Imagine a drone swarm spraying a chemical agent over a packed stadium. It sounds like science fiction, but the technology exists today — and the federal office best equipped to prevent such a nightmare scenario may be at risk of being shut down.
As the assistant secretary for the Department of Homeland Security’s Countering Weapons of Mass Destruction Office from 2023-2025, I’ve seen firsthand how this small but vital team protects the homeland from catastrophic threats. The office leads our nation’s efforts to detect and deter chemical, biological, radiological and nuclear threats.
And yet, there are reports that this office may be shut down. This would be a grave mistake.
The Countering Weapons of Mass Destruction Office was created during the first Trump administration to unify and strengthen the whole-of-government’s response to detecting and deterring WMD threats. These threats aren’t theoretical — they are real, evolving and becoming more accessible as emerging technologies advance. During my tenure, we studied the ways artificial intelligence could eventually lower the barriers to developing weapons once thought too complex for non-state actors. We received demonstrations of commercially available agricultural drones capable of spraying hundreds of gallons of chemicals in minutes.
In that same period, I also saw how this office's quiet investments saved lives.
In Seattle, local officials told me that committees overseeing the BioWatch program — the nation’s environmental monitoring system for aerosolized biological attacks — provided the only setting where public health and public safety leaders met regularly. That collaboration proved invaluable: this group was the first to detect COVID-19 on U.S. soil. Although COVID wasn’t the target BioWatch was designed to catch, the office's work had created connections and relationships that allowed the right people to act fast.
In Indianapolis, I watched the teams we supported from across the country come together to protect the Indy 500. Based on longstanding relationships, Indianapolis law enforcement and the Countering Weapons of Mass Destruction office coordinated trained support from as far away as Massachusetts and Florida. These programs don’t just supply gear — they build the networks, trust and practice that states need to respond in a crisis.
We have several high-stakes events on the horizon. During this Trump administration, the U.S. will host both the FIFA World Cup and the Summer Olympics, with matches spread across cities nationwide. If the Countering Weapons of Mass Destruction office is shuttered, those host cities will be left scrambling to find the tools, expertise and personnel needed to guard against weapons of mass destruction threats in less than 18 months.
The office runs on a relatively modest budget — less than 1 percent of the DHS ...
