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Nominee for DOD intelligence chief says "economic security is national security" and outlines priorities for irregular warfare and partner coordination
Summary
Bradley Hansel, nominated for Undersecretary of Defense for Intelligence and Security, told senators he plans to prioritize timely intelligence for forces, stronger counterintelligence and offensive cyber capabilities, and coordination on economic and irregular warfare.
Bradley Hansel, President Trump's nominee to be Undersecretary of Defense for Intelligence and Security, told the Senate Armed Services Committee that he would press to align defense intelligence with operational needs and to provide the secretary and combatant commanders with more timely, risk-informed options.
Hansel described "economic security is national security" as central to his outlook and said the intelligence enterprise must be reorganized to better support irregular and economic warfare activities that fall below traditional thresholds for military action. "We must better enable intelligence to inform department investments, effectively matching capabilities with threats," he told the committee.
Why it matters: Senators said the United States faces a complex threat set — from China to Russia, Iran and North Korea — that requires faster information flow, better program alignment, and protections against espionage. The committee pressed Hansel on whether his office should play a coordinating role for economic and irregular warfare inside DOD.
Hansel said he would advocate for a leadership role within the department for coordinating efforts and stressed interagency work for economic measures. He also recommended offensive cyber and strengthened offensive counterintelligence as areas for growth.
On personnel security and protections, senators asked about the use of threat assessments under the statutory authority related to protective details. Hansel noted the law requires threat assessments inform certain decisions and said, if confirmed and delegated responsibility, he would follow the statute and share assessments in accordance with regulations.
Hansel also addressed acquisition and industry engagement hurdles for commercial technologies, saying overclassification and security-process bottlenecks can deter competition and slow adoption. He pledged to work on reducing unnecessary classification and to build bridges with industry to speed up secure commercial technology use in the intelligence community.
The hearing moved to other nominees after questioning; no committee vote occurred on Hansel's nomination at the session's end.
