National Security

As a United States Senator for Arizona, Dr. Kelli Ward will do everything in her power to ensure America is protected against today’s real-world threats. The defense of our homeland, and the safety and security of every American citizen, is a responsibility that Dr. Ward takes highly seriously.    

This includes providing our brave men and women in uniform with the best training, equipment, and support necessary to accomplish their missions. And when our servicemembers have completed their service, Dr. Ward will fight to make sure they receive the medical care that they deserve from a reformed and improved Veterans Administration.

As a military wife of a husband who deployed overseas, Dr. Ward supports military engagement as a final resort. Only after being constitutionally approved by Congress, and only when there is a clear strategy for decisive victory, should American forces be sent into battle on foreign soil. Most importantly, Dr. Ward steadfastly opposes the unsuccessful strategy of endless occupations and expensive nation-building.

Nevertheless, Dr. Ward does agree with Secretary of Defense James Mattis, who has stressed that “years of stable budgets and increased funding” will be needed to restore American military readiness.

Like President Ronald Reagan, Dr. Ward subscribes to the idea of "peace through strength,” concurrent with a realistic and restrained foreign policy. She strongly believes that America should no longer be the world's policeman, and choosing military half-measures simply leads to bigger problems and fewer solutions.

“Weakness is provocative” – as former Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld once noted – and bad actors around the globe are emboldened to act against America and American interests when they perceive our country lacks the resolve or capability of responding effectively.  A properly led and funded United States military is the greatest guarantor of peace on the planet.

But America’s powerful military deterrence is only as effective as its operational readiness. Our country’s would-be adversaries must not only know America possesses the will but also the military capability to defeat any enemy, on any battlefield.  

Therefore, Dr. Ward supports the creation of a unified missile defense plan to protect Americans from today’s and tomorrow’s ballistic missile threats. Our enemies continue to develop ballistic missile capabilities while threatening America and its allies.  Missile defense is critical to protecting the American homeland, our overseas military bases, and our partners.

Dr. Ward also supports improving America’s transportation security – including the security of air travel – through comprehensive reform of the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) bureaucracy. 

The unusual structure of the TSA, formed in the aftermath of the 9/11 terrorist attacks, makes it both a regulatory and regulated agency.  In short, the agency regulates itself. A better approach is to examine the use of private security contractors, similar to the model used in Canada and Europe, to reduce costs and allow the agency to focus on setting and enforcing high-security standards.

Dr. Ward believes that flexibility and adaptability by our intelligence and law enforcement agencies are necessary if we are to effectively address continually evolving terrorist threats.

Meeting terrorist threats requires having a clear-eyed view of the world, regardless of political correctness or preconceptions. When it comes to threat assessments, Dr. Ward believes realism must always prevail.

According to The Heritage Foundation, 87 of the 100 terrorist attacks on U.S. soil since 9/11 were committed by homegrown terrorists. Our counterterrorism policies must meet the twin goals of protecting America from threats originating abroad, as well as here at home.

Additionally, immigration programs that do not serve our interests should be replaced with those that do. This includes eliminating the Diversity Visa Lottery Program, which awards 50,000 green cards each year to random applicants from countries meeting specific criteria. The program does not serve the interests of attracting the best and brightest, meeting our economic needs, or greater family reunification.

Eliminating this program is not about targeting any specific group, ensuring that our immigration system meets our national interests – a goal that is not met by randomly awarding permanent residency status to people purely for the purpose of promoting “diversity.” 

Under Dr. Ward’s proposed policies, America will be able to rebuild its national defenses, as well as create new ones that will serve as overwhelming deterrents to our adversaries.