WASHINGTON, D.C. (May 7, 2026) – The McCain Institute at Arizona State University (ASU) today released a sampling of news coverage from the 2026 Sedona Forum, which took place May 1-2 in Sedona, Arizona.
“OP Head Kyrylo Budanov stated during his speech at the McCain Institute’s Sedona Forum that the strength of the United States is directly linked to their alliance with Ukraine and their ability to respond to global security challenges.” Read the full article here.
Arizona’s Family/KPHO: VIDEO: Arizona Governor Katie Hobbs Touts Ariz. Achievements at Sedona Forum
Arizona Republic: Sen. Ruben Gallego, at the Sedona Forum, calls for more aid to Ukraine
“‘America seemingly can’t fully back Ukraine in its war with Russia as long as President Donald Trump favors the Kremlin,’ Sen. Ruben Gallego and a retiring House Republican said.
Speaking at the McCain Institute’s Sedona Forum on May 2, Gallego, D-Arizona, and Rep. Don Bacon, R-Nebraska, voiced a longstanding, bipartisan frustration that the U.S. has played too small a role in a war many see as vital to American interests in checking Russia.
‘I think there was a problem in the Biden administration where they didn’t know if Ukraine could win and what a victory would look like,’ said Gallego, who was a member of the House Armed Services Committee before joining the Senate in 2025.
‘And then you have problem with this administration that I don’t think wants Ukraine to win. This is my personal opinion… Ukraine is winning right now, and we should make the decisions to make sure that happens.’
Bacon, who is a member of the House Armed Services Committee, noted that polling shows 70% of Americans support Ukraine in that war.
‘America has moral clarity on this,’ Bacon said. ‘I can’t figure out why the White House doesn’t.’” Read the full article here.
CBS’ Face the Nation: VIDEO: Rep. Jason Crow says U.S. is “not good at having off ramps” in Middle East conflicts
Rep. Jason Crow of Colorado joined CBS’ Margaret Brennan live from the Sedona Forum on Sunday, May 3, 2026.
C-SPAN: VIDEOS: Lawmakers Discuss American Dominance at McCain Institute
“Lawmakers, national security experts and others discuss America’s role in the world at the McCain Institute’s 2026 forum in Sedona, Arizona.” Read the full article here.
Censor.net: Budanov: Ukraine needs real security guarantees binding on our allies
Head of the Office of the President of Ukraine, Kyrylo Budanov, called on partners at the Sedona Forum to create a system of real security guarantees that would have clear legal force and ensure Ukraine’s protection. According to him, formal promises are not enough to deter renewed Russian aggression. Read the full article here.
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Punchbowl News: Defense: Fears grow over move on Cuba
“Democrats are increasingly concerned President Donald Trump — undeterred by the ongoing Iran war — will move for regime change in Cuba next.
In interviews with half a dozen lawmakers on the sidelines of the McCain Institute’s Sedona Forum, lawmakers fear Trump sees toppling adversarial regimes as a core part of his legacy and is only emboldened as Republicans in Congress have not interceded amid his actions in Venezuela and Iran.” Read the full article here.
Punchbowl News: U.S. troop move from Germany draws bipartisan ire
“A handful of senior Republicans and Democrats are blasting the Trump administration’s sudden decision to withdraw 5,000 U.S. troops from Germany.
‘It’s just not smart. It’s a knee-jerk reaction,” said Rep. Don Bacon (R-Neb.), a senior member of the House Armed Services Committee Saturday at the Sedona Forum. “It continues to weaken NATO, and it undermines the trust that the European countries have towards our leadership.” Read the full article here.
Punchbowl News: Defense: Divisions raw on Venezuela elections timing
“Trump-backed interim President Delcy Rodríguez declined last week to offer a timeline for elections. A key Venezuelan opposition leader told Punchbowl News at the Sedona Forum the exact date was less important than concrete steps to implement reforms like releasing political prisoners and ensuring free speech access.
‘What’s urgent now — and I think the U.S. should make this priority — is to signal that there will be elections,’ Leopoldo López said. ‘That would give a lot of certainty.’ Read the full article here.
Punchbowl News: Ukraine backers vow tougher approach in aid fight
Ukraine supporters know they’ll need Democratic votes to advance major swaths of President Donald Trump’s $1.5 trillion Pentagon budget request and government funding.
They see these must-pass bills as essential leverage points to force a reluctant Trump administration — and other hostile Republicans in Congress — to provide Ukraine the resources to end Vladimir Putin’s war.
‘Not one damn nickel, unless there’s a really robust support for Ukraine that helps Ukraine put Putin in the cage he belongs in,’ said Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse (D-R.I.) at the Sedona Forum on Friday.” Read the full article here.
Punchbowl News: Kelly thinks Hegseth fight may reach SCOTUS
“Sen. Mark Kelly (D-Ariz.) will be back in Washington on Thursday morning for the latest chapter in his legal battle with Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth.
The Arizona Democrat doesn’t think this will be the end of the road.
‘My expectation is we win in the circuit court, and I also expect them to probably appeal again, and it might go to the Supreme Court,’ Kelly told us at the Sedona Forum. ‘No matter what he does, I am not going away.’” Read the full article here.
Punchbowl News: Defense: Crow plots Pentagon oversight
“Rep. Jason Crow (D-Colo.) says his party is already mapping out an oversight agenda for the Pentagon if Democrats take control of the House next year.
The Armed Services Committee member said prioritizing oversight targets would be ‘really important’ because ‘you can’t do everything at once.’ Crow’s comments on Saturday come as fellow Democratic members of the committee released a broader list of priorities that may serve as a roadmap if they win back the chamber.
‘We are actively talking about what an oversight agenda is and should be and nor should we ever apologize for that,’ Crow said on the sidelines of the Sedona Forum. ‘What we’re actually doing is stopping corruption that’s stealing from the American people.’” Read the full article here.
NOTUS’ Igor Bobic:
NOTUS: Trump’s Surprise Germany Troop Withdrawal Sets Up Showdown With Congress
“The decision to withdraw troops from Germany received blowback from lawmakers in both parties. Sen. Ruben Gallego, an Arizona Democrat, said it undermines NATO and that lawmakers would ‘invoke’ legislation barring the move.
‘We actually put in legislation … that you could not pull out troops from Germany and even from Europe without these certain steps, which we’re going to invoke,’ Gallego said on stage at the Sedona Forum, a conference hosted by the McCain Institute, an organization founded by the late Sen. John McCain…
Republican Rep. Don Bacon of Nebraska, a former Air Force general who once commanded U.S. troops in Germany, noted that America’s military presence in Germany isn’t only about protecting that country. It includes an intel hub and offers U.S. forces a waypoint to the Middle East, Africa and elsewhere in Europe.”
‘It probably pleases Russia,’ he said on the sidelines of the Sedona Forum. ‘It’s like playing checkers blindfolded. The word that comes to me now is ‘petulant.’ NATO is the most successful alliance in history, and this undermines it.’” Read the full article here.
Senate of Japan Senator Rui Matsukawa:
Tucson.com: Sen. Gallego calls for more aid to Ukraine
“Speaking at the McCain Institute’s Sedona Forum on May 2, Gallego, D-Arizona, and Rep. Don Bacon, R-Nebraska, voiced a longstanding, bipartisan frustration that the U.S. has played too small a role in a war many see as vital to American interests in checking Russia.” Read the full article here.
UA News: Budanov called on allies to establish legal security guarantees
“Kirill Budanov, Head of the Main Intelligence Directorate of the Ministry of Defense, stated that it is necessary to develop a system of concrete security guarantees with clear legal force to protect Ukraine. He emphasized that formal promises are insufficient to effectively deter future aggression by the Russian Federation.
Budanov made these remarks during a speech at the Sedona Forum.” Read the full article here.
Understandable Insights (Ui): Episode 42: Managed Conflict and the Limits of More
“‘We can’t buy our way out of the situations we have. We’re going to have to imagine and affect our way out of the problems we have. More isn’t going to do it for us.’ — Sue Gordon
Sue returned from the McCain Institute’s Sedona Forum — an annual gathering of U.S. and world leaders — with a unifying observation: across every major panel, from Ukraine to food security to artificial intelligence, the pattern was the same. We have more capability, more technology, more military power, and more economic output than at any point in history. And yet none of the world’s major conflicts are being resolved. They’re being managed.
The episode builds toward a new framework: capability parity doesn’t produce security. When every actor has comparable tools, and no shared mechanisms exist for translating capability into outcome, conflicts stall rather than resolve. The question isn’t whether we have enough. It’s whether we can put what we have to better use.” Listen to the podcast here.
U.S. Congressman Don Bacon (R-Neb.)
Washington Post Intelligence Lead Global Security Analyst Josh Rogin:
