The National Security Institute is hosting an important discussion on the growing strategic competition in orbital space as congestion, debris, and adversary capabilities threaten the sustainability of satellite-based infrastructure.
As the United States becomes increasingly reliant on space systems for military, economic, and civilian functions, protecting freedom of action in orbit has emerged as a core national security challenge. The discussion will explore how space competition intersects with cyber threats, commercial systems, and great-power rivalry.
Date: Tuesday, April 14, 2026
Time: 12:00 – 1:00 pm ET
Location: Capitol Hill
Panelists:
- Russell Rumbaugh – Deputy Executive Director, Center for Space Policy and Strategy, Aerospace Coorporate
- Clayton Swope – Deputy Director, Aerospace Security Project and Senior Fellow, Defense and Security Department, Center for Strategic & International Studies
Moderator:
- Jamil N. Jaffer – Founder and Executive Director, National Security Institute
MORE SPEAKERS TO COME!
Speakers:
Russell Rumbaugh
Russell Rumbaugh is the deputy executive director of the Center for Space Policy (CSPS) at The Aerospace Corporation. CSPS supports strategic-level customers across the nation’s civil, intelligence, and defense space agencies and conducts policy-level thought leadership research for Aerospace.
Rumbaugh returns to Aerospace after providing distinguished service as the assistant secretary of the Navy for Financial Management and Comptroller. Prior government experience included serving twice in the Office of the Secretary of Defense/Office of Cost Assessment and Program Evaluation (which manages the entire Department of Defense’s resourcing process) and as both professional staff in the Senate and personal staff in the House of Representatives—collective experience providing Rumbaugh an end-to-end view of how U.S. national security is resourced.
Rumbaugh has devoted substantial depth of study to these processes; besides his time at CSPS, he has also worked at the Congressional Research Service and the Stimson Center, which advances international security and collective growth through applied research and independent analysis, global engagement, and policy innovation. He has taught graduate-level courses at Georgetown University, George Mason University, and the University of Maryland. He has published widely, including in the Journal of Strategic Studies, Foreign Affairs, Joint Force Quarterly, and the New York Times.
Clayton Swope
Clayton Swope is the deputy director of the Aerospace Security Project and a senior fellow in the Defense and Security Department at the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS). Before joining CSIS, Swope led national security and cybersecurity public policy for Amazon’s Project Kuiper, an initiative to increase global broadband access through a constellation of satellites in low Earth orbit. While at Amazon, he also worked on cloud policy issues. Prior to his time at Amazon, Swope served as a senior adviser on national security, space, foreign affairs, and technology policy issues for a member of the U.S. House of Representatives. He also worked for more than 14 years at the Central Intelligence Agency, serving largely in the Directorate of Science and Technology. He holds a bachelor of science in mechanical engineering from the University of Notre Dame.
Jamil N. Jaffer
Jamil N. Jaffer is the Founder and Executive Director of the National Security Institute (NSI) at George Mason University’s Antonin Scalia Law School, where he also serves as an Assistant Professor of Law, Director of the National Security Law and Policy Program, and Director of the Cyber, Intelligence, and National Security LL.M. Program. He teaches courses on counterterrorism, cybersecurity, intelligence, surveillance, and national security law, including a summer program abroad with U.S. Supreme Court Justice Neil M. Gorsuch. Jamil is also affiliated with Stanford University’s Center for International Security and Cooperation and was previously a Visiting Fellow at the Hoover Institution.
Jamil is a Venture Partner at Paladin Capital Group, focusing on dual-use national security technologies, and serves on the boards of RangeForce, Tozny, and the advisory boards of U.S. Strategic Metals, Constella Intelligence, Beacon Global Strategies, and Duco. He is the Managing Director of Trigraph Caveat Capital and actively engaged with numerous civic, policy, and nonprofit organizations including the Global Cyber Alliance, Foundation for the Defense of Democracies, Greater Washington Board of Trade, and the Reagan Institute Strategy Group. He has also held board roles with the Center for Intelligence Policy and Speech First, and serves on the Executive Committee of the Federalist Society’s International Law and National Security Practice Group.
From 2015 to 2021, Jamil was a senior executive at IronNet Cybersecurity, working directly for former NSA Director Gen. (Ret.) Keith Alexander and former Zscaler COO Bill Welch. He helped grow the company from an early-stage startup through VC funding rounds and its public listing. In government, he served as Chief Counsel and Senior Advisor to the Senate Foreign Relations Committee under Chairman Bob Corker, and as Senior Counsel to the House Intelligence Committee under Chairman Mike Rogers. He played a lead role in authoring the Iran Nuclear Agreement Review Act, AUMF proposals, and the Cyber Intelligence Sharing and Protection Act. Jamil also served in the Bush Administration as Associate Counsel to the President and as Counsel to the Assistant Attorney General for National Security, where he led major initiatives in cybersecurity, FISA litigation, and counterterrorism.
Earlier in his career, Jamil served in the DOJ’s Office of Legal Policy, in private practice at Kellogg Huber, and on Capitol Hill with Congressman Bob Goodlatte. He clerked for Judge Edith H. Jones on the Fifth Circuit, then-Judge Neil Gorsuch on the Tenth Circuit, and Justice Gorsuch on the U.S. Supreme Court. A recognized thought leader, Jamil has co-authored book chapters with Gen. Keith Alexander and Gen. Michael Hayden and published widely with figures like Michael Mukasey and Matt Olsen. He has testified before Congress on cybersecurity and China, advised the Cyberspace Solarium Commission, and appeared in major media outlets including CNN, Fox News, NPR, and The Wall Street Journal. Jamil holds degrees from UCLA (B.A., cum laude), the University of Chicago Law School (J.D., with honors), and the U.S. Naval War College (M.A., with distinction).