Sources: USA Today
U.S. president Donald Trump orders the deployment of troops to Portland, Oregon, saying he has directed defense secretary Pete Hegseth to secure the "war-ravaged" city. 2025-09-27
U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken and Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin arrive in Ukraine and meet with Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelenskyy. In the highest-level American visit in Kyiv since the beginning of the Russian invasion, Zelenskyy is informed of the approved new military assistance for Ukraine. 2022-04-24
U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin makes an unannounced trip to Afghanistan ahead of a May 1 deadline to withdraw troops from the country. 2021-03-21
The public interest non-profit Cause for Action files a Freedom of Information Act request for United States Secretary of Defense Ashton Carter’s personal emails following his disclosure of using that account for official government emails, this in the wake of the former U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton email controversy and the Office of Personnel Management data breach. The U.S. Federal Records Act restricts use of personal email for official business. 2015-12-23
United States Secretary of Defense Ashton Carter indicates a more robust role ahead for the United States military in bolstering indigenous forces countering ISIS and in response to Russia’s increasing role in Middle East conflicts. 2015-10-26
The United States Secretary of Defense Ashton Carter warns that the People's Republic of China's island building in the South China Sea is undermining security in the Asia-Pacific region and has called for a diplomatic solution. 2015-05-30
Florida Senator Marco Rubio announces his candidacy for the Republican nomination in the 2016 presidential election. 2015-04-13
Chuck Hagel, the United States Secretary of Defense, accuses the People's Republic of China of "destablilizing" behaviour in the South China Sea. 2014-05-31
U.S. Secretary of Defense Leon Panetta makes an unannounced trip to Kabul and warns that his country is "reaching the limits of our patience here" with regard to Pakistan. 2012-06-7
US Senator Lisa Murkowski concedes defeat in the Alaskan Republican primary election to challenger to Joe Miller. 2010-08-31