's certification to move ahead.

  • Katie Bo Williams
Defense

Trump Officials Reviewing DOD Support To CIA

Some officials familiar with the review see it as an effort to cut vital DOD support to the agency.

  • Katie Bo Williams
Defense

Austin Pick Thrusts Pentagon Into Identity-Politics Debate

His confirmation would be historic. But for whom?

  • Katie Bo Williams
Defense

US Has Achieved ‘Modicum of Success’ in Afghanistan, Top General Says

But years of military stalemate make negotiating with the Taliban the only option, Gen. Mark Milley says.

  • Katie Bo Williams
Featured eBooks
Budget Outlook for Fiscal 2025
President's Management Agenda: Where it Stands
Connect Everything: JADC2 & networks
Defense

EXCLUSIVE: Details Revealed in Trump’s Lame-Duck Pentagon Budget Draft

Some of the numbers are “fabricated,” says one official. But they shed light on GOP lines of attack awaiting Biden.

  • Marcus Weisgerber and Katie Bo Williams
Defense

Personality, Not Policy, Will Determine Top House Armed Services Republican

The pick may telegraph whether the GOP intends a cooperative or combative approach to the Biden administration.

  • Katie Bo Williams
Defense

Trump Orders Hasty Afghanistan, Iraq Drawdowns to Beat Biden Inauguration

Majority Leader McConnell leads chorus of bipartisan, shocked opposition to the 11th hour order read by Acting Defense Secretary Miller.

  • Katie Bo Williams
Defense

Tata Tapped to Perform Duties of Defense Undersecretary for Policy

President Trump’s deeply controversial nominee was rejected by the Senate over the summer.

  • Marcus Weisgerber and Katie Bo Williams
Defense

Trump Fires Esper, Taps NCTC Director to be Acting SecDef

Christopher Miller becomes Trump's fourth acting defense secretary just 72 days before Inauguration Day.

  • Marcus Weisgerber, Bradley Peniston and Katie Bo Williams
Defense

Helicopters Over DC Protesters Broke Regulations While Commander was Driving Home, DC Guard Concludes

The D.C. National Guard and Pentagon IG are fighting over who to blame for the dangerous incident that symbolized Trump’s militarized response.

  • Katie Bo Williams