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Democrat James Talarico, running for the Senate in Texas against Republican Attorney General Ken Paxton, said in a CNN town hall on Wednesday night that the best way to keep American troops out of a war with Russia is to strengthen Ukraine and NATO allies so they carry the fight. It sounds like a bargain. But there are risks to this approach that Talarico did not outline.
In one-on-one debates at the town hall, audience members challenged Talarico on a variety of topics including Ukraine. On the issue, Talarico said, “We need to strengthen Ukraine. We need to strengthen our NATO allies as they stand up to Russian aggression so we don’t have to.” He continued, “In some ways, I see this as a cost-saving measure. If we can stop this aggression, if we can stop Putin in Ukraine, then we’re not going to have to stop him elsewhere.”
Note that his plan to save America from expensive war only works if we can stop Putin in Ukraine. All the rest is conjecture as to how events will unfold elsewhere and how long it will take for Americans to be called upon to fight against Putin elsewhere.
Many in Europe are arguing as to how much more they should be involved in the war in Ukraine. Czech Prime Minister Andrej Babiš even asked reporters at the EU summit this week whether Europeans will fight for another 20 years or 10, the Czech outlet Ekonomický deník reported. A U.S. senator is one of 100 votes on how far America's involvement in that war goes.
Much of the machinery is already in place. Section 535 of the National Defense Authorization Act for fiscal 2026, signed into law by President Trump on December 18, 2025, will switch Selective Service from self-registration to automatic registration of men ages 18 to 26 using federal databases. That is to occur one year after enactment, December 18 or 19, 2026, according to Military.com.
The Selective Service System sent a proposed rule to the White House on March 30. However, it withdrew the proposed rule on July 23, Military.com reported, and thus it is unclear how the agency can meet the December 2026 deadline under Section 535 to automatically register all men between the ages of 18 and 26 from federal databases, thus registering them for Selective Service without their having to register.
Registration is not a draft. There has been no draft in the United States since 1973 and any re-institutionalization of a draft would require a new law and the President’s signature. Women are not required to register.
It’s the same crowd of legislators who are voting on our involvement in Ukraine, on NATO, and on war powers issues. Talarico did not bring up a draft at the town hall, and nothing in his comments proposes one.
What is left unsaid in this scenario is the great unknown of his argument. Ratcheting up support for Ukraine is a bet that Putin will stop at that point. But if he does not, then it will not be dollars that are required to defend Ukraine. It will be the services of young men already on the federal list. Voters picking a Senate candidate should weigh that risk.
