Trump Admin Reveals Greatest Threat To The U.S.

Top officials in former President Donald Trump’s administration have identified what they consider to be the most significant threat to the United States.

During a report presented to the Senate Intelligence Committee, Trump administration officials highlighted one of the most pressing dangers to national security: fentanyl and the international drug networks responsible for trafficking the lethal substance into the U.S.

“Cartels were largely responsible for the deaths of more than 54,000 U.S. citizens from synthetic opioids” within the 12-month period ending in October 2024, stated Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard in her opening remarks.

The U.S. Intelligence Community’s annual threat assessment for 2025, released on Tuesday, reported a slightly different figure, estimating that cartel-related activity may have contributed to 52,000 deaths nationwide.

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, overdoses involving fentanyl, methamphetamines, and other illicit drugs led to approximately 84,000 deaths in the U.S. during that timeframe.

At Tuesday’s hearing, Sen. Tom Cotton (R-AR), chair of the Intelligence Committee, emphasized that the Trump administration had made fentanyl a central concern, prioritizing it over threats posed by Iran, North Korea, and Russia.

“For the first time, the annual threat assessment lists foreign illicit drug actors as the very first threat to our country,” Cotton noted, specifically calling out “Mexican-based cartels using precursors [industrial chemicals] produced in China.”

Despite the administration’s focus on the fentanyl crisis, public attention was diverted by growing controversy surrounding the use of the encrypted messaging app Signal by officials planning a military operation in Yemen.

As chairman of the Senate Intelligence Committee, Sen. Cotton questioned top U.S. intelligence officials about whether China was taking sufficient action to prevent the export of industrial chemicals used in the production of fentanyl, which continues to claim tens of thousands of American lives each year.

Fentanyl first surfaced on U.S. streets in 2012, rapidly displacing heroin and prescription opioids as the most lethal drug distributed by criminal organizations. During Trump’s initial term, fentanyl-related deaths surged, rising by over 30 percent in 2020 alone.

However, opioid-related fatalities have since declined. The latest CDC data indicates that deaths from overdoses decreased by more than 26% from their peak in 2023 to October of the following year. A significant aspect of the Biden administration’s approach to the crisis involved implementing measures to safeguard public health.

Former President Trump, however, has linked his tariffs on Canada, China, and Mexico to his concerns over fentanyl trafficking. In an executive order, he officially designated cartels as terrorist organizations. Additionally, he has expressed strong support for imposing the death penalty on drug traffickers.

Rep. Greg Steube of Florida is among the Republicans advocating for direct military action against drug cartels in Mexico and other regions.

During Tuesday’s hearing, Sen. Cotton pressed John Ratcliffe, CIA Director, on whether China was taking adequate steps to curb the export of fentanyl-related chemicals used by drug trafficking organizations.

“No, there’s nothing to prevent China, the People’s Republic of China, from cracking down on fentanyl precursors,” Ratcliffe responded.

He further asserted that Chinese Communist Party-affiliated companies remain key players in the production of illicit fentanyl.

“There are more than six hundred PRC-related companies that produce those precursor chemicals in an industry that produces more than $1.5 trillion [in revenue],” Ratcliffe explained.

Ratcliffe described China’s efforts to combat drug trafficking as “intermittent in nature and limited in nature.”

Experts on drug policy widely concur that cartels and organized crime syndicates have played a major role in fueling the deadliest overdose crisis in U.S. history, with Chinese companies and Mexican gangs being particularly implicated.