Revocation of Reporting Requirement

This executive order revokes Section 3 of Executive Order 13732, eliminating the annual requirement for the Director of National Intelligence to release an unclassified public summary of U.S. drone strikes outside active war zones and assessments of civilian and combatant deaths. The revocation does not affect separate congressional reporting requirements for civilian casualties under the National Defense Authorization Acts.

Federal Register Open PDF 84 FR 8789

Impact dates

May 1, 2019
First annual report no longer required due to revocation
Mar 6, 2019
Revocation takes effect immediately upon signing

Key directives

Revoke Section 3 of Executive Order 13732 (annual public reporting of strikes and casualty assessments)

Timeline

Immediate

Revocation of annual public strike reporting requirement takes effect
DNI no longer obligated to release May 1 public summary

Near term (90d)

First missed reporting cycle would be May 1, 2019

Long term

Persistent reduction in public transparency regarding targeted killing operations
Potential erosion of accountability mechanisms for civilian harm

Risks & tensions

Reduces transparency without eliminating all oversight: statutory congressional reporting under NDAA remains
Potential tension with democratic accountability norms; revocation of transparency measure without replacement
Classified annex provision in NDAA means public may still receive limited information only if Secretary waives national security certification