Rubio GRILLED over Florsheim shoes during UNHINGED Dem questioning

[0:19] the purpose of today's hearing is to examine the state department's fiscal year 2027 budget requests [0:26] and identify where we are achieving the greatest returns on our investment on behalf of the [0:30] american taxpayers and how the department is realigning programs and bureaucracy [0:36] to support the president's america first policy agenda i will now recognize myself for a very brief [0:44] opening statement mr secretary i appreciate you being here today i know that members are eager to [0:52] get to their questions so i'll be very brief we appreciate your attendance i can give you a [0:59] foreshadowing of what you're about to experience my democrat colleagues are going to sit up here and [1:03] say that they haven't heard from the administration i'm going to thank you for the 30 times just in [1:10] this congress that the state department has briefed the full committee the subcommittee round tables [1:17] other times that you all have been here to brief us on a myriad of issues i want to thank you for [1:22] the only the over 20 briefings that you've given to congress by yourself with general kane director [1:27] radcliffe secretary hegseth and others since the start of operation epic fury some of my colleagues [1:34] in here will say that we are in a war of choice with no real threat to the u.s i want to say to you [1:42] thank you for choosing to kill those who have been attacking and killing us for over 47 years [1:48] specifically attacking us over 350 times in the 30 months prior to operation epic fury under senile [1:57] joe biden they voted to my colleagues over here voted to say use any and all means to prevent iran [2:04] from obtaining a nuclear weapon so i want to thank you for bringing the heat to iran even though most of [2:10] my colleagues on the left now say that iran poses no threat they pretend as though they have never been [2:16] attacking us i also want to thank you for the work that you've done to reset the western hemisphere [2:22] while you've been focused on bettering our relationships in places like panama cuba venezuela [2:29] throughout the gulf of america the biden and blanket administration focused on funding drag shows in [2:35] ecuador and transgender operas in colombia i would say your work is significantly better so i want to thank you [2:41] for the substantial change in putting america first in our foreign policy and with that i will [2:47] recognize ranking member meeks for whatever he has to say thank you secretary we all for being here [2:55] today you know 18 months ago you inherited the most powerful diplomatic institution in the world [3:03] built on three pillars that have defined american leadership since world war ii i call them the three d's [3:09] diplomacy dialogue and development and in just 18 months the trump administration has taken a wrecking ball to all three [3:20] this administration has involved and have invoked a world view from years past that has left the united states [3:29] isolated and struggling economically what you see is a greatest hits album of failed ideas from the last century [3:40] terrorists spears of influence attacks on civil rights and immigration ignoring science and hoping [3:54] for the best mr secretary america cannot win the future by trying to relive the past and your department [4:11] is exhibit a we've seen the systematic dismantling of america's diplomatic corps over 100 ambassador posts sit [4:21] vacant around the world 1 300 career professionals people with decades of expertise in energy counterterrorism [4:31] and nuclear non-proliferation have been fired efforts to ensure u.s diplomats represent the diversity of america [4:40] have been squandered while china increases its diplomatic presence globally we have cut ours to the bone america [4:50] can not win the future by retreating and ceding the field on trade this administration revived smook hawley [5:01] and we all know how that ended trump's tariffs raised costs for american people harmed small businesses [5:09] and alienated our allies we cannot build a 21st century economy on 20th century failures mr secretary [5:22] after decades of forever war in the middle east president trump promised the american people no new wars [5:30] only to send a new generation of troops back to the middle east we've traded dialogue for bombs yet again [5:39] and where does that leave us today the iranian regime still has its missiles its drones its proxies [5:47] and its nuclear material there is an ayatollah still in power only he's younger with the irgc more interest [5:57] and more hardline the strait of hamus is closed it wasn't before you started this war it wasn't before [6:06] we lost 14 american troops before american bombs killed 168 iranian schoolgirls before americans were [6:14] forced to spend over 100 billion dollars on this war you helped spend the perfect pretext for this war [6:23] and then failed to prepare american embassies and citizens when the bombs started falling [6:28] those who have defended and enabled this war share direct responsibility for the economic pain [6:35] american families are bearing as a result our allies knew this war was ill-advised and that's why [6:43] they're sitting on the sidelines while gulf energy infrastructure and american bases take incoming [6:49] trump said america first now america's alone in our hemisphere talk of reasserting dominance has meant [6:57] illegally abducting foreign leaders installing one autocrat in place of another bombing boats without due [7:04] process and blockading civilian populations that is not american leadership those are not american values [7:13] that is behavior we built the rules based order to prevent the trump administration's attacked on [7:20] foreign aid and development efforts remain equally destructive and regressive this administration's [7:27] policies have directly contributed to famine in south sudan and have undermined our ability to respond to [7:32] the latest ebola outbreak in real time hiv rates are rising mr secretary these cuts have resulted in the [7:41] avoidable death of hundreds of thousands of children around the world and we cannot protect americans [7:48] by ignoring science or forgetting what ignoring it cost us before so mr secretary on climate and energy [7:57] the story is the same ranking members time has expired other members of the committee are reminding that [8:02] opening statements may be submitted for the record we're pleased to have secretary of state marco rubio [8:07] before us today your full statements will be made a part of the record i'll ask you to keep your spoken [8:11] remarks to five minutes in order to allow time for member questions i now recognize secretary rubio [8:16] for your opening statement thank you mr chairman thank you mr ranking member and all the members of [8:20] the committee for having me i have a written opening statement i'll submit it i'll try to cut the five [8:25] minutes in half if i can let's just get right to the point i think that you i would characterize the last [8:30] 16 17 months at the state department is two things a history of tremendous successes combined with [8:36] uh ongoing and difficult challenges and we will always have ongoing and difficult challenges in [8:41] the world let me walk through them one by one india and pakistan were on the verge of an all-out war [8:45] the state department and i personally were involved in de-escalating that conflict and bringing it to [8:49] an end a war between two nuclear powers thailand and cambodia were involved in a war cambodia a country [8:55] we haven't normally had close relations with in a very long time the u.s the president personally played a [9:00] pivotal role not once but twice restoring ceasefires and ending that conflict um obviously the the [9:06] the uh the war in gaza was brought to an end not only that but all the hostages that remained were [9:12] released both the bodies and those who were alive armenia and azerbaijan that conflict ended not only [9:18] did it end but it ended with an agreement that i signed the mou on yesterday creating a new prosperity [9:23] route the trip route which will provide extraordinary opportunities for both countries especially for [9:28] armenia while respecting their sovereignty to really benefit from that the shield of the americas [9:33] was stood up that means over 14 countries in the hemisphere 14 countries in the hemisphere have [9:38] signed up to partner with us on counter-terrorism counter-narcotics and security matters and we [9:43] believe that that number will grow over the next few months as election elections change [9:48] leaderships in various countries we held a rare earth ministerial that was attended by over 30 some [9:53] odd countries from around the world all who were signing up for an american-led effort to [9:58] ensure that critical supplies of rare earth minerals around the world are available for our emerging [10:03] economies and we don't remain overly dependent on china we also announced the pax silica uh proposal [10:09] which is growing but it's at 14 members now these are 14 countries that are cooperating with one another [10:14] to protect the supply chains critical to ai and ai development in the future in venezuela we now have a [10:20] functioning and open embassy we have people traveling there for the first time it's not where it needs to [10:25] be but it is a long ways from where it was five months ago and it poses nearly not nearly the threat [10:30] it once posed to america's national security we're not satisfied with where it is but we've come a long [10:35] way we're certainly better off than we were five years uh five months ago on the on the on nigeria [10:42] where we were all many were very concerned about violence against christians we are now actively in [10:46] counter-terrorism cooperation with the nigerian government and nigerian security forces including a joint [10:52] operation a couple weeks ago that took out the number two leader of global isis operating from [10:57] inside of the country and that continues the pacific islands small pacific islands under constant [11:02] pressure and threat from china have received more attention from this administration than they've [11:06] received in the last 10 years combined and deliverables are coming along the way the quad an [11:12] important alliance in the indo-pacific between india japan australia we've had multiple meetings of those of [11:17] that group including a meeting just last week in india and a follow-up that's going to occur [11:22] later this year including a leaders meeting before the end of the year as i speak to you [11:26] now for the second consecutive day and for the first time in many many years the leaders of the [11:31] legitimate government of lebanon and leaders from the government of israel are seated at the state [11:35] department for the second day in a row and hopefully today we'll produce a joint statement and an action [11:40] plan on the track for security in that country independent from hezbollah independent from nefarious [11:46] influence they had similar meetings last week at the pentagon at the military level [11:51] we have signed 32 health compacts 32 countries have signed health compacts with the united states [11:56] where our aid to those countries will not just be dollars distributed to an ngo who then will go into [12:01] the country and impose programs instead we are partnering with 32 countries many of them in the [12:06] african continent in which we will empower their native and domestic health industries and national [12:12] health systems so that they cannot not only are we treating the the the acute situations on the ground of [12:18] people that are sick we are helping them be build the capacity and the capability to do this for [12:23] themselves this is what these countries want they do not want to be perpetual aid recipients they want [12:28] to be able to be able to take care of their people one day and we are helping them as part of our aid to [12:32] build that infrastructure i could go on but let me just say another point we are better today than we have [12:37] ever been at disaster relief today the united states can respond to disasters around the world on a [12:42] humanitarian basis faster and more effectively than they ever have because of our reorganization [12:48] and the proof is our response in jamaica our response to two typhoons in the pacific our ability [12:53] to quickly deploy within 24 hours and bring aid directly coordinating with the governments to people [12:58] is better than it has ever been because we cut out bureaucracy we cut out the middleman and we went right [13:03] to the point we still have challenges on sudan remains a very frustrating situation we remain deeply engaged [13:09] with the quad in these negotiations as many of you are aware unfortunately sudan has turned into a proxy [13:15] war between multiple countries and and the divisions between the uae and saudi arabia have truly [13:21] complicated our ability to bring that to an end what we're focused on there now is identifying two [13:27] cities or four cities two on each side uh that will be serve as points of distribution for humanitarian aid [13:34] but the inability not the real frustrating thing about sudan is that one side or the other will agree to [13:39] something but then they will not comply but we remain focused on that and we have people that work [13:44] on that full time we even had a donor conference just about a month and a half ago where we hundreds [13:48] of millions of dollars in pledges for not just humanitarian aid but reconstruction we're focused on [13:53] that it's an ongoing challenge on drc in rwanda they signed a peace agreement unfortunately compliance has [13:59] not been good we've had to impose a few sanctions on the rwandan side we are starting to see some compliance [14:05] it's moving not moving fast enough but we're hoping to see compliance at some point in the middle part [14:10] of next month and withdrawing the rwandan troops from there of course we still have the m23 problem [14:14] that has to be addressed um so this is a host of issues we could go on obviously the ongoing challenges [14:20] of iran remain uh as uh we i'm sure we'll speak about extensively in your questions today so i apologize [14:27] that took four minutes and 55 seconds but i tried to talk as fast as i could thank you thank you [14:32] secretary rubio i now recognize ranking member meeks for five minutes of questions i'm going to ask you [14:39] to ask my questions quickly because clearly the chairman wants to protect you that's why he's [14:43] cutting folks cutting me off my opening statement but secretary you had five minutes secretary you have [14:50] the honor of serving both the acting as acting uh national secretary security advisor and secretary of [14:56] state in these roles you've played a central role in advising the president as commander-in-chief the [15:01] launch of war against iran and the impacts of this choice have been significant on our allies and [15:06] partners who immediately have targeted by retaliatory strikes as well as for americans here at home [15:12] three months into this war gas and food prices are up inflation is rising american business owners [15:18] and farmers are struggling from higher shipping and commodity costs and yet the president said [15:23] two weeks ago and i quote i don't think about americans financial situation that's a quote that should [15:29] alarm every american americans are also rightfully concerned that while they struggle with affordability [15:36] due to the war in iran the president of the united states is busy day trading on he disclosed purchases [15:44] of stocks in energy and defense companies in the first quarter of this year that were made just as [15:49] those companies profits were soaring from the war in iran on march 23rd the same day he reversed his threat [15:57] to strike iranian energy infrastructure and energy stocks rose he brought stocks then in philips 66 exxon and [16:06] chevron secretary i have a few questions and again given the amount of time that i have i will ask you to [16:12] give me yes and no answers did you warn president trump before the war in iran began that this conflict [16:23] would drive up cost on gas food travel and shipment yeah i don't do yes or no answers [16:31] yes i don't even have five minutes i know when you were the senator you know i never did yes and [16:36] i know you're trying to go out so that you can run out my five minutes that's a simple question run out [16:41] your five minutes you're running out your five minutes did you i don't do yes or no quite you [16:44] want to ask me a question i'll answer i'm answering you answer my question my wish my time did you did i [16:50] want yes or no did you warn president trump the iran war began that this conflict would drive up cost [16:58] on gas food travel and ship the president yes or no the president and the full administration was [17:04] aware that there would be consequences to action but the consequences of iran having a nuclear weapon [17:08] were did you warn that did you warn him did you warn him that launching a war on iran could result [17:14] in the regime placing a chokehold on the state of hamus all the risk factors were understood but the [17:20] most important i just want to know if you did your job did you warn him if you didn't want him say yes [17:25] it's simple everyone was aware of what iran did you want him i'm asking you a second everyone was [17:30] aware don't want to answer that let me ask you the next question but the worst did you warn the [17:34] president that launching u.s strikes against iran would result in retaliatory attacks on u.s allies [17:43] partners and americans living or working in the middle leagues everyone yes did you want [17:49] them we were prepared for any response that you want came out okay just want to make sure [17:52] you can't have a nuclear so you said you warned them did you warn the president that the personal [17:57] stock purchases and companies profiting from the war that he launched could present a conflict of [18:04] interest i'm not aware of the president's stock purchases i don't deal that and i don't even know [18:08] what you're saying is true well we know that what he's because it has made public what his stock [18:13] purchases were you say so i don't read the president's the financial disclosure but i don't believe [18:17] that should be true well i think then the president should be more transparent secretary you know [18:21] because these are basic questions that i'm asking you and to be transparent with the american people [18:30] this is what this is all about the transparency so for example when you go and look at some of your [18:40] statements that you made in regards to cuba i only have 58 seconds left and i'd love to get it but [18:46] you talked about uh gaissa who's controlling the military and what's taking place there and that [18:53] they have the opportunity to benefit while the cuban people are suffering so what we're seeing here now [19:00] the one person that's benefited from this war by his purchase of stocks him and his friends they have [19:10] made billions of dollars while the american people are suffering you've accused and i agree with reference to [19:21] some folks what they're doing in cuba and how they're making money while people suffer that's what's [19:28] taking place in the united states of america the trump administration and his friends are making [19:35] billions of dollars while the american people suffer and they continue to suffer breaks my [19:41] heart but ranking members time has expired representative mccall is recognized [19:44] name is chairman let me thank you for your service secretary i know you're wearing a lot of hats a lot of [19:50] responsibilities i think you're doing an outstanding job let me just say since 1979 a dark veil of terror [19:57] descended upon the middle east and we've had it ever since and every president since that time has said [20:04] that a nuclear ron is not acceptable and every congress has said that in fact last congress when i was [20:12] chairman of this committee i passed a resolution that said that a nuclear ron was unacceptable and that the [20:20] u.s must use any means necessary to prevent them from obtaining a nuclear weapon the vast majority of [20:29] democrats voted for this most almost all republicans it passed the house floor a resolution stating that [20:36] that is not acceptable we've had a lot of talk in these congresses and in prior administrations a lot of [20:45] talk but we haven't had a whole lot of action your administration you sir and the president have taken action [20:54] on this very dire dangerous situation we find ourselves in with iran obtaining a nuclear weapon [21:02] i also want to applaud you for your efforts in this western hemisphere a free venezuela a free people [21:11] possibly one day a free cuba when people don't realize iran is in this hemisphere russia is in this [21:17] hemisphere china's in this hemisphere this is all kind of tied together in a coherent foreign policy [21:24] strategy strategy that that i see so i want to give you the time sir to respond to that because [21:32] again all talk and no action but you sir have put this into action thank you well let me just before [21:38] i address that i want the ranking member made accusations against the president which i've never [21:42] heard before but number one are completely false not once just to be clear not a single time not even [21:47] for a millisecond has the president ever discussed his personal economics in relations to war or any public [21:53] policy that he's made for that matter and i've been in every one of his foreign policy meetings for [21:57] the most part as to your point the the um what we need to understand is exactly what you just said it's [22:02] not just that we say they can't have a nuclear weapon everyone says they can't have a nuclear weapon the [22:06] chinese say they can't have a nuclear weapon the russians agree they couldn't have a nuclear weapon [22:11] but at pump you have to do something about it what iran was trying to do was build a conventional [22:15] shield of drones and missiles and a navy and capabilities at some point they would say to the world now we're [22:20] going to get a nuclear weapon and you can't do anything about it because we have so many weapons [22:24] and so many drones and so many naval vessels that the price we will inflict on you for trying to do [22:29] something about it makes us untouchable makes us immune and the president was not going to allow them [22:34] to build a conventional shield behind which they can develop their nuclear program today the iranian navy [22:40] sits at the bottom of the sea they do not have a navy it no longer exists they have no air force either [22:45] their missile launchers have been significantly degraded their defense industrial base has suffered upwards of [22:50] 80 to 90 percent of attrition it will take years for them to rebuild it those are facts that is the [22:55] reality that was the purpose of epic fury it achieved its purpose in degrading that conventional shield [23:01] and it has brought them to the negotiation table that hopefully will lead to the point where iran will [23:05] give up its enrichment ambitions will turn over the highly enriched uranium will stop stop sponsoring [23:10] terrorism around the world you know and i think i think the goal should be the fulfillment of the [23:16] abraham accords we know why october 7th happened because israel and saudi were getting very very close [23:23] and in iran's perspective dangerously close to a normalization agreement and what did iran do they [23:29] lit up their proxies they lit up their proxies to stop that from happening i do foresee a free iran i do [23:38] foresee a free venezuela and a free cuba but you have to start somewhere and i think we've we're taking the steps [23:46] so that future generations will thank us for these actions look and and on the point of we would [23:53] love to see a change in iran and that they be governed by people but that was not the goal of our mission [23:58] the goal of our mission was to take away their ability to threaten the region with an overwhelming [24:02] number of missiles and drones that would basically make them immune to any sort of external pressure [24:07] and then they could break out to a nuclear weapon that was the goal it achieved that from a military [24:12] perspective the reality of it remains that it's not just us the entire world says they can't have [24:16] a nuclear weapon but no one wanted to do anything about it and i can tell you this they are not [24:20] going to have a nuclear weapons program at least as long as president trump is in the white house [24:24] that's been made clear to everyone in the administration from the very top down it was [24:28] the motivation behind these actions and it's the reason reason why we engaged the way we did [24:32] i want to thank you again the last 10 seconds for your service i would hope we could unify as a nation [24:38] behind this i would hope our allies would unify behind us on this because they've all said it [24:42] it as we've said in the past and yet it was all talk and no action representative time has expired [24:48] representative keating is recognized chairman for the record i ask you in his consent to submit [24:53] the president's financial disclosure form which will detail those dealings that were referred to by [24:59] the ranking member that objection secretary uh thank you for being here uh in conjunction with your job [25:07] you're also the national security advisor uh with access to the most sensitive intelligence secrets [25:13] uh our countries and other countries have in the world uh but before this uh you had these two [25:18] positions you had a distinguished career as a member and a chair for five years of the senate intelligence [25:25] committee uh up to last year and you and uh senator warner are some of the most respected and [25:31] knowledgeable people at that time and voices in the entire intelligence community earning the trust of [25:38] democrats and republicans alike senator and house members and other countries so with all [25:43] your intelligence committee experience and now a secretary of state and national security advisor [25:49] and all those years of experience have you ever specifically in the context of the intelligence [25:55] community heard the name bill pulte in the context of intelligence that's what i said no no i [26:02] never heard his name okay thank you for answering well never even heard his name given all your years [26:07] of experience and your position now never heard the name for the record bill pulte is a person [26:13] donald trump has chosen for the acting director of national intelligence with no experience and in the [26:19] intelligence field whose misuse widely reported of confidential information led to the prosecution of [26:26] the president's political enemies is now the person in charge of the nation's most closely guarded [26:32] intelligence when he couldn't even conduct himself appropriately as the federal housing finance [26:38] director now secretary have you ever heard of the name uh ira zahari who's that you've never heard the [26:48] name ira zahari i mean it doesn't ring a bell off the top in the context of uh security well let me tell [26:54] you uh mr zari pleaded guilty for breaking into the capitol on january 6th through a broken windy window [27:02] wielding a metal rod as a weapon and donald trump appointed him to a team at the pentagon focused on [27:10] irregular warfare and of all things counterterrorism that's ironic given that he participated in one [27:17] of the most significant incidents of domestic terror in our country's history i think it's shameful the [27:24] people that are being appointed and i think it's also shameful some of the people that have been [27:28] retired have been fired now i want to move to iran because given your nuclear uh and intelligence [27:36] background which is extensive and appreciated and respected i'm sure you're aware that ukraine [27:41] the country at the time with the third largest nuclear arsenal peacefully turned over their [27:48] nuclear weapons in conjunction with the budapest memorandum and in exchange for the u.s commitment [27:54] to defend ukraine if it ever came under threat the u.s gave their word to ukraine they would defend them [28:01] and i found this amazing in your opening remarks that you took us all over the world and you mentioned [28:07] 15 different incidents where you have interceded 15 the top 15 not once did you mention ukraine [28:16] when you were prioritizing the achievement that's there now let me go on try to stand let me go on [28:22] oh you tried to stay yeah please it's not funny it's not funny secretary now what's not in iran now [28:28] well you don't in iran now i reclaim my time i'm not i reclaim my time mr chairman you guys make these [28:34] statements and he is interrupting me i'm doing it i'm asking you to reclaim those seconds back [28:41] no now in now in iran what goes around comes around mr chairman now in iran the trump administration [28:50] issues a general license to russia providing billions in oil profits every month several [28:57] billion every month fueling putin's war machine you didn't mention that in your opening remarks and [29:03] this is a war of aggression of russia attacking ukraine which we gave our agreement and this is [29:10] to a country that's assisting us in iran ukraine and helping a country with a war machine where that [29:17] are aiding iran against us and putting our service members in jeopardy look at we have an opportunity as [29:27] members just today to vote on the ukraine support act i hope we do it and i am confident that we have [29:33] bipartisan support but i hope this administration would act on its own they could do things themselves [29:40] that you didn't mention like rescind these general licenses complete a bilateral drone agreement ukraine [29:45] provide direct military assistance that has access to the ukraine implement comprehensive sanctions [29:51] packages representatives times expired representative smith of new jersey is recognized my time and [29:57] squandering it that's not how a chairman should act representative smith you're recognized thank you mr [30:01] chairman uh mr secretary if you need a moment to respond to well i also didn't mention cuba because [30:05] i wrote i literally hand wrote what i was going to say to you guys and i told you i was going to submit [30:09] the written for the record and i think everybody understands cuba's a priority for me just on the [30:13] ukraine front i'll address it now if it's okay with your time that i could do so we've i think it's well [30:18] documented that we've been very involved in trying to get the two sides to the table we've invested a lot of [30:22] time in it unfortunately so to this point neither side has been willing to make concessions [30:26] particularly on the russian side necessary in order to bring peace about we remain ready to play [30:31] any role we can in that context of bringing a peace about because we think the war in ukraine [30:37] devastating war has no military solution it can only be solved through a diplomatic route and it's [30:42] been unfruitful it's i would characterize it as the ongoing challenges that said let's be clear [30:47] we are not to be fair and to be frank we are not impartial mediators in that war okay we don't [30:52] provide weapons to russia we only provide weapons to ukraine we don't impose sanctions on ukraine we [30:56] only impose sanctions on russia so we have clearly taken aside we continue to sell weapons to ukraine [31:02] by the way through the pearl program unimpeded by the by what's happened in the middle east or anywhere [31:07] else and look we'd love to see that come to a negotiated settlement as of right now the prospects [31:12] don't look great that either side is prepared to make the concessions necessary in order to reach an [31:16] agreement but we stand ready and we've engaged and invested a tremendous amount of high level time [31:22] on on that conflict over the last year i think it's a source of frustration for the world [31:26] hopefully this year will bring better news i don't have any news for you on that front today but [31:30] we are ready as i've expressed to both sides repeatedly we're ready to step in and play [31:34] whatever positive role we can to bring that devastating and escalating war to an end [31:39] mr secretary thank you very much and just let me say claire and sebastian lie and all of us are deeply [31:46] grateful to you and the president for everything you tried to do to get jimmy lie out obviously it's an [31:51] ongoing concern and i know you will continue to push for that uh but i know you did everything was the ball was in [31:57] xi jinping's court uh and he unfortunately erred on the side of continued incarceration of that great [32:03] human rights defender but thank you for that let me say on the iran deal i remember sitting right here [32:10] and on the floor of the house talking about how egregiously flawed the deal was 10 years ago [32:14] when the ayatollah was able to get the language dealing with ballistic missiles out of it because he [32:21] said it would be stupid his words uh and then they built ballistic missiles uh like never before [32:26] on them never having iran never having a nuclear weapon um let's not forget that the agreement was [32:33] in effect until october of this past year other nations were still a part of it and yet they were [32:38] building a capacity uh to create nuclear weapons and to use them and the med theory does not apply to [32:45] them as we all know uh unlike russia soviet union in the past even china uh they don't want to be [32:51] destroyed with the iranians there's a sense of martyrdom that i think is perverse uh and so they [32:57] don't are not guided by a mutual assured destruction theory that holds both sides in check let me just say [33:03] too on on the um nigeria thank you for what you've done um there with not just cpc but the most recent [33:10] taking out of some of the worst of the worst terrorists who are slaughtering christians and [33:15] the numbers continue but i know you're engaging very very aggressively there on the drc rwanda [33:21] conflict thank you for sanctioning uh some of the top people um who are committing atrocities and that [33:26] just happened a couple of days ago yesterday uh for sure uh that shows that commitment there and on [33:32] even the armenian azerbaijan i've been working on nagurna korabakh and azerbaijan and armenia for 30 years [33:38] they often called nagurna korabakh the frozen conflict because nothing would ever happen [33:42] you guys stepped in you stepped in and the president stepped in and got a peace treaty i mean [33:47] i've met with with aliev in baku on two occasions he was totally unwilling to admit to the human rights [33:54] abuses that he was engaging in especially as it relates to nagurna korabakh and our and armenians [33:59] you've you come up with a solution thank you for that uh and anything you want to speak to on the [34:04] drc rwanda or any of these issues uh appreciate everything you're doing uh for this country [34:10] there are there's a full plate of horrible things happening and we're so grateful you're at the help [34:18] please oh well i just on drc rwanda i would say because just to elaborate on that a little further [34:23] as you know we had an agreement signed and the compliance was not good in that regard but to be [34:28] fair and i know that some other people disagree with this assessment but it's i we believe it's pretty [34:33] accurate on the rwandan side and so we initiated some sanctions targeted sanctions on rwanda they've [34:39] come to the table they've made some commitments they are complying with the commitments maybe not [34:44] at the rate or speed that we'd like them to but there's been some compliance on pulling back of [34:48] troops but we'll watch very closely of course is we don't want to see rwandan troops change uniform [34:53] into m23 uniforms and claim that they've pulled out we got to watch that very carefully and we also have [34:58] to deal with the m23 issue there but uh those are both drc rwanda and sudan are two areas we remain [35:03] very engaged in trying to find a solution to representative times expired representative [35:08] castro you're recognized uh thank you mr chairman uh thank you mr secretary for coming in today and [35:13] for your testimony i want to start with iran i'm hopeful that the president the administration are able to [35:19] reach an agreement that ends the war and also reopens the strait of hormuz if there's a deal subject [35:25] to congressional review under inara i'll approach it with a fair mind and i hope that all of us will as [35:31] well uh i just ask that you keep the committee briefed on the details of that agreement and i [35:37] believe that it's in america's interest that this war end and i sincerely mean that we are at war [35:43] alongside israel against iran iran has struck israeli nuclear facilities at damona and american service [35:50] members are deployed throughout the region as you know congress needs to understand the full risks of [35:55] the conflict including the nuclear risks on may 4th i wrote to you with 29 colleagues asking for [36:02] details about these risks and israeli nuclear weapons on june 1st your bureau of legislative [36:07] affairs responded and said quote we refer you to the government of israel for your questions about [36:14] israel's capabilities i have to say mr secretary that's a very bizarre response 30 of us wrote to [36:25] to you and to the state department asking our government for an answer an assessment about a [36:30] foreign nation's nuclear capabilities in your opening statement you refer to india and pakistan as nuclear [36:37] nations we've also spoken in different sessions both in closed and open sessions you know as a u.s [36:43] senator former u.s senator about the nuclear capabilities of other nations iran china russia france [36:50] the uk both adversaries and allies and so i wanted to ask you the question today will you tell us the [36:57] congress and the american people whether israel in fact possesses nuclear weapons you know that [37:02] that's a question that we don't they've never acknowledged to have a nuclear program people can [37:06] have as you know an open source and other reporting suspicions about what they possess if we're speaking [37:11] frankly i think most of the world assesses that they do but we've never they've never acknowledged [37:15] that publicly and as as a feature of our foreign policy for a variety of reasons we don't discuss it [37:20] in that way either well i guess a few things this is the first time especially for an extended period that [37:26] we are at war with an ally israel against iran and we have service members deployed and we don't [37:35] if they in fact possess nuclear weapons and you're right in open source reporting that has come across [37:39] we don't know what their red lines are for using those nuclear weapons and so i guess i'm shocked that [37:46] our government wouldn't make an effort to know to understand and then to give our oversight body [37:51] the information that we need to make decisions about the war as well that's a fair observation and [37:57] i would answer that if perhaps you make that request and you're open to it being answered in [38:02] a different setting other than a public classified setting a classified setting yes and both classified [38:09] and sensitive and if we could i think we would you would get a better response to your question if [38:14] the context in which it was answered were framed differently than a public letter for a variety of [38:19] reasons if we're being mature and grown up here i mean foreign policy and i know that you are [38:23] and you from the tone of your question it's clear that it's a serious question these things require [38:28] delicate balancing acts between different equities but i think you can get probably a more fulsome [38:33] answer if we were to be able to respond to that inquiry in a different context if that makes sense [38:39] mr secretary i'll certainly take you up on that and i appreciate your answer thank you for that [38:43] i have another question on on lebanon the president and you were working to end this war with iran and [38:51] according to reporting at least one of the main sticking points is israel's continuing military [38:55] campaign in lebanon against hezbollah which the president has called on israel to stop the president [39:02] confirmed last night in fact that he in fact told israeli prime minister netanyahu to stop the war in [39:07] lebanon my worry is that israel's insistence on continuing this war against hezbollah will jeopardize [39:13] the president's efforts and the american government's efforts to reach an agreement with iran [39:18] and so my question is do you agree that israel should stop its military campaign in lebanon and [39:23] support the president's negotiations for a peace agreement with iran i'd love to answer that [39:28] question it's going to take more than the 42 seconds and i know i've seen already that people get pretty [39:33] pissed off here when their time gets eaten up but if i can answer that question maybe the next person [39:36] will let me continue because that's a really important question so let me just start by saying this [39:41] let me walk you through this we had an agreement hezbollah reached out two weeks ago and basically [39:45] so about 10 days ago and basically said we will not launch missiles into israeli territory if they [39:50] stop attacking into beirut that was the agreement i think 5 pm two saturdays ago at 6 pm they launched [39:56] missiles and then they came back and said well we made a mistake we thought it started tomorrow [40:00] not saturday then they went again and violated again on sunday but also israel has been bombing and [40:07] launching throughout is that correct there's two separate things actually israel has not conducted [40:11] massive operations in beirut for some time what what you see them operating is in the south [40:16] and what they are response that what we've always said and it's part of the joint statement we've [40:19] always said is israel has a right to act in its defense so as an example well but so then why did [40:24] why did the president have to tell israel to stop time has expired representative wilson's record [40:28] thank you mr chairman indeed um mr secretary i want to thank you and uh recognize that we appreciate [40:35] the u.s israel alliance and we appreciate very much the uh response uh that's being done against 1100 [40:42] missile attacks that have come out of lebanon as you've just identified correctly and they need to know [40:47] that and how they don't know that i don't know but uh any attacks that are done by israel are in [40:52] response not initiated with that in mind uh you are serving at a historic time uh with success of [40:58] dictators on the run dictator assad of syria has fled to moscow dictator maduro of venezuela is [41:05] incarcerated in manhattan dictator khomeini everron has been eliminated joining the 40 000 iranians he [41:12] murdered this year as chairman myself of the helsinki commission commission for security corporation [41:17] europe you have achieved unprecedented europe unity in latin america supporting the liberation of [41:24] venezuela and soon cuba you have achieved historic unity across the middle east of all countries [41:31] supporting american efforts except for the republic of georgia to oppose iran and its nuclear capabilities [41:37] and in europe nato and the eu are united as never before promoting defense increases for peace true [41:44] strength to indeed promote ukraine victory over war criminal putin with that in mind another region [41:51] is the south caucuses which is critical of the opportunity for the trump route that you've achieved [41:58] with the prime minister prashian of armenia and president azevijan president alayoff of azevijan [42:04] what a great achievement that is with that in mind though the pro-iranian regime of the and the [42:11] chinese communist party supported georgian dream government which is illegitimate uh threatens american [42:17] access there was a rigged election in georgia with that in mind uh they're facilitating uh the islamic [42:25] revolutionary guard uh and evading sanctions to tehran uh what do you believe should be done to address [42:32] the rapidly expanding radicalization promoted by the georgian dream government in the republic of [42:37] georgia let me if i may uh i want to answer the georgia question 30 seconds of your time to finish [42:44] so on on georgia you're right everything you've just outlined is our pre-existing concern since that [42:49] time they have made some steps indicating to us that they want to improve their relations with the [42:53] united states we've outlined to them what that would take and what that would require we've received some [42:59] positive responses and so our hope is that we can see a change of trajectory within the case of [43:04] georgia from where it is today we obviously understand all the things you've just laid out [43:07] as being pre-existing problems for us they've asked us what will it take to have a better relationship [43:12] with the united states we've responded and hopefully we can build on on that basis and and perhaps change [43:18] the trajectory not just of our relationship with georgia but of their behavior uh is it okay if i just take [43:24] 30 seconds of your time i apologize so on the the the strikes that you're referring to here's what [43:29] happens in the south i'm just going to speak colloquially as best i can the israelis see hezbollah [43:34] moving around maybe even launching a missile from the south and they action it in defense [43:38] they go after it in the southern portion and that's what we're seeing in many cases is the defensive [43:43] strikes what they're increasingly doing is taking more territory in the south to the lot to deny them [43:48] launching space because understand these rockets are being launched into northern villages and cities in [43:53] israel and populations can't even return to their homes as a result of it in the case of what happened [43:58] the other day that that was the following was happening we had indications multiple indications [44:04] that israel may be considering conducting anti-hezbollah strikes inside of beirut [44:09] and at that moment we had reached out from the lebanese authorities saying that hezbollah had contacted [44:14] them and said if israel doesn't strike that they would stop launching missiles into israeli territory [44:22] that's the message we got and that's what the president pursued and said okay i had this [44:26] outreach if you won't do these strikes in beirut they'll stop launching against you in in northern [44:31] israel unfortunately within an hour or two of that conversation they launched two waves of rockets from [44:38] hezbollah against israel in israeli territory so it's an ongoing challenge i think one of the reasons [44:43] why we're engaged in these talks between lebanon and israel is understanding that hezbollah is not just an [44:48] enemy of israel hezbollah is an enemy of lebanon they are an enemy of the lebanese government they [44:53] have called for the overthrow of the lebanese government when lebanon expelled the iranian [44:57] ambassador he refused to leave he said i'm not leaving you can't expel me hezbollah is protecting [45:02] me so hezbollah is not just a challenge to israel it's a challenge to lebanon to the lebanese state [45:07] and the lebanese people and we are hopeful that we can create a paradigm in which lebanon's government [45:11] and israel can work together to disarm hezbollah and allow the people of lebanon to reclaim its country but [45:17] it's complex this has been going on since uh you know since oj had isotoners in those commercials so [45:24] and uh mr secretary you're correct i was with president ayon in beirut last year and that what [45:28] you're doing it should address it i do want to point out give syria a chance and that's been your [45:33] success tom barrack the president of giving syria a chance we need to delist syria from the state [45:39] sponsor of terrorism and i urge that to be done thank you for being so generous for representative [45:44] castro's question representative titus is recognized thank you very much thank you uh mr [45:51] secretary i just want to talk about some of the conflicting comments that we've been hearing about [45:58] the status of uh iran's military the president just made some comments on fox news where he said [46:07] iran's military we sort of left it alone because we think that their military is somewhat somewhat [46:14] moderate we've taken different forms of leadership out but we've actually left their military alone [46:21] people would be surprised to hear that well i'm very surprised to hear it because we've had secretary [46:27] hez uh hegseth say repeatedly that epic fury decimated iran's military and rendered it combat [46:36] ineffective for years to come you've said the iranian navy's at the bottom of the sea and they have no [46:42] air force either well which is it you're the secretary of state and the national security advisor [46:50] you can't tell us if the military's decimated or not is it at the bottom of the sea was it left alone [46:56] this is a major point i think congress needs clarity on okay thank you fair question let me [47:01] address both of them the first is on the military i think there's a difference between the [47:05] military's hardware and capabilities and the individuals involved in the military as you know [47:09] the iranians suffered tremendous losses in personnel and that includes top leadership of the irgc and [47:15] other elements of their government what the president is alluding to is that there are certain [47:18] individuals in the iranian regime who have indicated both directly and indirectly a willingness to [47:25] approach the future perhaps a little different not ideal i'm not telling you look everybody talks [47:29] about moderates in iran there are no moderates there are radicals and super radicals okay that's been our [47:34] view of it but there are some of them that believe that they actually need to do a deal because their [47:38] economy is in shambles and so i think what the president is alluding to is that there are some [47:42] individuals involved in the negotiations and in elements of their government including some in [47:47] elements of their military that are more open to a deal than other as far as the navy is concerned [47:52] yeah they have no navy what they have remaining is a bunch of small crafts i would call them boston [47:56] whalers with machine guns and these things are harassing ships and these are the ones that go [48:00] after in some cases they they drop mines off the back of them or they try to harass shipping with [48:06] swarms they are unable to form swarms the way they once did they are primarily now threatening shipping [48:11] through the use of one-way attack drones but their navy which you would consider a navy with naval [48:15] vessels that can actually conduct naval operations is non-existent at this point so is the war still on or is [48:23] the war off well epic fury has concluded what you're seeing reports of including last night is the [48:28] following a ship will go through the route particularly both the northern and southern [48:32] route of hormuz those ships will come under attack the u.s will respond to that attack by shooting down [48:37] those drones that are trying to sink a commercial civilian vessel illegally and unlawfully at that [48:43] point the iranians will respond to that by targeting some facility in the region and retribution [48:49] on occasion in order to protect our own forces we don't just strike the drones we strike the people [48:54] who launch those drones these are completely defensive in nature and but they are happening [48:58] in response to an iranian action if they don't shoot at those ships we don't shoot but we have [49:03] to respond you have a civilian commercial vessel transiting the straits and they're being targeted [49:08] by drones and these aren't these drones are not like highly precise they could hit any part of that ship [49:14] and they could create including an ecological disaster well apparently some kind of military exists [49:19] that's shooting these drones off i mean the military obviously isn't decimated well they're there they're [49:25] attack these ships with these drones yeah they still retain a drone what the president was alluding [49:31] to the president's not a person who's known for illusions he's he just shouts it right out whatever [49:37] he's thinking so i don't think he was alluding to anything as you suggest well drones are as you know a [49:43] challenge in multiple battlefields around the world it's going to be a tremendous challenge for war [49:47] fighting in the future because they're they're they're cheap yeah i know what drones are i know [49:51] you know what they are but i'm saying that they're cheap and they're easy i know and we're using things [49:55] that are very expensive to shoot them down and that needs to change that said yes they still have the [49:59] capability they can't launch as many as they used to and they can't launch them in the swarms they used [50:03] to launch them in uh but but they still retain that okay okay well let me just ask you a quick [50:08] question about something that ambassador barrack said changing the subject a little bit he he compared [50:14] israel to hezbollah for one thing that was a pretty concerning comparison but also he said turkey should [50:21] join the f-35 program uh these comments are inconsistent with law and long-standing policy [50:29] and i'm just wondering what your position is as secretary of state can turkey get f uh 15s and i mean f-35s [50:38] or can't or not what yeah we seem to be helping the bad guys and not the good guys well as you i'm [50:46] sure you're aware turkey actually was in the f-35 program the reason why they can't get them is [50:50] because they purchased the s-400 system from the russians they still have those and they're still [50:54] under mandatory sanctions correct so as you know that's governed by statute okay or not well right [51:00] right now we don't have that choice because it's governed by statute both provisions of the ndaa [51:04] and statuary out there saying that representative time has expired representative perry is recognized [51:10] thank you mr secretary i'll give you an opportunity to answer the ranking member even though he didn't [51:15] pose it as a question um but i as a as a individual like many on the dais who have served in uniform [51:22] thank you for your actions regarding iran and this administration's action but if it and if you want [51:27] to answer it yes or no you're welcome to who started the war between iran and america 47 years ago [51:34] yeah i don't these yes or no things i don't like but i could just tell you iran has been at war [51:37] against the united states since the minute the islamic regime took over yeah and i feel the same way [51:42] and again thank you on behalf and and to honor the thousands and ten thousands of americans who have [51:49] been murdered or maimed by iran thank you for honoring them um just moving on to questions did pakistan's [51:57] foreign minister personally deliver a message to you that iran is prepared to demonstrate a nuclear weapon [52:03] should the current escalation continue that's been reported and i just want to see if i can [52:07] fair i've not seen that reporting and i'm not aware of any such message okay and if there were such a [52:12] message would that change anything in america's posture or not only the message but the action would [52:17] that change anything regarding our goals well the hypothetical question is if iran threatened that [52:23] they're going to test a nuclear device if talks fail i think it would confirm everything we believe [52:28] about them anyways and i think the president then would have to uh pursue uh or at least have to [52:33] consider various other options that are available to him in that context but again i've not heard that [52:38] message relayed i don't know the reporting you're referring to you're talking about a press report [52:42] yeah i am talking about a press report i would be surprised if that message had been relayed i would [52:46] be aware of it if it was i would think so that's why i'm asking so that's enough on that uh i know that [52:51] the president look he's an america first guy uh he's concerned about every single american citizen [52:56] regardless of the party affiliation or their ideology and and affordability the president is [53:02] concerned about those things and and i shudder to think what iran would do if they could armed with [53:11] nuclear capability and ballistic missile capability coupled with that seeing what they're doing right [53:16] now extorting the world economy without those things so with that in mind it's been reported that [53:22] the uae is building a pipeline to the gulf of oman which would bypass the strait of hormuz [53:28] essentially doubling their capacity which would of course lower the price and the risk of global [53:35] fuel transport or oil transport do you understand or do you recognize and know what the timeline of [53:40] for a proposed timeline for completion of that pipeline is yeah i'm aware of those efforts they [53:45] actually pre-exist the conflict in terms of a desire to do so these things i can't tell you [53:50] specifically i'm not a pipeline building expert but i can tell you certainly it's going to take more [53:53] than a week or a year i mean these are complex i think the broader point which your question touches [53:59] on is i do think you're going to see a reshifting of where the world gets its energy from in the [54:04] aftermath of this conflict you're already beginning to see some of it now i think you're going to see [54:07] the united states be a bigger energy provider to the indo-pacific uh we have the capability to do so [54:14] and but it's going to take some time to build that capability so i think you're going to see more of that [54:18] and i think you're going to see the establishment of more of these alternative routes as a result [54:22] of this remember only about 20 percent of global oil goes through the straits of hormuz but it is [54:27] about 80 to 80 to 85 percent of the oil that goes to the indo-pacific so in those particular countries i [54:33] think you're going to most definitely see them buying more from other places including the united [54:37] states and that's going to lower the cost for everybody which is great secretary just moving on [54:41] you're of cuban descent of colombian descent can you describe and cuba has been a sore are you really [54:47] colombian i didn't know that yes indeed um so uh but cuba has been sowing the seeds of discord in [54:54] our hemisphere inviting china russia north korea all manner of communist oligarch bad actors into the [55:00] hemisphere what if you can describe generally speaking what the policy um headed where we're headed with [55:08] cuba as the united states of america where are we headed and what what is what is you what do you [55:13] envision being success and how do we measure that in 56 seconds i will tell you what we want for the [55:18] people of cuba is to be able to live in a normal country here i want them to live in the country [55:21] that looks like the dominican republic like jamaica like the bahamas like any of these other places [55:25] where people can own their own business people can sort of people can vote for their own leaders [55:30] by the way that's not my desire that's the policy of the united states that's enshrined in statute [55:35] here's the problem and we're willing to do this through a diplomatic means the problem we have is that [55:39] country's not controlled by a government that country's controlled by a military conglomerate [55:43] that basically controls 70 percent of the nation's gdp and none of the profits of that conglomerate [55:49] goes into the public treasury none of that money goes to rebuild bridges and roads or to reinvest into [55:55] their energy infrastructure all of it goes to build more hotels for tourists that aren't coming and to [55:59] line the pockets of the people that are involved so that has to change my question i think we all can [56:04] envision what we want cuba to look like and it doesn't have to happen from one you know overnight okay [56:08] we understand they're not going to go from being what they are now to turning into belgium or [56:12] switzerland and one day to the next it takes time in these processes i just don't believe frankly at [56:17] this point given everything we've seen that the people in charge of that conglomerate and of that [56:21] government are capable of making these reforms at least not yet their mindset isn't there their [56:26] incentives aren't there they have spent you know 60 something years waiting us out and holding on [56:32] and i think they can still get away with it and they can't and they won't be able to time has expired [56:36] representative lou is recognized thank you secretary rubio for being here today you have been at [56:42] multiple meetings with president trump in a moment i'm going to show you a video of one of these meetings [56:48] it is from last december it's a cabinet meeting i'm going to ask you to focus on president trump and you [56:54] will see that he is sleeping while you are talking oh my god please show the video products they make [57:04] and and what american farmers grow and produce has a fair shot to be sold around the world on issue [57:11] after issue that's been the case you talk about foreign aid reforms this is not our money this is [57:15] taxpayer money secretary rubio have you been at more than one meeting where president trump has fallen [57:23] asleep that's false that's false i've never seen him fall asleep on the contrary the guy doesn't sleep [57:29] which is a big problem because he calls me at two in the morning he calls me at five in the morning [57:33] and you know i like to sleep a little bit maybe not 12 hours or but at least six so he works the other [57:38] day he was at the oval office until 12 30 p.m 12 30 a.m i don't know what you're talking about so rubio [57:44] i'm going to show you in a moment a video that shows you just lied to congress oh okay so this is a [57:50] video of a cabinet meeting literally from last month where donald trump is sleeping while you are talking [57:57] please show this video coalition of countries to line up behind the peace deal behind the board of peace [58:05] and it's still every day is a challenge but it's been driven personally by the president it's the [58:09] reason why we're involved in this whole ukraine russia conflict that's not our war it's not the [58:14] president's war this war started it never would have happened if you've been president but this war is [58:18] going on and the president is trying to end it you are literally talking about issues of war and peace [58:24] and donald trump is sleeping right next to you no he's if donald trump cannot stay awake at these [58:31] important meetings where the cameras are rolling imagine what he's like when the cameras are not [58:37] there so i'm going to ask you have you been at classified meetings where donald trump has fallen [58:42] asleep or had trouble staying awake i've never been at any meeting where and the things you're showing [58:46] me now he was not falling asleep and and i think so you're lying again you're lying consistently [58:53] to congress you're lying to congress secretary rubio so i'm going to show you another video in a [58:59] moment the president's inability the president's inability to stay awake on the job has caused [59:04] other countries to perceive him differently they mock him they see he is weak and he is feeble this is [59:12] a video of a french news channel talking about donald trump falling asleep at a memorial day ceremony [59:20] please show this video well mark a video that appears to show donald trump falling asleep at a [59:28] memorial day ceremony this monday has been circulating heavily online internet users have a lot to say [59:35] about it it's also reignited rumors about the state of the u.s president's health now in the video in [59:41] social media users say that trump is fighting sleep whilst he listens to the speech given by defense [59:46] secretary pete hegseth and that his eyes appear to be closed for a large portion of the ceremony [59:51] now we need to remember here that this is a ceremony to honor and remember those uh those u.s military [59:57] personnel who have died while serving in the armed forces and the idea that trump was asleep at a [1:00:02] somber ceremony like this well that has triggered outrage on line donald trump's inability to stay [1:00:08] awake on the job shows that there's something very wrong with this health of cognitive abilities [1:00:14] and in fact on a number of occasions donald trump will contradict himself in literally the same meeting [1:00:19] or interview in this video i'm about to show it shows that donald trump says the iranian military [1:00:25] is both destroyed and not destroyed at the same time something that dina titus alluded to please show [1:00:33] this video of leadership we've actually left the military alone people would be surprised to hear that [1:00:41] because mistakes have been made in wars where you wipe out everybody and then you have a country [1:00:45] that's you know for 40 years can never rebuild you look at what happened with iraq we did uh iran is [1:00:52] in a very bad position they have no military they all they have is good talk and they have a fake press [1:00:59] so secretary rubio instead of holding north korean style cabinet meetings where everyone goes around [1:01:04] the room kissing donald trump's ass i'm going to ask you to come clean with american people in the white [1:01:10] house as well there's something wrong with donald trump's health or cognitive abilities there's a reason he [1:01:16] keeps going to the hospital and they keep giving him cognitive tests we have not seen the president [1:01:21] in eight days the american people deserve the truth i yield back um i don't even know how to respond to [1:01:29] that other than to tell you that it's absurd and ridiculous and i can't believe we're in a foreign [1:01:33] affairs committee meeting in front of the house an important time in american foreign policy just keep [1:01:37] lying secretary rubio just keep buying so supposedly someone who thinks he's a medical expert when he's not [1:01:43] the truth of the matter is we had a cognitively impaired president in office a few years ago [1:01:47] that's a cognitively impaired president but i don't like to talk about that because it weakens america [1:01:51] this president we have this is a guy that literally doesn't sleep he works day and night long hours [1:01:57] every single day i don't know if you haven't seen him in eight days i saw him yesterday i didn't see [1:02:01] him today but yesterday because i was in congress the day before i talked to him at all hours of the day [1:02:05] and night he works inhumane hours okay i've been on i've been on foreign trips with the president that he [1:02:11] doesn't sleep in the whole flight and everyone else is sleeping on the plane and he's you know [1:02:15] wandering the hallways looking for someone to wake up and talk to the people so i don't know what [1:02:19] you're referring to but he has an incredible amount of energy i'm just telling you you may not like his [1:02:23] policies you may not like his policies you may not like the decisions he's made but i assure you this is [1:02:29] not a president that sleeps or is it cognitively impaired in any way shape or form and in fact is [1:02:33] is incredibly active much more so in many cases than much younger people that are around him those are [1:02:38] facts i see it every day you're not going to agree because you have another narrative that you want [1:02:42] to push but those are the facts i just showed you three videos of him sleeping representative [1:02:46] vice is recognized thanks for waking me up mr chairman the secretary if you went if you'd gone [1:02:53] to sleep during those videos i would not have blamed you uh i too have received those calls at all hours [1:02:58] of the day and night uh i'm like you aware that the president works harder than any other person [1:03:06] in here in washington but moving moving along a number of things have been said that i find just [1:03:13] incredible uh first of all the the the whole question on on whether or not we support lebanon and [1:03:20] whether or not we support israel is there any real contradiction between what israel is trying to [1:03:27] accomplish and what your aid to the lebanese armed forces over decades is trying to accomplish [1:03:34] contradiction is there any delight between those two efforts they're aligned what we would like to [1:03:39] see is a lebanese armed forces with the strength and the capability to disarm hezbollah and reclaim [1:03:46] the entirety of the country on be you know every the country should only have one armed forces it [1:03:50] shouldn't have an armed political party which is what hezbollah is and then uh the laugh the lebanese [1:03:56] armed forces so that that and and the lebanese want that too and that's what we work very closely with [1:04:01] them on and that's what our engagement with the lebanese is about and mr secretary just for the [1:04:05] record and one of the last times i was in israel i asked prime minister netanyahu if we should cut [1:04:12] off aid as some have said to lebanon he said to lebanese armed force he said no give them more give them [1:04:18] what they need to take back their country so i do believe that uh we couldn't be more aligned with the [1:04:24] efforts of israel and uh the present government of lebanon uh moving along you did a great job of going [1:04:32] around the world and outlining the mess that was left to you as you pick each of them up one that you [1:04:39] didn't touch on that i'm concerned about is actually a democratic one which is the uh democracy of south [1:04:48] korea has taken a strong bent to the left uh opening up more avenues toward china and in fact uh beginning [1:04:57] to oppress many of our our companies including meta coupon and others can you tell us uh what what can [1:05:05] be done and what this committee should do with countries who through democratic means are beginning [1:05:11] to become anti-us right so there are a couple points i would make the first is that and this is the [1:05:16] the unique aspect of dealing with democracies and we see it in our hemisphere quite often [1:05:21] sometimes in a democratic country they will elect leaders that are friendlier to u.s national interests [1:05:27] such as what we have now in japan and sometimes they will elect leaders that have a different [1:05:31] perspective we respect the sovereign choice of the people of that country that's a legitimate [1:05:35] election that's who they chose in those instances in which a democracy and their elected leaders [1:05:39] are taking positions that run contrary to the national interest of the united states [1:05:44] it doesn't mean we want to overthrow the government or get rid of the government because it's democratic [1:05:47] government it simply means we have to engage them in the fact that they are doing things that are [1:05:51] irritants to our national interests you point to some of our companies our companies aren't just [1:05:55] facing challenges and you know i would say targeting in south korea they're facing it throughout europe [1:06:01] and the european union as an example is targeting our technology companies and and and conducting what we [1:06:06] believe is unfair so i think this becomes a feature of our engagement with south korea even as we have things [1:06:11] that we're strategically aligned on these are areas we've expressed and i think have frankly impacted [1:06:17] our ability to conclude a trade agreement with them because of some of their behavior towards american [1:06:22] companies iran obviously was going to dominate a part of today and i'd like to close my questioning [1:06:29] with a question for you uh in 1979 if my math is correct you were eight years old when they uh they took [1:06:37] uh our embassy and then lied about it claimed it was students doing it that's 47 years ago has has been [1:06:45] said many times is it fair to say that president trump no matter what the people on the other side of the [1:06:52] aisle want to say is not in the 60th or 70th day of action but in fact in the 47th year of an ongoing war [1:07:03] with iran that has spread to yemen to uh lebanon and even to south and central america i think i would [1:07:11] start well absolutely first of all with hezbollah hezbollah is an agent of the iranians and they've [1:07:16] carried out terrorist operations around the world including the recent anniversary of what they did [1:07:20] in argentina the jewish center but let's not forget those ieds that were used to maim and kill our troops [1:07:27] in iraq were all innovated by soleimani and the irgc which strongly supported that let's not forget that we [1:07:33] have these iranian proxy militias operating inside of of iraq that as recently as two months ago [1:07:38] kidnapped an american journalist this is and let's not forget that there are people that are both [1:07:43] charged and convicted in the united states for participating in iranian assassination plots [1:07:49] against the president and against other former and current government leaders so we have been for [1:07:54] we've been facing this from iran for 47 years in a variety of ways um some more open than others [1:08:00] thank you and mr chairman i ask unanimous consent that the wall street journal article entitled [1:08:05] south korea takes a hard left turn against america be placed in the record so ordered thank you i yield [1:08:11] about objection representative jacobs thank you mr chairman mr secretary good to see you um i'd like [1:08:16] to talk about the war in iran yesterday in your senate testimony you told senator booker that the war in iran [1:08:23] is over this is news to me it's also news to my 2500 constituents marines uh san diego marines in the [1:08:31] middle east off the coast of iran the other of my constituents who are deployed there and the thousands [1:08:37] more of my constituents who have 48-hour deployment notices whose families are still very concerned [1:08:43] but okay i will take you at your word if the war is over i have a simple question who won first of [1:08:49] all epic fury is over which is what you would consider the war that that operation so you agree [1:08:54] it's a war then no i could those are hostilities they called it a war i'm just responding to the [1:08:59] senator mr secretary you can you can change the name of the operation it doesn't change the fact that the [1:09:04] strait is still closed and my service members and all of our service members are still in harm's way the [1:09:08] war is not over but i'm i'm agreeing with you okay fine we're taking you at your word the war is over [1:09:14] who won well first of all you're not taking me at my word it's a fact we're no longer conducting [1:09:18] sustained strikes inside of iran to degrade their military because epic fury is over the second [1:09:22] point is on the question of who won i can tell you this we defined victory we defined victory as [1:09:28] destroying their defense industrial base significantly reducing the number of missile [1:09:32] launchers that they possess significantly reducing their stockpile of drones and we achieved all of [1:09:37] those in addition to destroying what they had left of an air force and wiping out their entire [1:09:41] conventional navy those are all gone so i consider that victory and we did too and that was the purpose of [1:09:46] epic fury okay well good based on the metrics that you just said okay there's actually our intelligence [1:09:54] community has said that iran is reconstituting its military industrial base faster than we had [1:10:00] predicted and analysts assess it still holds roughly 70 percent of its missile stockpile and 70 percent of [1:10:06] its mobile launchers the strait of hormuz was open before the war it is now closed we have lost 14 brave [1:10:14] american service members over 400 are injured and the iranian regime remains largely intact but now [1:10:20] with a more hardline leader who has more incentive to try and get a nuclear weapon so i guess i have to [1:10:27] ask you again mr secretary does this actually look like winning or losing to you well first of all i don't [1:10:31] know what intelligence assessments you're referring to we wouldn't discuss intelligence assessments if [1:10:35] they were real you must have been publicly reported well they're publicly reported someone committed a crime [1:10:39] and by the way is also lying and this happens all the time people manipulate intelligence and analysis [1:10:44] for purposes of furthering a narrative on your point about the regime the regime is actually deeply [1:10:48] fractured which is why it takes seven to ten gays to get an answer to from them for anything meanwhile [1:10:52] they're fractured but still intact well intact in the sense they can't even reach agreements that [1:10:57] they can get back to us so that's i don't know how intact that is what they have is people that are [1:11:01] afraid to go into the streets their repressive operations have helped people back in addition to the fact [1:11:06] they've cut off the internet but this is a country right now in this regime that is facing hyperinflation [1:11:10] a completely completely devalued currency hundreds of billions of dollars in damage to their military [1:11:15] infrastructure and frankly they they all of the pre-existing problems that iran had in their economy [1:11:21] which is why people are protesting are worse not better sure they have to deal with that mr secretary [1:11:27] so you're saying we're winning because the iranian economy has inflation it's cost them millions of [1:11:32] dollars a day in lost revenue and because it's going to cost them billions of dollars to rebuild [1:11:37] well we are having inflation it's already cost us an estimated 100 billion dollars gas prices are up [1:11:43] with no end in sight the average family is paying an extra 450 dollars on gas and could pay an extra two [1:11:49] thousand dollars by the end of the year the american people are not stupid mr secretary we all know that [1:11:55] this war is not over just last night the us and iran exchanged fire again this time over karg island [1:12:02] we still have not reached a deal despite the president's promise that a deal is right around [1:12:06] the corner the president even said today the blockade could last until labor day it's now day 97 [1:12:12] of the war that the president said he wanted to end quickly so i have one last question for you [1:12:16] mr secretary who won the 2020 presidential election i'm not here to answer a question we're talking about [1:12:21] 2020 this is a foreign affairs committee okay great you can't answer the question even though we [1:12:25] all know that i don't answer the question because the secretary of state i do not participate in [1:12:30] domestic political issues this is not about domestic political issues this is about our democracy you're [1:12:34] asking me to pine just like i don't do campaign it seems like i don't do because as secretary of [1:12:39] state we're not supposed to that's been the long tradition of the department and you should know [1:12:42] that if you've been on this committee for any period of time mr secretary it seems like you have an [1:12:46] issue admitting facts you can't say that the president lost the 2020 election just like you [1:12:51] won't admit president trump is losing this reckless war of choice and just like you couldn't admit [1:12:55] that the shoes the president bought you were too big you clearly don't know what winning means [1:13:00] and not because the facts are unclear to you it's because telling your truth the truth would cost you [1:13:04] your job and the american people are entitled to a secretary of state who tells them the truth even when the [1:13:10] president doesn't want to hear it and my constituents our service members deserve better mr chairman i yield [1:13:15] back i don't know what shoes she's talking about what is she talking about representative birchett [1:13:22] you're recognized thank you mr chairman if you'd like to answer any of that yeah i don't know about [1:13:26] the shoes i mean he gave me some florsheim shoes they're actually pretty good they fit fine i don't [1:13:29] know i don't know what she's talking about and maybe that's what she's referring to um your shoes look [1:13:33] very nice today mr secretary how can you see them they're way down here we're talking about shoes are you [1:13:40] guys kidding me i mean is this the foreign affairs committee or is this like a circus what is this i think it's [1:13:45] the circus and i but i appreciate you being here mr secretary um the united states is nato's largest [1:13:52] financial contributor why does nato consistently ignore our call to share more of the defense burden [1:13:58] in europe and is it our national interest to continue participating in nato well i can give you the why [1:14:04] okay and the why is pretty and and is the following especially in western europe for the better part of [1:14:10] 20 or 30 years they have not had to spend on defense because the u.s security shield has allowed them to [1:14:15] instead spend their money on building up a very vast and robust social safety network in my time [1:14:22] as a senator and before that as a state representative you would hear often from constituents about how [1:14:26] come they have this and that in europe and we don't have it here well one of the reasons why is because [1:14:30] these very rich countries were spending their money on social programs instead of defense [1:14:34] because we were covering their defense that paradigm has to shift it has to shift for two reasons the [1:14:40] first is these are very wealthy countries that should have the ability to spend more to build up their [1:14:44] defenses and need to and this is not unique to president trump multiple american presidents in [1:14:48] both parties have complained about nato share burden sharing uh this is just the first president that [1:14:53] actually is doing something about it the second uh point is the united states has global obligations [1:14:59] just as we i can leave a meeting with europeans that want to talk about nato and the next meeting [1:15:03] will be with someone from the indo-pacific that would like to see a greater u.s military presence in the [1:15:08] indo-pacific and then you can talk to gulf partners that want to make sure we're still committed to defending [1:15:12] and being involved there then you can go to africa and talk to countries that want to see our [1:15:16] cooperation on counter-terrorism and then you can go to the western hemisphere where they want [1:15:20] us to do more with them as well and pay more attention so the u.s has global obligations and while [1:15:25] we have vast resources we do not have unlimited resources we have to allocate them and that will [1:15:30] include constantly re-examining what our force posture looks like in europe in comparison to other [1:15:35] theaters and potential contingencies around the world thank you mr secretary i also want to thank you [1:15:43] in the white house for supporting the bill that i've been pushing to defund the taliban you're very [1:15:47] kind to me to meet with me and i appreciate that very much and the president's support as well um [1:15:53] as you know we're the unit u.n's largest financial contributor but it consistently pushes liberal [1:15:59] policies like abortion and gender ideology in spite of our opposition and every time there's a a new [1:16:06] council or whatever and it's always our enemies that seem to be on there why is the u.s still a member of [1:16:11] the united nations of the united nations yes well twofold i would say the first is united nations [1:16:17] of course is a very frustrating thing for us primarily because it's been unable to intervene or [1:16:22] play a constructive role in most of the major crises around the world it's lost its purpose it's [1:16:27] lost its mission i think our u.n mission is doing a very good job of driving substantial reforms [1:16:32] at the u.n and using our fees as leverage to achieve those reforms last year actually we had some [1:16:37] pretty substantial successes some real reductions in the size in the bloated uh budget of the u.n and [1:16:42] by the way this is not just a u.n u.s position multiple countries agree with us that the u.n had [1:16:47] grown too large and it lost its core mission on the other hand there have been instances and we try to [1:16:53] use the u.n where possible as a as a as a viable forum in which to solve problems they it was helpful [1:17:00] as a forum in the security council for example in standing up the new mission in haiti in which the u.s [1:17:05] contribution is dramatically reduced and partner nations around the world because of the u.n approval [1:17:10] are now able to step forward and provide not just money but actual troops for the gang suppression force [1:17:15] likewise we have a hundred and i don't know i don't want to lose count but 130 some odd co-sponsors of [1:17:21] a resolution the largest number of co-sponsors ever for a resolution in the security council condemning [1:17:27] what's happening in the straits of hormuz and authorizing countries to potentially do something [1:17:32] about it unfortunately it's facing a veto threat from china and russia so no vote has been scheduled [1:17:36] on that yet so there are and there are organizations in the u.n that we've partnered with we've been able [1:17:42] to partner with them on making contributions to humanitarian relief around the world and we [1:17:46] actually struck a pretty good deal with them in which we can ensure that that money is going to be [1:17:50] spent in a way that furthers our national interest not go to fund the ngo industrial complex [1:17:56] but also provide aid critical aid the areas that badly need it so there's been some utility with [1:18:02] some of it but the u.n is in need of continued dramatic reform and we intend to continue to use [1:18:07] our fees that we that they claim we owe as leverage for that thank you mr chairman um one last thing is [1:18:15] there any mutual um anything u.n and nato could do that would be mutually beneficial any reforms but i'm [1:18:22] sorry any reforms that the u.n and nato could do that would be mutually beneficial well with nato it's a [1:18:28] much deeper conversation that involves uh basing rights that have been denied to us by a handful of [1:18:33] countries and i think this is just a it's going to feature prominently in the meeting in turquia as [1:18:38] it did last week in the meeting with the foreign ministers on the u.n i can provide you the list of [1:18:42] the reforms we are asking for they've imposed last year more reforms than ever before but there are a [1:18:47] few more that need to happen and i can share that list with you and with the whole committee representative [1:18:51] state is recognized thank you mr chairman thank you very much mr chairman mr secretary i do want to [1:18:55] talk to you about the blurring of lines between public service and private enrichment at the highest [1:19:02] levels of this administration's foreign policy leadership president trump has placed steve whitkoff [1:19:08] and jared kushner in charge of addressing some of the world's most intractable conflicts including the [1:19:14] war between russia and ukraine and cleaning up the president's self-made mess of war of choice in iran [1:19:21] let me start with mr whitkoff trump's special envoy to the middle east he co-founded the crypto [1:19:26] currency venture firm world liberty financial alongside president trump and president trump's [1:19:33] children days before president trump's inauguration a firm controlled by a member of the royal family of [1:19:39] the united arab emirates shake talk noon bought a 47 49 stake in the company that was a 500 million dollar [1:19:49] investment 31 million of that went straight to the whitkoff family whitkoff was still a financial [1:19:56] stakeholder in world liberty as he was simultaneously leading high-level u.s government negotiations [1:20:02] in his role as special envoy one of those negotiations was over the export of america's [1:20:07] most advanced ai chips to the uae negotiations personally attended by shake talk noon in the spring [1:20:15] another company chaired by shake talk noon mgx deposited two billion dollars in world liberty [1:20:21] financials stablecoin the single largest investment in the crypto company ever weeks later the chip deal [1:20:28] was announced despite national security concerns secretary rubio do you believe that mr whitkoff has an [1:20:35] unacceptable conflict of interest i have never seen any evidence that he's made any decisions or advocated [1:20:40] for any position that's to his personal benefit on the contrary um and again i can't speak to all the [1:20:45] things you're saying now because that's not he he mr whitkoff is an employee of the white house and [1:20:49] he undergoes the ethics vetting and the procedures for disclosure that uh that are appropriate to [1:20:55] them not to the state department but i would just add i want to be fair okay i've never seen the guy [1:21:00] ever say anything to me that makes me think this is personal rather than on the only thing he's ever [1:21:04] done is spend his own money yeah i know he has spent his own money at great personal expense to fly [1:21:10] around the world on his own airplane not on the government bill he has you know he has uh done it but [1:21:14] everything out of his own pocket are you concerned about the appearance of a conflict of interest in [1:21:18] mr whitkoff i've never seen anything that leads me to have that concern you know again you've cited a [1:21:23] bunch of things i'm just not aware of those because and but i'm just telling you my personal [1:21:26] interactions with mr whitkoff are of a person who just thinks he's serving the country and is happy to [1:21:31] do so not out of any personal gain but because he wants to serve the country as secretary of state [1:21:36] who's in charge of the foreign affairs of the united states have you spoken to president trump about any [1:21:41] concerns about conflict of interest with mr whitkoff i haven't had to i've not seen any let's talk about [1:21:46] jared kushner his private equity firm affinity partners has raised more than six billion dollars [1:21:51] since it was founded in 2021 including 1.2 billion just over the last year mr secretary are you aware [1:21:57] of how much of that 6 billion has been raised from foreign nationals i i don't know anything about the [1:22:01] answer is 99 these include sovereign wealth funds operated by saudi arabia uae and qatar the saudi sovereign [1:22:10] wealth fund is the largest investor in affinity partners in fact crown prince mohammed bin salman [1:22:15] personally recommended that saudi arabia invest in affinity partners the crown prince has also [1:22:20] personally urged president trump in multiple phone calls to continue the ongoing war of choice in iran [1:22:27] let's put it another way the man who bankrolled kushner's business venture is the same man who is [1:22:32] lobbying for the war kushner is tasked with ending miss secretary same question are you concerned about any [1:22:38] conflict of interest by jared kushner the president's son-in-law again in jared's case jared is a [1:22:43] private citizen who's been advising and participating in this voluntarily he's not compensated for it or [1:22:48] in any way but i've never seen either from either steve or jared any on the contrary all i've ever seen [1:22:54] them do is put tremendous amount of time and energy into trying to solve problems like the amount of time [1:22:59] they put into gaza and the board of peace and all of that process i i think i believe they've done it out of [1:23:05] the kindness and goodness of their heart they think they're serving the country the goodness of their [1:23:08] heart uh mr secretary what jared kushner said on 60 minutes on this very issue when asked about it [1:23:14] he says what people call conflict of interest steve and i call experience and trusted relationships [1:23:20] that they have throughout the world reclaiming my time let's recap the two men tasked with resolving [1:23:25] this country's most sensitive national security issues including meeting with iranian negotiators [1:23:30] are profiting off the same countries that they are engaging with one thing we know for sure [1:23:35] while the ukraine peace talks are going nowhere and the war of iran has no end in sight whitkoff [1:23:39] and kushner are making out like bandits meanwhile a gallon of gas is still hovering about four dollars [1:23:45] and 67 cents in phoenix arizona that i represent up nearly 40 percent from just 18 months ago the [1:23:52] american people are paying more for gas for groceries for everything they're footing the bill while [1:23:57] representatives of our government are cashing in i yield back representative jackson is recognized [1:24:04] thank you mr chairman and uh thank you secretary rubio for for being here today uh thank you for [1:24:10] your work to execute an america first foreign policy that is making america safer stronger and more [1:24:15] prosperous uh from confronting the corruption of the maduro regime to negotiations with iran to [1:24:19] stabilize the middle east you have played a critical crucial part in spearheading the [1:24:23] administration's peace through strength initiative secretary rubio i want to reiterate what you wrote [1:24:29] in your opening statement that american leadership should always be on behalf of american interest [1:24:35] thanks to president trump's historic foreign policy initiatives the usa has longer has no longer sit [1:24:40] idly by as other nations take advantage of american funds and military support my question global [1:24:46] commerce and diplomacy rely on coordinated strategies with allies to come to combat illicit trade and [1:24:51] support u.s exporters to support the trump administration's efforts to enhance u.s national security [1:24:57] while advancing strategic american investments i recently induced introduced the strategic export [1:25:04] controls and border security enhancement act this this bill would codify the state department's office [1:25:10] of export controls and border security to strengthen the operational capabilities of allied countries [1:25:15] to better protect u.s critical technologies from diversion and misuse by our foreign adversaries [1:25:20] secretary rubio how is this office being utilized to prevent the illicit trafficking of sensitive [1:25:26] and dual use technologies and how do you see this office being used to advance america first [1:25:30] diplomacy moving forward yeah i think at the core of what you're trying to get to with your bill and [1:25:34] we're trying to get through with our sources with our resources is as follows and that is that [1:25:39] you will you will say you can't sell a certain product or a certain product can't be exported because it [1:25:44] it provides uh it it would be the detriment of the national interest of the united states but there but [1:25:49] it's prohibited for one country but it's not prohibited for some other country they will then set up a [1:25:53] company in a third country and use that to evade the sanctions in essence you know you will find [1:25:58] a company let's say it was a sanction against a transfer of technology to chinese company [1:26:03] that's linked to their military but they will set but they will then figure out a way to set up a [1:26:08] company in a third country in a country that's not barred for export and they will use that vehicle [1:26:13] and that route in order to be able to export a valuable technology and so what we're trying to [1:26:19] get at through our efforts is identifying those countries where that is happening and those [1:26:22] countries those companies that are being used for that purpose and i think your bill though i haven't [1:26:26] read it sounds like what it would do is it would codify this effort so that it exists beyond this [1:26:30] administration well thank you i appreciate that and i'm anxious to partner with you from a legislative [1:26:35] standpoint on that so if there's anything in the bill when you when you do see it that you would [1:26:39] recommend please let me know under this administration the foreign service has refocused its diplomatic core [1:26:45] on merit and performance the state department has eliminated internal deia programs slashed woke [1:26:51] investments and neutered ngos that were working against u.s national interest we finally have got [1:26:57] it we finally have got away from trying to force other governments to adopt the crazy woke social agenda [1:27:03] of the failed biden administration the same agenda still being promoted by many of the progressive [1:27:08] democrats on this committee unfortunately and we are now ushering in a new era of american [1:27:13] efficiency and strategic diplomacy mr secretary how can this committee continue to provide the [1:27:19] state department with the tools in the upcoming for foreign service act reauthorization to advance [1:27:25] president trump's american first agenda and continue this progress i mean i think codifying [1:27:29] these policies are important so that they exist in for the long term and i wanted to say one thing [1:27:34] when it comes to the issues that people use the term diversity or the foreign service will always be [1:27:39] diverse in comparison to maybe some other ages it's simply because foreign service and [1:27:43] international diplomacy often attract people that are first generation or maybe even immigrants [1:27:47] themselves they have language skills they have uh you know cultural skills or what have you that [1:27:52] sort of attract them to diplomacy to begin with i think you see it reflected in their ambassadorial [1:27:56] posts around the world as well the ones the president is nominated and so forth i would also add [1:28:01] something that's very unique to the state department which other agencies don't have the majority of our [1:28:06] employees over 47 000 of our total employees about 70 000 47 000 are locally employed these are [1:28:12] nationals of other countries that work for us and they're a key part of our missions we couldn't [1:28:17] carry out our mission function in many of these countries without these locally employed individuals [1:28:21] that are not even american citizens but they're valuable resources they've been there for 15 or 20 [1:28:26] years and and and so in and of itself i would say the state department we do but but ultimately we want [1:28:33] to hire the best people for the job and that's what we should always want we want to hire the best people for [1:28:38] the job the ones who are most capable of doing the job and i think we can do that and still have a very [1:28:42] diverse workforce but not because of the diversity but because of their skill their merit and their [1:28:46] abilities thank you i appreciate that mr chairman i yield back representative jackson thank you thank you [1:28:54] very much thank you secretary rubio great to see you again thank you for your forceful words in support [1:29:00] of diversity although there are some conflicting uh claims to what it means secretary rubio i stand [1:29:05] before you not simply as a legislator but as a witness to a moment in our nation's history and we are [1:29:10] threatening to sever the sacred connection between our national interest and our moral obligation [1:29:16] this is a budget hearing of course but more than numbers on a page we have to wrestle with [1:29:20] the meaning of what those numbers mean to the lives of real people in real places whose very [1:29:25] existence is bound in no small way to the decisions that we make in this room i want to start [1:29:30] by showing the american people what the dismantling of the diversity equity and inclusion means [1:29:36] uh under your leadership we are abandoning the continent of africa would you put this up please [1:29:44] the question is not what can we afford but what we are willing to become under your leadership the u.s [1:29:50] effectively has closed 31 counselor operations across africa and has 34 ambassadorships vacant under your [1:29:59] leadership we froze student refugee invalid visa processing to 26 african nations under your [1:30:07] leadership we have raised the tariffs on 30 emerging economies under your leadership we have pulled out [1:30:14] of the pandemic and health care aid for over 40 countries our diplomats used to operate in every [1:30:20] region culture and society on earth a workforce that reflects the diversity of our country is not a [1:30:27] political objective it is indeed as well as you know a strategic advantage as you articulated africa [1:30:34] and other developing nations are fast growing and young populations represent one of humanity's greatest [1:30:40] opportunities for shared prosperity climate resilience and democratic transformation on global health last [1:30:48] year the trump administration cut off all funding to the world health organization however to prevent [1:30:55] diseases from reaching our shores the u.s still needs the global outbreak and disease surveillance functions [1:31:03] that the world health organization offers diseases as you know do not need passports or visas in march the [1:31:12] washington post reported that the administration is proposing to spend more than two billion dollars a year [1:31:19] to recreate a system that you dismantle such as laboratories data sharing networks and rapid response [1:31:26] systems that you abandon when you withdrew from these programs this is more than three times [1:31:32] what we had contributed to the world health organization that's waste fraud and abuse how is reinventing [1:31:40] the wheel at a significantly higher cost efficient for the american people you know that let me just [1:31:46] me answer that since eastern congo and uganda are currently experiencing the third largest outbreak since it [1:31:52] was discovered half a century ago now your response was to criticize the world health organization [1:31:57] that you had retreated from your statement in the administration's action reveal a retreat from our [1:32:02] responsibility a shrinking of the vision of america and a devastating abandonment of those who have [1:32:08] long looked to the u.s not as a savior but as a partner in the difficult work of survival and dignity [1:32:15] moving forward we would have questions on how the trump administration plans to address global health crisis [1:32:21] if that is something the united states still wishes to have leadership in prior to 2026 [1:32:28] u.s global health was a model for the world its initiatives helped contain more than 250 diseases across [1:32:35] more than 40 countries but doge and this administration have not told the truth they told the american people [1:32:43] these cuts were necessary because i can assure you there's nothing necessary about denying medicine when [1:32:48] people are suffering there's nothing justified in weakening initiatives like pepfar and the global fund [1:32:55] i'll give you some time which have stood as shining examples of what this country can achieve when it [1:33:00] chooses compassion over indifference as we look at the hiv crisis and specifically in zambia according to a [1:33:08] draft memo that was shared with you prepared for you by the state department and african bureau staff [1:33:14] something that you care about you considered withholding life-saving assistance to 1.3 million [1:33:19] people with hiv in zambia to force the government to sign a deal giving the u.s more access to critical [1:33:27] minerals do you consider it acceptable to use life-saving hiv aids treatment as leverage for economic [1:33:34] advantage and in closing over the easter weekend i was in cuba doing an oversight to see in your state [1:33:41] department refused to meet with members of congress while they were out gallivanting and partying [1:33:47] in closing i would like to ask you will you invade cuba i yield back well i have one second to answer [1:33:55] what do i do i mean you guys tell me your rules here i i tried to write down will you invade cuba [1:34:03] well that's not the only thing you said mr secretary i'm gonna take my time to ask questions at this [1:34:08] time and i'll give you some time to answer okay because i do want to answer a lot of the points you raised [1:34:12] so my questions are going to bear on this i think there is a significant difference in the state [1:34:18] department today and since you've taken the reins versus the state department under secretary blinken [1:34:24] and under president joe biden i'd like you to expand upon the changes that have been conducted i think [1:34:30] it's also incumbent for us to speak about things that just not everybody follows these things all day i [1:34:35] spoke about these things a little bit in my opener uh the amount of attacks that have come against the [1:34:40] united states of america by the hand of iran not in 47 years just in the last 30 months prior to epic [1:34:49] fury beginning i referenced over 350 attacks 200 wounded multiple americans dead to include uh specialist [1:34:57] moffett specialist sanders specialist rivers we have been ongoingly attacked by iran just recently [1:35:06] and the united states has largely done nothing about it i think one of the things that's changed about us is [1:35:10] that we are not going to be an america that gets attacked and pretends it never happened ignores it [1:35:18] does nothing that was a way of the past so secretary rubia i'd love for you to discuss this and discuss [1:35:26] the questions that were asked previously and you have three minutes and 45 seconds okay good and i actually [1:35:30] think they dovetail because there's a couple points first of all i it's just absolutely false that we've [1:35:34] abandoned the continent of africa as i've highlighted multiple times here on the diplomacy front we are deeply [1:35:40] engaged in the drc and rwanda peace negotiations in fact if it wasn't for us there wouldn't be any [1:35:45] negotiations we are deeply involved in the quad effort with sudan that involves the uae on one [1:35:50] side saudi arabia on the other and it's deeply complicated that we actually have helped the host [1:35:55] donor conferences so we are very involved in all of those issues as i pointed out earlier we've been [1:36:00] working very cooperatively with the government in nigeria to go after a common threat terrorists that want [1:36:04] to aim at us but are threatening the nation state there now as far and and by the way we're opening [1:36:09] new areas of relationship like equatorial guinea which is a country we really hadn't had much [1:36:13] interaction with for many years and now that's begun to flourish and hopefully we can build upon that [1:36:18] in the case of uh of of the consular services we've consolidated consular operations all over the world [1:36:24] and one of the reasons why is you can do it more efficiently there are areas where literally the [1:36:28] number of either visas that are not accepted or even applicants do not justify having a full-time station [1:36:34] we've done this repeatedly not just under this administration but previous administrations have [1:36:38] done that and so consolidation of consular services is not unique to the african continent we've seen [1:36:43] it in mexico where we're going to close one con one consulate because the cost benefit analysis [1:36:47] doesn't add up on the world health organization they basically covered for china during the covert [1:36:53] pandemic openly covered for china refused to disclose the reality of what was happening soon enough and [1:36:59] didn't put the blame quickly enough on where it belonged but not just to blame it didn't allow [1:37:03] researchers to be able to begin the work of it took longer than it should have to develop a vaccine [1:37:09] and other things because of their attitude towards that we have deep problems with the way the world [1:37:15] health organization seems to play politics with on behalf of some countries and we pointed that out now [1:37:20] let me talk about a couple other things you raised the global fund the global fund is very happy you [1:37:24] should call them they're very happy with us they put out multiple statements about the work we're doing with [1:37:28] that we are telling assertions chairman it's my time no but i'm just telling you talk we the global fund [1:37:36] we are for example there's a 33 cap on what we give the rest of us to come from other donors we are at [1:37:41] that level right now and if donors give more we'll give more we're committed we're committed to that [1:37:45] they're very happy with what we have worked out with the global fund i think the other thing you [1:37:50] didn't point out is we are not abandoning these countries or these programs we're entering into compacts [1:37:54] 32 compacts the majority of them in africa in which we go to a country and say look rather than [1:37:59] force a bunch of ngos from northern virginia on you we are going to work with you we are going to [1:38:04] give the money government to government and we're going to work in cooperation with your government [1:38:08] to build up your national health system so not only can you care for the patients you have now [1:38:13] but ultimately you won't have this problem for five or ten years and they want that they welcome that [1:38:18] they do not want the ongoing dependency of aid these countries clearly want to establish their own [1:38:23] systems representative jackson you're not recognized i know but on zambia look we're not [1:38:29] threatening them with anything they just don't want to sign a compact but you do raise an interesting [1:38:34] point not specific to zambia but broadly okay there are a lot of countries we give a bunch of money to [1:38:38] you sit there you say okay we donate 50 80 million dollars a year to this country we do all the aid for [1:38:44] that country but all of the contracts all of the rare earth minerals all of the financial benefits all of [1:38:50] the commercial deals are with china so explain to me how is that good for the american people [1:38:55] that we are in a country that we take care of all of their problems but then all the economic benefits [1:39:00] flow to china or some other country that that has to be that has to be talked about how can i justify [1:39:05] the american people that we flood a country with american aid but all of the commercial benefits in [1:39:09] that country go to china or someone else over us that is a legitimate thing to discuss with every [1:39:15] country in the world that we give a lot of aid to that that is the reason why aid should not be [1:39:19] separated from policy because it has to reflect our national interest thank you secretary rubio [1:39:26] representative cum lager dove so mr secretary five months ago you essentially became the new overlord [1:39:34] of venezuela taking control of the country's oil revenues and giving foreign companies access to its [1:39:40] oil and minerals but you have provided no real transparency about where the money is going and who is [1:39:48] benefiting from this arrangement i want to now talk a little bit about mauricio clavarcaron so mr secretary [1:39:57] you've known mr clavarcaron for many years correct i don't know how many years but sure okay we know [1:40:04] that he was special envoy to latin america he's also a former lobbyist who supported your presidential [1:40:11] campaign i think in 2016 and now he runs a private equity firm that is seeking one billion dollars in [1:40:18] investments in latin america apparently he is seen as your right hand man on venezuela but he's not [1:40:26] a federal employee and he's not bound by rules about financial disclosures or conflict of interest [1:40:33] according to the washington post he acts like a kingmaker in venezuela helping to determine which [1:40:39] private companies get contracts and access and that's concerning because in january you gave confidential [1:40:48] licenses for venezuelan oil to a company that had been charged with bribery by the department of [1:40:55] justice and employs a trader who gave six million dollars to trump's campaign some have said that [1:41:02] mauricio is the jared kushner of latin america but mauricio has said that jared kushner is the mauricio [1:41:09] of the middle east so who is mauricio and why is he riding on private jets to caracas with executives from [1:41:17] firms trying to get contracts and why is he texting delcy rodriguez on the regular who is he working for [1:41:25] okay i'm i'm gonna i'm gonna allow you to respond i just i'm setting this up because it looks unseemly [1:41:31] that essentially you are taking venezuelan oil money and sending it through a network of campaign donors [1:41:38] corrupt politicians that's lobbyists and we can't get any documentation on that we don't have any [1:41:44] receipts so the question is is anyone from the administration directly or indirectly benefiting [1:41:51] from the contracts being doled out in venezuela is this where i get to answer yes okay perfect [1:41:56] number one is the number of people mauricio is one of many people that are involved in what's [1:42:01] happening in venezuela there's not a day that goes by that we don't have someone who's interested [1:42:04] in what's happening in venezuela for a variety of reasons nor is he the only person in the united [1:42:08] states that directly contacts dulcie rodriguez and others there is a stampede of people that want to [1:42:12] be involved in venezuela mauricio is one of many but by the way not involved in venezuela i am not [1:42:17] knowledgeable or know of any financial links he has to anybody in venezuela so i'm going to reclaim [1:42:21] my time mr secretary but i'm glad that i'm glad that you said that because you have you have said [1:42:27] these things you have shared these talking points before they're not talking points to take your word [1:42:31] for it when this is the most corrupt administration in american history we're talking pardons for sale we're [1:42:38] talking about no bid contracts to those on trump's family and friends plan we're talking about a 1.8 [1:42:44] billion dollar slush fund and i think that's corruption the american people think that's [1:42:50] corruption they want to know if you think that's corruption okay number two on the this goes right [1:42:56] to the point of transparency you're absolutely wrong about the way the money flows it's pretty [1:43:00] straightforward and i'll show i'm gonna have to reclaim my time again because the question about [1:43:05] this is this they get to answer ask questions you don't get to answer it's my time the question [1:43:09] i don't know about you when is it my time so why am i here if i don't get to answer your questions or [1:43:13] your defamatory statements reclaiming my time but i want to reclaim what do i get time because you make [1:43:18] these defamatory statements and no one can talk here if you can't call out corruption in this country [1:43:24] then how can you call it out in another i can't say anything because you won't let me speak it is [1:43:29] about credibility and your credibility and your credibility meter is on empty right now this oil [1:43:36] these guys who determines who determines the barrels of oil that gets sold how many of them [1:43:41] let me answer your question i have an answer for your question where is it going i will let you [1:43:45] they have to leave their time for me to answer the onus is on you to prove that there is no corruption [1:43:49] happening that is your responsibility as the secretary of state and you know what normally we would have [1:43:54] access to that data that's the transparency you just don't know where you're not showing us any [1:43:59] receipt well then show us do you commit do you commit to coming back here with whoever the person [1:44:04] is who is monitoring the sales of the oil bring them before this committee have the documentation [1:44:10] you don't have this time yet i am talking about your credibility and evidence not your talking points [1:44:16] because talking points are never a replacement for transparency i agree but that's what you're saying [1:44:21] you're saying talking points without an answer we are five months into this and no audits zero [1:44:27] visibility into the contracts that are awarded 100 unfortunately representatives times expired [1:44:32] representative salazar is recognized and giving contracts with no transparency is exactly the [1:44:36] reason why you shut down usa id so practice what you preach i've yield my head oh she gets to scream [1:44:42] now too chairman can we take down her words i'll give you some time i'm i'll give you some of my time [1:44:47] then you just uh okay just okay what kind of thing is this what is this you don't you get asked [1:44:53] questions for five minutes and you don't get time to answer it's not a hearing i think you said clown [1:44:56] show before what is this i don't have to tell you i don't i i've even used their time how can i answer [1:45:03] the question don't even give me time i've had to use their time to answer your questions yes all right [1:45:08] whatever all right so i don't need to tell you that uh in my community that with the city that i represent [1:45:13] the city of miami you're one of the most illustrious uh representatives and that we're very proud of [1:45:18] you not only the cuban americans but the hispanic americans in in why is she leaving i'm gonna answer [1:45:23] her questions i i will oh she's okay i got it well thank you for coming all right so we're gonna talk [1:45:32] about i just want to um give you time to answer and then talk about venezuela and talk about cuba [1:45:40] so let's go back to venezuela let's start with that um i you said that stabilization recovery and [1:45:47] transition those are the three steps that that the state department was going to implement in venezuela [1:45:53] i believe that transition is the free and fair elections uh the venezuelan has a very robust [1:46:00] opposition forces we have maria corina machado so the big question here is that in order to avoid any type [1:46:06] of misunderstandings like the one that we were hearing from uh my illustrious colleague is that [1:46:12] we should have free and fair elections that will bring rule of law and the rule of law will then be [1:46:17] able to bring in a lot of investments from the united states uh with transparency why can we not [1:46:24] start right now the process of sending the message that we are going to establish let's say next year [1:46:31] at the end of next year a free and fair election sponsored with the united states or by the united [1:46:35] states yeah thank you well it all ties together so i'm going to try to use the it all ties together [1:46:40] okay correct so let me first say about the oil stuff which is a bunch i don't even remember half [1:46:43] the stuff that was being screamed at me because most of it entirely is false here's what happens [1:46:49] when there are sales of oil from venezuela they used to have you know sell it at a discount because of [1:46:54] of sanctions and they had to do all kinds of evasion of matters now they're able to sell it at market [1:46:59] price to great benefits of venezuelan people that money and those proceeds are deposited in a treasury [1:47:05] blocked account at citibank that account by the way is audited by kpmg kpmg has been hired and paid for [1:47:12] paid by the venezuelan government out of those funds to audit every single expenditure there is [1:47:17] a list that's been agreed to by both sides the venezuelan side and the u.s side on what the allowable [1:47:22] expenditures are for so for example they've used 250 i need to go to three other countries so i'm not [1:47:28] sure what the chairman wants to do but i need to i understand that you're answering her question but this [1:47:32] is a but it's tied to your point because they'll be able to do the other ones quickly thereafter [1:47:36] again i know this is outrageous because i have to use your time to answer questions that's correct [1:47:39] but i need to serve the community i need to ask you about other countries so bottom line is the [1:47:44] money that's spent in venezuela is audited by kpmg it only goes to certain determined points and it [1:47:49] doesn't go to the individual benefit of anybody those are just false outrageous so when can we pivot [1:47:54] to free and fair elections so the second point is on the transition phase which is the third phase the [1:47:59] second is stabilization and recovery part of the recovery phase is creating the conditions for a [1:48:03] free and independent press you need to have an imprint independent press in order to have free and [1:48:07] fair elections we've seen an uptick in that activity it's not a hundred percent there but it [1:48:11] needs to continue to grow you need to give space for the political parties to organize and to mobilize [1:48:16] because you can't participate in an election if you haven't had the time to do so and you need a new [1:48:20] electoral commission we we've said that repeatedly and when are we starting well we'd like to see it as [1:48:25] soon as possible but the reality just remember it's been five months not five years not 50 months [1:48:31] five months five months is not a long time for a country that had gone through what that country [1:48:35] went through but clearly we need to have a new electoral committee and ultimately venezuela's future [1:48:40] is free and fair multi-party elections correct let's go to cuba we know that your office is talking [1:48:47] to the castor family and you're sending the message that the game is over that they need to open up the [1:48:51] democratic game we know that all right so the problem the question is what's delaying that process [1:48:58] well it's not that it's delaying the process we've had conversations we have in diplomatic [1:49:01] engagements with the cubans consistently over time over multiple reasons and for many reasons over the [1:49:06] years in fact the centcom was just down at the fence line in guantanamo not centcom southcom [1:49:11] over the weekend as well our message to them isn't very clear if they want a path in which they can [1:49:16] recover their country and we understand that they are not understanding that so then what's next so [1:49:21] what can we do in order to make them understand that the game is well we're not going to allow [1:49:26] them to benefit from the game that they've been playing in which they're stealing money from the [1:49:30] cuban people to the benefit of this conglomerate at the expense of the people of cuba what we are [1:49:34] offering to do is distribute a hundred million dollars in humanitarian aid to a non-governmental [1:49:38] organization well now they say they've accepted it but they create it has to go through the catholic [1:49:42] church and they're not willing to do that we have a whole host of representatives organizations [1:49:47] that are prepared to do it representative costa is recognized thank you very much chairman and [1:49:51] mr secretary of state appreciate your presence um a lot of area to cover but i'm concerned about [1:49:59] america's presidents and the international um arena that we we live in today ronald reagan once [1:50:07] described america as being the shining city upon the hill one that other countries sought to [1:50:12] emulate you're familiar with that quote i'm worried that our our smart power that underpins our global [1:50:18] standing gives us credibility count and coherence uh is today in a democratic recession that's my view [1:50:27] uh and i think american leadership is more important than ever before and i think it's lacking [1:50:32] uh and uh do you agree that uh our smart power remains an important tool of our our u.s statecraft well [1:50:39] absolutely well but we're vacating the field two-thirds of our ambassadorships or posts are empty [1:50:46] our alliances we we hit our friends with tariffs berate our partners for not supporting a war that [1:50:52] they were not ever brought into in iran and only later walk back the plans to withdraw troops from our [1:50:59] european allies on foreign aid we've scrapped usiaid and dismantled our global humanitarian networks and in [1:51:05] the vacuum as you know china has fulfilled or uh come into that breach um i i want to talk we have [1:51:13] a a deal this is a i think a good example uh you've not granted final approval on 14 billion arms deal [1:51:21] for taiwan which i want to emphasize was a sale not a gift do you think uh that protecting taiwan is [1:51:27] still important it is we gave him a love we had an 11 billion dollar sale the single largest in history just in [1:51:33] december but it's not a gift it's a sale and why are we withholding why are we withholding the 14 billion [1:51:39] we're not withholding it's just under review still it has but we just executed one in december which [1:51:42] was more than biden did in four years let's move on to nato um you know the president's described as [1:51:49] a paper tiger and he's made no hidden about his disparaging comments about our allies which i think [1:51:55] are dangerous and undermines the longest the strongest alliance that we've had post world war ii [1:52:02] do you think that uh nato is a paper tiger the big what i'm sorry do you think nato is oh i think [1:52:08] nato's in need of deep reform and part of well but i mean that reform is taking place i mean we [1:52:13] can talk about it and you you ought to be able to take some credit for this look at poland's up to 5.0 [1:52:18] their gdp for defense poland's not the problem well i'm a lot of these but we're working on this and [1:52:25] we're making progress would you not agree i i don't agree i think you don't agree that we're making [1:52:29] progress well i'm i agree we're making progress with some countries but others are saying their [1:52:33] five percent or even their 3.5 includes for example pensions to veterans that's not defense spending [1:52:39] well of course not but i mean i don't think that uh the the confidence and the support that used to be [1:52:46] a part of that transatlantic partnership is still there today and you go to europe and i go to europe and [1:52:52] we sense that and the people that we talk to let's move over to ukraine uh i've spent a lot of time and [1:52:58] engagement there i know you have you talked about it earlier today um the four years ago it was seen [1:53:07] about good versus evil right russia's invasion of of a country that was unprovoked uh and there was [1:53:15] strong bipartisan perception that that was the case a year ago the president indicated that uh that ukraine [1:53:23] had no cards to play anymore um i think that president putin today modern russia is a syndicate [1:53:31] masquerading as a country with a mob boss called putin they bomb hospital he bombs hospitals schools [1:53:39] churches kidnaps over 20 000 ukrainian children and yes we have leverage but we're backing out of our [1:53:46] economic commitment there our military commitment and uh but yet uh we see these brave ukrainian people [1:53:54] standing up for their sovereignty and actually uh taking a whole new uh page out of uh warfare in [1:54:03] terms of something that we could learn from uh when is uh the president and the administration going to [1:54:09] use the leverage that we have over russia we have uh and unfortunately the the talks have not yet borne fruit [1:54:15] but i want to disagree on something so we we continue to sell weapons through the pearl program [1:54:19] which has been a great success that that's an ongoing program with ukraine um and we continue to [1:54:24] have massive number of sanctions on russia as we speak uh the problem has been we've put the sanctions [1:54:29] on and off again no most of the sanctions are still on the only one that's been waived for a limited [1:54:33] period of time in order to provide more oil to the global market and stabilize prices is oil and those [1:54:38] are time determinate these are 60-day waivers these are not is it the intention to re-engage in the in the [1:54:44] uh efforts to form a ceasefire and a peace agreement oh we're prepared to do so unfortunately you know [1:54:50] those efforts proved less than fruitful you know we spent a year on it last year but we're prepared [1:54:55] to do it as soon as they're prepared to do it that offer we've made it repeatedly we're ready to go [1:55:00] we're prepared to play that continued but uh thank you very much for your time representative huizenga is [1:55:05] recognized uh thank you mr chairman secretary rivio good to be uh with you um and while we're addressing [1:55:11] all the important issues like your shoes i just want to formally invite you to dj my next event [1:55:16] uh i would recommend uh maybe dj overlord uh be your uh be your new nickname it's i apologize for many of [1:55:24] my colleagues here uh because you're right they are not giving you the opportunity to answer extremely [1:55:30] important questions i'm going to hit a number of issues very quickly um ellie look uh coido uh prison [1:55:38] in venezuela uh i believe yesterday you were quoted as saying that it had been closed down [1:55:43] i've got some uh close friends contacts there that believe that there are still 25 prisoners that are [1:55:49] still there uh so i don't ask you necessarily to address it but i'd love for you to take a look at that [1:55:55] and and and get just to be clear the interim government said they intend to close it and we will hold them [1:56:00] to their promise please do and make that as rapid as possible um uh along the lines of where uh dr jackson [1:56:06] was talking ronnie jackson one way we've maintained our lead uh regarding the ai arms race is cutting [1:56:13] off china's access to essential chip making tools made in america or and by our allies uh unfortunately [1:56:20] the netherlands and japan continue to sell their critical tools uh while here in the us we maintain [1:56:25] stricter controls um those exemptions continue to be exploited by the allies today do you agree that [1:56:31] export controls on chip making equipment play a critical role in constraining the ccp's [1:56:36] ai and military ambitions and that ally should not be allowed to exploit exemptions to those controls [1:56:41] correct and that and that features prominently in all of our engagements with the countries you just [1:56:44] mentioned all right um shifting gears last november president trump hosted all five central asian [1:56:51] presidents i happen to chair the south and central asia subcommittee uh for the c5 plus one summit uh that [1:56:57] was a historic uh movement uh and what i would like to know is do you recommend that congress send a [1:57:03] strong signal to the u of the us's commitment to central asia by repealing the cold war era jackson [1:57:09] vannock amendment which only serves to chill u.s investment in the region absolutely we want that [1:57:13] repeal we think it would be helpful and what what would be the positive steps what are those i think [1:57:17] it would signal these impediments that have existed in the past and being able to deal with these [1:57:21] countries commercially are being removed so we this came up in my confirmation hearing and i don't know [1:57:26] what the holdup has been because every committee i go to they ask me why everybody seems to agree they [1:57:30] want to get rid of it but no one gets rid of it so uh you should and by the way we intend to have [1:57:35] a c5 plus one meeting uh that i'll be attending at some point this year in the region wonderful and [1:57:41] they will be thrilled to have that um and then uh you recently excuse me you recently returned from [1:57:47] visiting india uh india is a critical economic and security partner uh for the u.s across the indo [1:57:52] pacific could you please share with the committee the outcomes of your recent visit and how the trump [1:57:57] administration is strengthening the partnership while simultaneously addressing long-standing [1:58:02] market access issues well india is an important strategic ally of the united states we do a lot [1:58:07] of things together both and there's tremendous opportunities to do more the two points we focused [1:58:11] on are one is the hopes that we can wrap up the negotiations on our trade agreement which we think [1:58:16] we're a few weeks away from being able to conclude obviously i don't negotiate those that's a ustr function [1:58:22] so um i refer you to them as to the timing of it but we think we're pretty close in getting that done [1:58:26] and both sides want to see it done the other reason i was there was in addition to the bilateral [1:58:30] meetings we were able to host a meeting once again of the foreign ministers of the quad which is the [1:58:34] cooperation between the united states australia japan and india and there are a number of things [1:58:39] we're working on and now we have actionable items that we're beginning to focus on there'll be a new [1:58:44] port facility in the region that we're going to work together on for one of the small pacific islands [1:58:48] i think that is an important show can you name which one well i think it's we're talking to fiji right [1:58:53] now about the ability to be involved with them and then the second is uh i hope i didn't misspeak [1:58:58] on that but i believe that's the case and on the second one that we are working together on somebody [1:59:03] in the media will hold you accountable well we'll get the the but but the second one that i would tell [1:59:07] you is that we're one of the things we've agreed to work on is is uh is domain awareness working [1:59:12] together and pooling our resources so we can have domain awareness about what's happening out in the sea [1:59:17] is there someone out there trying to impede traffic is there someone messing with undersea cables [1:59:21] is there you know sanctioned ships that are moving through this domain awareness is critically [1:59:26] important if we can pull the resources of these four countries it would be a benefit to the region [1:59:31] writ large uh thank you and and i'll just leave one last comment um it's been my observation uh going [1:59:39] back to whether it's russia iran other places that have been uh bad actors sanctions are only as good [1:59:45] as your willingness to enforce them and we are finally seeing this administration with your advocacy and [1:59:51] others and treasury to enforce those uh those sanctions uh anthony blinken sat there where you [1:59:58] are not that long ago and i had to remind him he had a problem on his hands because i'm vice chair of [2:00:02] the financial services committee there's a number of financial services committee members who are on [2:00:06] this committee we actually write the sanctions and he basically would come in and say don't worry [2:00:11] your pretty little head about all these confusing sanctioning things we got a handle on represent you [2:00:15] finally inspired thank you representative obama secretary rubio welcome back i want to start [2:00:21] where we left off last year you told me quote we're going to do more food aid than any country on the [2:00:27] planet times 10. that was your promise but the facts tell a different story america might still be [2:00:33] the world's largest food aid donor but we certainly don't provide 10 times more food aid than our peers in [2:00:39] fact under your watch america's food aid contributions have been cut by more than half to roughly two [2:00:45] billion dollars it should be very clear that america's strength has never come solely from our might [2:00:51] it comes from our alliances our credibility and our values you didn't just eliminate programs created [2:00:56] vacuums vacuums where violence and instability are rising that extremist groups are filling that [2:01:03] competitors like china are exploiting and vacuums that are making americans less safe and less prosperous [2:01:08] and you hurt americans here at home with your policy decisions shuttering usa wiped out more than 23 [2:01:14] 000 american jobs while donald trump and his billionaire buddies got rich off of corrupt deals peanut [2:01:20] farmers in texas and sugar farmers in your home state of florida lost market access because of your cuts [2:01:26] so secretary rubio before slashing food aid programs did you conduct any analysis whatsoever on how many [2:01:33] american jobs would be lost how many farms would be hurt and how much damage would be done to local [2:01:38] economies and small businesses well because we know all of those will still be part of the new [2:01:41] programs we've created and are creating but the second point i would make american foreign aid [2:01:45] programs are not a jobs program although they employ americans and we want it to be helpful to americans [2:01:50] and that's why you're okay hurting the farmers in the world food for peace program for example now [2:01:54] we've transferred it to u.s uh the agriculture department they're in a better position you're talking [2:01:58] about a hypothetical future where you fix past mistakes but farmers have been struggling [2:02:01] over the last year belonged in the first place because it's helpful the farmers have more direct input [2:02:05] there than they would at the state department as to your point about us cutting aid not only are we [2:02:09] the large we're the large we donate more than the next four countries combined we do more than anybody [2:02:14] but we we went down and there are consequences look from where i said why are we in charge of feeding [2:02:19] everybody this is this is not about charity this is about our economy and values i didn't say that you [2:02:24] got to do it all but you can't cut when you know without analysis that bad things are going to happen [2:02:30] we didn't we replaced we have new programs that are actually working better well mr secretary if i may [2:02:35] from where i sit you donald trump elan musk got together you made these cuts blindly because you [2:02:40] you did not say that you conducted any analysis you just said we cut because we have a hypothetical [2:02:45] future that we are trying to to create which is not a serious plan and that's not regard for [2:02:51] the economic damage to our farmers to our small businesses here at home who are feeling that pain and [2:02:58] moreover you've had lives lost and i want to get to that point i want to introduce you to mary sunday [2:03:04] uh she is behind me and after your food aid cuts decimated the world food program's ability to feed [2:03:11] the kenyan refugee camp she lived in mary's seven-month-old daughter santina died of malnutrition [2:03:16] this is the only photo santina's parents have of their daughter before santina died you looked me in [2:03:22] the eye in this room and you said no children are dying on my watch she was a child she had a name [2:03:28] a family a future ahead now she's gone she is one of over 500 000 children who died last year after [2:03:36] your administration pulled the plug yesterday i heard your testimony you said you're seeking [2:03:41] outcomes with foreign aid programs but the outcome that i see is dead kids so mr secretary i want to ask [2:03:47] you again and with a real direct answer please were you lying to congress when you claimed no children were [2:03:52] dying on your watch or did you simply never bother to calculate the human cost of your decisions that [2:03:58] number you're throwing around is a false number that's a false number and not only that you're [2:04:03] equivocating that the death of an individual's responsibility of the united states there are 500 000 [2:04:08] others so mr secretary the numbers are there no the numbers are not here's the thing you have you [2:04:14] have a narrative to share mr chairman i want to enter into the record uh these articles that show last [2:04:20] year alone over 155 000 children died from malnutrition over 126 000 children died from diarrheal [2:04:27] diseases over 165 000 children died from pneumonia as a result of these cuts so here's the deal [2:04:35] you promised more food aid and said there were cuts you promised america first and said american [2:04:40] workers who you said aren't a priority for you you said it's not a jobs program they lost their jobs you [2:04:45] promised strength instead we have lost influence credibility and trust and you promised [2:04:50] children weren't going to die you said that to me right here you promised peace as well instead [2:04:56] your illegal war of choice with iran is driving up fuel prices and grocery costs while putting [2:05:01] millions more at risk of hunger worldwide this is not about charity this is about value so whether [2:05:07] it's negligence or ideology the result under your watch is the same weaker alliances higher costs dead [2:05:12] children and a less secure america so my so my my time is expiring so i'm going to take these [2:05:17] seconds to say what are you going to do to clean up the mess that you created time has expired [2:05:21] representative davidson is recognized uh thank you chairman mr secretary thank you so much for [2:05:27] your faithful service to our country uh your leadership as secretary of state provides confidence at home [2:05:32] and abroad and i would like to highlight that your personal testimony at charlie kirk's memorial service [2:05:37] and your remarks at this year's munich security conference resonate with me and with many of my [2:05:43] constituents so thank you um i only have time for a few quick topics so first thank you for leading [2:05:51] one of the most thoughtful national security strategies i've seen in the post-cold war era [2:05:55] i thought last year's national security strategy was well done and the national security strategy [2:06:01] opposes quote the cynical manipulation of our immigration system to build up voting blocks [2:06:06] loyal to foreign interests within our country the state the state department has also made it clear that [2:06:11] we object to the u.n's efforts to advocate and facilitate replacement migration across the united [2:06:16] states and broader across western countries immigration was a driving issue behind president [2:06:22] trump and republican electoral victories and i commend your department for making this a priority could you [2:06:28] please highlight your approach beginning at our own borders and extended especially through the western [2:06:32] hemisphere to addressing this as part of the national security strategy terms of migration yes it's look mass [2:06:38] migration is a national security threat to any country that experiences it it's bad for the transit [2:06:43] countries too by the way because it fuels and feeds these transnational groups that traffic not [2:06:48] just in human beings they traffic in drugs they traffic in weapons and anything else you can imagine [2:06:52] so i think one of the biggest threats specific to the western hemisphere would be true throughout the world [2:06:57] is these transnational they call them criminal groups they're really transnational terrorist groups [2:07:01] that among many of the things they do is traffic in human beings so mass migration is not good for any [2:07:06] country that has to absorb it and europe is now facing the consequences of that but mass migration is [2:07:12] also not good for the migrant because they're abused along the way and it's destructive and disruptive to [2:07:17] all the countries in the region that have to experience it so today we do not have a mass migration event [2:07:22] and every country along that route in central america is grateful for it because that's less money and on [2:07:28] that they have to spend and less resources that are being taxed and and less of a burden that they're having to carry [2:07:34] thank you for that and frankly thank you for demonstrating that we just needed leadership [2:07:38] to apply the laws to secure our own borders uh with this administration i'm a former infantry [2:07:43] officer the oath our military swears is similar to the oath we swear in the house or the senate or for [2:07:47] cabinet members it's just important to defend our constitution you know generally we say first define [2:07:53] the mission second authorize the mission and then execute the mission uh so i'd like to call your [2:07:59] attention to the 2001 AUMF it was i think the 01 AUMF and the 02 AUMF that i thought brought justice to [2:08:06] Qasim Soleimani as you highlighted previously in dialogue today uh you know the ieds and efforts of [2:08:13] the uh coups force uh killed many americans in iraq and and he's you know iran has been the biggest state [2:08:20] sponsor of terror unfortunately uh the on AUMF which still survives doesn't uh it calls uh it authorizes [2:08:30] the war on terror for al qaeda and their affiliates hezbollah hamas houthis and numerous other uh proxy [2:08:38] forces for iran aren't affiliates of al qaeda would your administration support uh a modernization of [2:08:44] an authorization of military force so that we could outs have a full authorization to provide full [2:08:52] authority for our military to carry out these operations yeah twofold the first is we haven't asked [2:08:56] for one uh obviously anything that allows or provides congressional support for the president's [2:09:01] efforts to take on hezbollah hamas the threats they post the united states and ultimately iran [2:09:07] it would be a positive but we haven't asked for it we believe every operation that's been conducted [2:09:10] as well within the law as it exists well article one gives congress a duty to do something about [2:09:16] authorizing force and uh i've tried the whole 10 years i've been here to modernize it so maybe next [2:09:22] year will be the the magic year uh but i think it'd be due that we actually authorize these things [2:09:27] because our military needs it they need to know that the american people have their backs and [2:09:31] particularly when you look at people like the seditious six making threats to our military i don't want [2:09:35] them to have a second thought ever about their cover for the authority for the things we ask them to [2:09:41] engage in because frankly the problem in the post 9 11 era hasn't hasn't been whether there's a just [2:09:49] cause it's been whether we've given our military everything they need to achieve it they've been [2:09:54] tactically brilliant and operationally brilliant and i'd say that's true even in iran but they haven't [2:09:59] strategically been able to succeed and part of that's because the united states hasn't been united [2:10:03] behind it and i guess towards that end you've stated missions here we're clearly not united as a country [2:10:08] in iran so briefly you know what authorization do you need to carry out further operations in iran well [2:10:15] that's contemplated now they're all within the president's powers in our view under the [2:10:19] constitution to address imminent and emerging threats against the interests of the united states [2:10:23] if those circumstances were to change we would obviously engage congress in that conversation [2:10:27] we would always welcome congressional support we'd like congressional support id but that's not going [2:10:32] to stand in the way of the president addressing an immediate threat to the united states or an emerging [2:10:36] threat to the united states that requires him as commander-in-chief to protect our people in our [2:10:40] country well the cause is just representative infume is recognized thank you mr chairman mr secretary [2:10:49] good afternoon i was going to say good morning but it's starting to run past us we all obviously sit [2:10:55] here in america and what has been known as the greatest deliberative body in this democracy and in a nation [2:11:05] that is the strongest the wealthiest the most powerful the most influential nation that the world has ever [2:11:13] seen america's military might has no rival however america's moral obligation continues to be called into [2:11:24] question and i want to talk a little differently about something that doesn't get the attention that it [2:11:31] should get and i want to associate myself with the remarks from my colleague from rhode island globally over [2:11:39] 122 million people are forcibly displaced all over the globe due to conflict due to persecution due to human [2:11:51] rights violations they are in the sudan they're in syria they're in the ukraine they're in miramar they're in [2:11:58] the congo and they are in gaza and so i want to take the time that i have to talk about gaza since no one [2:12:05] seems to want to talk about it anymore um now that there is a tentative ceasefire but there's also a [2:12:14] number of children teenagers seniors and others that are living in wallah they have no real medical care [2:12:25] that is sufficient for their needs they are displaced because of this humanitarian crisis that we see [2:12:34] and for months the issue was that hamas was not allowing people in well that's not the case right [2:12:44] now and we see what was supposed to have been tens of trucks going in each day down to a trickle not [2:12:53] carrying food but carrying a lot of commercial supplies more than six months into the ceasefire about 1.7 [2:13:03] million gazans palestinians are still living in tent camps they're facing a surge as you probably know [2:13:13] in rodent-borne disease with reports of more than 70 000 cases of parasite infections related illnesses [2:13:22] since the beginning of this year alone many if not most of them are children young children who are [2:13:30] trying to find a way to survive who are also growing up with memories of what happened to their parents [2:13:37] with a great deal of hatred in their heart towards america towards israel toward anybody that they thought [2:13:43] may have been a part of that i just want to point out two things one that the 20 point peace plan was [2:13:52] enacted and talked about by president trump it included point number seven which doesn't get a lot of [2:14:00] attention and uh attention and that is that the mandate that a full amount of aid would be sent into [2:14:07] gaza and into the gaza strip at a quantity of 600 trucks a day it also included another point point eight [2:14:16] that entry and distribution of this way aid would proceed without any interference from any outside or [2:14:24] internal force so if we are in fact the strongest the powerful the most wealthy the most influential [2:14:31] nation on the face of the earth it would seem to me that while we are doing all these other things [2:14:37] around the globe mr secretary that we ought to have a humane reaction in response to what we helped to create [2:14:44] there i mean it is not just war torn it's ravished and people are dying every day even as this hearing takes place [2:14:53] because they can't get medical attention and so gaza is not over with that chapter and page is not turned [2:15:00] those persons the palestinians that live there really need help and i would strongly urge the state [2:15:08] department in addition to what you may be doing to have someone and to have a process to come up with ways [2:15:16] through unru and other organizations to meet the need many of the international organizations facing a [2:15:22] monetary crisis and so they don't have the ability to do what they are empowered to do but this is [2:15:28] still the united states of america and we still have an obligation and we cannot let children die [2:15:35] in mass because we think that a ceasefire has created a new reality the reality is still the same [2:15:43] on the ground there so i would urgently ask that when you come back before the committee that you try to [2:15:49] address that or even before then or if you want to share some information please do because time [2:15:55] is of the essence i yield back representative lawlor mr secretary is chairman of this committee's [2:16:02] middle east and north africa subcommittee i've been monitoring closely the administration's operations [2:16:08] in iran and appreciate the many conversations that we have had i commend both you and president trump for [2:16:15] your decisive actions against the regime on that of our military last summer we significantly set back [2:16:22] their nuclear objectives and in the past few months we have systemically decimated their military [2:16:28] infrastructure including their naval fleet and ballistic missiles program and drone capacity [2:16:35] and we eliminated the ayatollah the clerics and much of the leadership of the irgc and now [2:16:44] you are working to get the strait of hormuz reopened and to my colleagues i would say to you imagine [2:16:51] what this regime would do if it actually had a nuclear weapon and tried to extract and extort [2:16:58] by shutting down the strait they didn't just think of this as a result of this operation [2:17:04] this is something that they had been planning for years we are working to diminish their nuclear [2:17:11] capabilities for good and to expand the abraham accords across the middle east and actually ensure [2:17:18] peace stability and economic prosperity it is bold it is innovative and for the first time in 47 years [2:17:25] somebody actually followed through on the bipartisan threat that iran could not have a nuclear weapon so i [2:17:34] applaud you for the work that you have done uh during your tenure uh and wanted to ask you a few questions [2:17:41] specifically would the president sign a deal that doesn't deal with the nuclear threat and iran's [2:17:47] enrichment capabilities well that would be what the deal is about so it would be impossible to sign a [2:17:53] deal that doesn't deal with enrichment and and the highly enriched uranium right and would you say [2:18:00] that iran for the first time is finally willing to at least discuss these issues well i can tell you [2:18:07] a few months ago they refused to discuss the issues of both enrichment and the highly enriched uranium i think now [2:18:12] in some of the papers that have been exchanged back and forth it's clearly addressed but we don't [2:18:16] still don't have final sign off from their system as of this morning and there have been reports that [2:18:22] sanctions relief and release of frozen assets are on the table as i understand it you shut down those [2:18:28] rumors yesterday in your testimony can you confirm that's the case well first of all there are sanctions [2:18:34] that are specifically related to their nuclear program sanctions because they enrich sanctions because [2:18:38] they have highly enriched uranium and so none of this would be done at the front end there's no [2:18:42] there's no signing bonuses here uh but ultimately it would all be conditions based the the the sanctions [2:18:48] that are directly related to the nuclear program would be discussed as if in fact they go through all [2:18:53] the way on the things that we're asking them to do but that would be part of the negotiation it [2:18:57] wouldn't be at the front end now as you and i well know during your time in the senate we worked together [2:19:02] to pass the ship act and it was the biden administration that not only released billions [2:19:08] in frozen iranian uh oil revenue but it was the biden administration that eased sanctions on the [2:19:14] illicit oil trade between china and iran and that's what allowed the iranian regime to finance terrorism [2:19:21] hamas hezbollah the houthis that's what allowed them to finance their ballistic missiles program [2:19:26] and it's what allowed them to finance their nuclear capabilities so as you look at all of this [2:19:34] the bottom line is from our perspective we want the nuclear materials out and so ultimately no dust [2:19:44] no money correct that's right and the nature to be clear about the new we're talking about 60 [2:19:49] highly enriched uranium that has no peaceful purposes the only reason to have 60 highly enriched uranium [2:19:54] is to be one step away from turning it into 90 percent highly enriched uranium which you would [2:19:58] weaponize so that has clearly been one of the things that has to be part of this agreement [2:20:03] the disposition of it one thing i just wanted to say as part of any negotiation please keep in mind [2:20:08] the u.s victims of terror compensation fund and make sure that our 9 11 families uh continue to be [2:20:15] compensated on the sanctions for iran's terrorist activities um you know a number of my democratic [2:20:23] colleagues have pushed war powers resolutions from your uh experience and position does this grand [2:20:30] standing benefit the united states or does it benefit the iranian regime you know the iranians [2:20:35] have misunderstood it in the past they think and i've seen others not just the iranians but on [2:20:39] different war powers resolutions they think that if this thing passes that means the president will [2:20:43] not be able to come after us so he no longer has any leverage i think you've seen i've seen reflections [2:20:47] of that from them in the past obviously look congress has its prerogatives you'll vote on what you're [2:20:51] going to vote on you're asking me whether it's had an impact i think if you see how it's reported [2:20:56] on iranian state television and things of that nature it makes them think that somehow our hands [2:21:01] are going to be tied and we won't be able to do anything to them so why make a deal appreciate [2:21:05] it representative mcbride thank you mr chairman thank you mr secretary for joining us today like [2:21:10] you i attended the munich security conference earlier this year and in a meeting that i had with [2:21:16] several european prime ministers and several of your colleagues within the administration your [2:21:20] colleagues recognized that nato is both bigger and better funded today than it was 10 years ago [2:21:25] and i am fully willing to admit that that is a byproduct of several factors including putin's [2:21:31] aggression previous administrations and indeed a byproduct of actions by this administration and [2:21:37] this president's first term as well but i want to focus in today on statements and actions that i [2:21:42] believe go beyond pressuring and leverage and actually fundamentally undermine the foundation of nato [2:21:49] on january 21st of this year in the president's speech in davos he said we quote never got anything [2:21:55] from nato two months later the president said on truth social speaking of nato they will do nothing [2:22:01] for us mr secretary do you share the president's assessment that we quote never got anything from [2:22:07] nato well i think what the president was speaking to at that moment it was what i'll speak to you about [2:22:11] now is the one of the reasons why i've been such a strong supporter of nato is because they allow us to use [2:22:16] these bases because it allows us in a time of contingency like the one in germany and others [2:22:21] and for the first time i think we see nato countries denying us the use of our their bases which undermines [2:22:26] mr secretary these statements uh including the one we never got anything from nato happened before the [2:22:32] war in iran which falls outside of the article 5 invocation it falls outside of a war of defense [2:22:42] do you share the president's assessment that we quote never never got anything from i share the [2:22:47] president's assessment that on issues that are a priority to the united states i'll take that as [2:22:51] you disagree with his assessment that we got never got anything from nato because mr secretary let me [2:22:55] reclaiming my time mr secretary mr secretary i'm asking very specifically about i'm trying to [2:23:00] quote i'm not asking whether nato can be better or reformed i'm asking if we never got anything from nato [2:23:06] and i want to specifically ask you mr secretary well why are you asking me i can't answer you're not [2:23:11] answering the question that i'm asking you're answering a different question about whether [2:23:14] nato can be better or reformed and so i'm going to move on mr mr secretary are you aware that the only [2:23:20] time article 5 has ever been invoked is after 9 11 in defense of the united states of course i'm aware of [2:23:25] that okay and are you aware that more than a thousand europeans died in the subsequent war on terror [2:23:32] that was invoked after participated in the middle east correct and i i assume you're aware that the [2:23:38] nato ally that lost more service members per capita is denmark uh denmark i thought it was um that the [2:23:46] uk had suffered more more per capita okay gotcha and i assume you're aware that greenland is indeed part [2:23:52] of denmark for now okay well i want to focus in on greenland i joined the bipartisan bicameral trip to [2:24:01] copenhagen as the administration that you're a part of sought to seize greenland in the president's [2:24:08] speech at davos he said referring to greenland quote you need ownership to defend it mr secretary does [2:24:14] the united states need to own land within nato to defend it and the truth be told we are actually [2:24:19] involved in conversations with greenland and denmark on the use of denmark for on the use of greenland for [2:24:25] collective defense for all of us it's a key part of missile defense but we're involved in those talks [2:24:29] right now so i i think we're in a good place on it now um but i don't want to put stuff out there in [2:24:34] the public record that would undermine the conversations we're having with them on it [2:24:38] so specifically i'm not i'm not asking about whether we're gonna do more within greenland for [2:24:44] our collective defense i think all of us share that goal including denmark and greenlandic people [2:24:50] but do does the united states need to own land within nato to defend it that's what the president said [2:24:56] and that was the justification for those statements and the attempt to seize greenland several months [2:25:00] ago the president's view is that it's a lot easier to defend it when you have control and complete [2:25:04] control of it we are obviously having conversations with both denmark and greenland they're ongoing on [2:25:09] a monthly basis now i think we'll have pretty good news so i i take that as you disagree with the [2:25:14] literal words of the president of the united states and i want to put a finer right if we owned it it'd be [2:25:17] easier to defend it that's not what he said he said you need to own it to defend it which fundamentally [2:25:23] undermines the central tenet of article 5 of nato which states that the parties agree that an [2:25:28] armed attack against one or more of them in europe or north america shall be considered an attack [2:25:32] against all of them and if such an armed attack occurs each of them will assist the party or parties [2:25:37] attacked so sitting here with i'm sure many leaders across europe within nato and many leaders [2:25:43] beyond including vladimir putin potentially watching the words and listening to the words that [2:25:47] you are saying can you reassure our nato allies and make it clear to vladimir putin [2:25:53] that if a nato ally is attacked and article 5 is invoked that we will defend them the united [2:26:00] states is still in the nato alliance and we'll be there in turkey to talk about all these topics [2:26:04] the president himself will be attending the next nato uh meeting of heads of state where all these [2:26:10] points will be made clear we're still in nato but nato needs significant changes and the president [2:26:14] has made that clear and he is very disappointed in nato representative self is recognized uh thank you [2:26:20] mr chairman thank you mr secretary for being here um i want to continue on nato but first of all would [2:26:27] you like 30 seconds to uh respond to the last question uh well thank you um the bottom line is [2:26:34] the united look with the nato i've been a strong supporter personally in the senate and otherwise of [2:26:38] nato and i still see the utility in it um the problem with nato as i want to point out is those bases [2:26:44] that we have in the region is one of the real one of the reasons i used to argue why nato was so [2:26:48] important is it allowed the us to project power and have power in case of contingencies and um we [2:26:54] had a contingency and we had countries in nato that said no you can't use our bases particularly [2:26:58] spain now i want to be fair there were other countries that have been extraordinarily cooperative [2:27:02] and what they've helped us to do some publicly and some privately but i think the president's [2:27:06] irritation with nato is that in a time of conflict and crisis where the united states had a need you had [2:27:11] members of this alliance who are constantly asking us to get to get involved in european matters [2:27:16] like ukraine and things of this nature who in our time were actually telling us no your tankers can't [2:27:21] use our air base no you can't use it to refuel no you can't use it for logistical support and he's [2:27:27] buried just what kind of alliance is that i think the other thing that's concerning is that apart from [2:27:32] nato you have this european effort to stand up some sort of a military force some of which may trigger [2:27:37] actions that would then lead to an article 5 invocation that's a separate topic but one that also needs to [2:27:43] be discussed so i think the next meeting of nato and turquia in july is probably the most important [2:27:48] meeting in nato's history because there are some things here that need to be cleared up and fixed [2:27:52] uh thank you mr secretary i chair of the european subcommittee on this committee uh i was in europe [2:27:58] for eight years on active duty to include european command in the nato shape uh military headquarters [2:28:03] i want to appoint you gave us a really masterful uh review of the global uh situation early in your [2:28:09] spoken remarks i want to uh ask you to comment on another part of europe that we've not talked about [2:28:15] that i consider very fragile and that's the balkans particularly the western balkans i just completed [2:28:20] a trip through i uh through bosnia herzegovina serbia and kosovo i talked to government officials i [2:28:27] talked to opposition members students uh obviously the country teams k4 ngos talked to everybody i could [2:28:34] talk to it's extremely fragile uh right now thank you for the ambassadors that were recently nominated [2:28:40] for that region uh i noticed that kosovo did not have a ambassador nominated and i would ask for your [2:28:46] support there we have four nato allies that are also blocking kosovo's entry into nato obviously we [2:28:53] have the intractable uh issue between serbia and kosovo that serbia considers kosovo a province kosovo [2:28:59] most of the world recognizes kosovo as a sovereign nation we have the change in the high rep coming [2:29:06] in bosnia herzegovina this is an extremely fragile uh area of europe and i would ask for you to support [2:29:14] kosovo's uh membership in nato with those four countries at the meeting in turkia that you just [2:29:20] mentioned i'm looking for stability and balance in the western balkans our troop presence is very very [2:29:27] important uh in uh in that region of the world in terms of the k4 particularly and i know we're [2:29:34] looking for a high rep and i just ask for any comments you have on the western balkans i consider [2:29:39] them fragile well the as you know the pre-existing high rep has resigned and so there's a new candidate [2:29:43] that we'll be supporting is an italian gentleman that we think would do a good job of helping provide [2:29:48] some stability uh to that position beyond that we may remain engaged uh on this topic as you've pointed [2:29:55] out uh and have so done privately as well the last thing we want to see is any sort of conflict in [2:29:59] there any sort of partition division uh things of this nature and the last that would create further [2:30:04] confidence i can't speak to expansion of nato i'll be frank with you based on my last meetings with [2:30:09] the foreign ministers and obviously perhaps secretary hexath has additional comments on this point but [2:30:15] at least what i perceived is that uh you know right now generally speaking nato is so focused on [2:30:19] some of these other issues that have been raised here today that expansion uh particularly on the [2:30:25] in the case of kosovo but other topics isn't really on the forefront of some of the agenda [2:30:29] of these countries but that doesn't mean it will never happen it just means it's not really given [2:30:32] these other sort of friction points it has not featured prominently in recent conversations with [2:30:38] our nato allies uh yes mr secretary you you look at the western balkans there's kind of a hole there [2:30:43] in terms of eu membership and nato membership so there is a lack of stability with that i have 30 seconds [2:30:49] left i'd like to uh yield to my colleague thank you very much honorable congressman self i just [2:30:55] want to finish with what i was trying to um ask you mr secretary uh let's go to colombia president [2:31:01] trump just endorsed abelardo del esprilla we have information sir that there are forces preparing [2:31:08] a major election fraud coming up in three weeks my question to you is very clear we need to send a [2:31:14] message to the colombians that they need to have free and fair elections so are we prepared to say that [2:31:19] whomever participates in that type of uh fraud process during the uh the presidential election [2:31:27] can we uh sanction them with ofac sanctions canceling united states visas for them or for their family [2:31:33] members yeah i mean look i can't make that i would say to you that we are going to be very forceful in [2:31:38] ensuring that there is a free and fair election in colombia and do everything within our power to ensure [2:31:42] that that happens specifically time has expired representative dean is recognized thank you [2:31:48] chairman uh and ranking member meeks uh welcome secretary rubio i want to take a moment to echo [2:31:55] the sentiments expressed by the ranking member and my democratic colleagues about this administration [2:32:01] under your leadership we are going backwards we're losing our moral standing we're alienating our allies [2:32:09] our status as the indispensable nation is in question i had hoped that president trump would have used [2:32:16] you more i had hoped he would have used diplomatic tools more instead of family deal makers a prime [2:32:24] example of where we have lost ground is the destruction of usaid and the u.s foreign assistance [2:32:30] apparatus secretary rubio i agree with your stated intention to spend foreign aid effectively efficiently [2:32:37] and aligned with american values your written testimony certainly paints a rosy picture [2:32:42] of the state department's progress in achieving those goals i quote you when you say every dollar [2:32:48] we spend today is 100 times more effective efficient and aligned with the american interest than it was [2:32:55] when president trump took office we know such huckstering is not the reality last year a new and [2:33:02] untested organization called gaza humanitarian foundation was set up by israel and the united states [2:33:08] within a few short months to take over distribution of emergency food assistance amid catastrophic food [2:33:15] insecurity and famine in gaza ghf had no track record of providing humanitarian assistance and it relied on [2:33:24] private subcontractors to transport the food to provide food distribution sites and then you saw the [2:33:31] reporting hundreds of palestinians including women and children were killed just trying to get [2:33:39] to those sites secretary rubio can you tell us can you tell the world how many people were killed [2:33:46] simply trying to access those sites well since hamas killed them you should ask uh what hamas [2:33:51] idf soldiers shot some of them no no no yes let me tell you the reason why food wasn't going in there [2:33:55] is because i reclaimed my time hijacked i reclaimed my time because propaganda ain't going to work with me [2:34:00] well it isn't going to work with me either and what you're saying is probably 1400 people were killed [2:34:05] and that was as of last march secretary rubio why did the state department approve the 30 million [2:34:11] dollars to ghf at a time when other well-tested uh agencies were there and able to provide distribution [2:34:18] well because that one of those were in cahoots with hamas and we saw an incredible amount of the [2:34:23] aid flow into hamas's hands reclaiming my time the aid was held up at the border by israel and you [2:34:29] know your rules here you can't even answer a question you're not following the rules you're [2:34:32] very familiar with how this works no i don't i never served in the house this is a weird rule [2:34:36] the time is mine would you ask a question and i can't answer would you please add time to the clock [2:34:40] nope he's a comedy show over there i'd say this is serious stuff i agree that's why i don't have to answer [2:34:49] question mr rubio according to public reporting nine counterterrorism and anti-fraud safeguards were [2:34:55] waived to approve this i wonder who specifically made the decision i wonder were you aware of this [2:35:02] decision i'm not asking you a question and was there any written justification i don't want an answer [2:35:09] you know why because now ghf is closed it was abysmal it was a legacy of disaster nothing about our [2:35:18] investment our investment our taxpayers investment seems to have been effective or efficient or in the [2:35:25] interest of the american people i would call that waste fraud and abuse moving on i'm a member of the [2:35:31] appropriations committee i'm concerned that you're flouting congress's constitutional power of the purse [2:35:37] when it comes to foreign aid for fy25 congress appropriated and the president signed into law more [2:35:45] than 690 million dollars for international basic education i don't need to tell you that investing in [2:35:52] basic education is critical for empowering children creating economic opportunity it's also had a long [2:35:59] time bipartisan support you supported you personally as a senator supported authorizing legislation the read [2:36:07] act how much of this funding has been spent so far i don't have that figure in front of me but i can [2:36:12] tell you we're not going to fund puppet shows can you get it for us yeah i'll get it for you but i'm [2:36:17] going to tell you the number of puppet shows were and all these other stupid things they were spending [2:36:20] money on is going to be zero well you supported the legislation i didn't support the puppet shows [2:36:27] mr rubio mr secretary the trump administration will be remembered for rubble and rot i had hoped you would [2:36:36] have been able to distinguish yourself above that rot i bet you hoped it too sadly you have not i yield back [2:36:43] well representative baird is recognized thank you mr chairman and thank you mr secretary for being [2:36:53] here and giving us an update on the department of state we really appreciate that you know in your [2:36:58] testimony you stated that the foreign assistance is a key instrument in america's ability to build [2:37:04] partnerships and trust with developing countries and president trump has put forth a clear plan about [2:37:10] america first in all aspects of our policy and his policy our focal point uh that the state [2:37:17] department has spearheaded which is i am very excited about is the american first global health [2:37:23] strategy the u.s is a global leader in health innovation particularly with pharmaceutical applications [2:37:29] and biotechnology african countries overwhelmingly have been the beneficiaries of american first bilateral [2:37:36] global health agreements 21 of the 32 signed agreements that you mentioned in your early presentation [2:37:43] have been with nations in africa resulting in 40 percent of african nations being partners of the [2:37:49] united states that have taken enough responsibility to invest in their people instead of asking for a [2:37:54] blank check from america's taxpayers so i'm proud as a representative of indiana to see that the drastic [2:38:03] increase in domestic investment is innovative for global health problems and biotechnology so can you [2:38:10] walk me through the process for sending america's medical and health innovation abroad to assist with [2:38:17] global health threats and additionally what plans does the state department have to expand those global [2:38:23] yeah and and let me just say this goes right to the criticisms that i keep hearing from that side [2:38:27] over there about us not spending the money because we got rid of a usa id program usa id basically was a program [2:38:32] uh was a system that was completely devoid of our public policy operated almost as an independent state [2:38:38] department and often times usa id was operating in contravention and contradiction of what the embassy [2:38:44] was trying to accomplish in the host country and one of the complaints you would get from many developing [2:38:48] countries is that they would get flooded with ngos that were picked for them these ngos would then operate in [2:38:53] the country without even coordinating with the government doing whatever they wanted and pursuing what they wanted [2:38:58] and in some cases it extended well beyond food and medicine it extended to political interference and [2:39:02] all sorts of other activities in these countries that were undermining the national interest in the [2:39:06] credibility of the united states now these compacts in particular are promising and exciting because [2:39:11] they are government to government arrangements no longer do we put money into a bucket and says this [2:39:16] is for vaccines or this is for medical care or this is for standing up clinics globally we are doing it [2:39:22] individually country by country and the reason why that makes sense is because every country has unique needs [2:39:27] some country may need more help in some area than in others but at the core of this arrangement that [2:39:32] we're making with countries is their desire and our goal to ultimately help them build their own [2:39:39] national health systems so that eventually they no longer are dependent on foreign aid in order to be [2:39:44] able to conduct that some countries that may take five years some countries that may take 15 it depends on [2:39:49] which country but that's the goal of the compact and these countries are happy with the compact because for the [2:39:54] first time ever their government leaders have control over how the money is spent where it's being [2:39:59] spent and it's being spent in a way that builds their domestic capacity inside of the country that's a [2:40:05] much better way to do it than to flood these countries with ngos accountable to nobody run by in many cases [2:40:12] through a usa id program that was undermining our foreign policy in that country in many instances well i [2:40:19] appreciate that answer very much i was really shocked to see where some of the funds were going [2:40:23] in africa for example uh through those uh usa and the usa program and i know that was not what was [2:40:31] intended in the beginning so thank you for taking care of that and making an effort to do that [2:40:36] uh let me change to one other thing uh during the biden administration the fso's were evaluated in the [2:40:43] service based on a meaningless criteria like dei and woke politics so this arguably drowned out the vital [2:40:50] u.s interest like beating back the chinese encroachment and advancing new technologies abroad i commend [2:40:57] you for stripping the department of dei and other woke policies and we should renew our focus on [2:41:03] reinforcing our edge against china and we certainly can use tech diplomacy to do that so we have about 42 [2:41:10] seconds so can you would you mind sharing with me uh how to agree with the diplomats should be trained [2:41:16] in emerging technologies like ai and telecommunications yeah well i think given the dramatic [2:41:22] transformations happening in the world today our diplomats of the future are going to have to be [2:41:26] trained in multiple fields that previously we didn't not just in the role of technology broadly plays [2:41:30] but the rapidly evolving role that ai plays and economics i think economics have become a central [2:41:36] core have always been an important part of our diplomacy but have become at the core of much of [2:41:39] our diplomacy around the world now so it's one of the areas where i think are in addition to knowing how to [2:41:45] write non-papers and all the other normal diplomatic things i think it's going to be really important [2:41:49] for foreign service officers in the future to have an understanding of economic factors thank you very [2:41:54] much i yield back representative schneider is recognized thank you chair and mr secretary thank you for [2:41:59] being here today i'm going to talk about areas on which we both agree specifically addressing the [2:42:04] threats from iran and seeking stability prosperity and peace for all the peoples of the middle east [2:42:09] including our arab muslim allies and the jewish democratic state of israel like you i've spent much of [2:42:14] the past two decades working to block and ultimately permanently close any path iran might pursue to [2:42:19] acquire nuclear weapons capability and like you i've argued that the international community must work [2:42:24] together to eliminate iran's conventional weapons threat including ballistic missiles cruise missiles [2:42:29] and now drones like you i've worked to thwart iran's support for terrorist organizations around [2:42:33] the world including hezbollah in lebanon hamas and palestinian islamic jihad in gaza and the houthis in [2:42:40] yemen among others and like you i believe we should do all we can to empower the good people of iran to [2:42:45] free themselves from the evil regime that has oppressed them for more than 47 years and now we [2:42:50] can add the imperative to re-establish freedom of navigation in the strait of hormuz i know you and [2:42:55] this administration are working to reopen that strait mr secretary assuming the arrangement is soon [2:43:00] reached to reopen the strait have you or anyone in the administration calculated or even estimated the [2:43:05] economic impact on iran's economy through the remainder of the year versus the baseline that [2:43:10] was expected before the war yeah i'm sorry but i want to understand your question are you saying [2:43:15] if the straits are open how much have they lost agreement if an agreement is achieved do you have [2:43:19] an expectation of what's going to happen in iran's economy going forward how much money will come in [2:43:24] uh with this well i can tell you so for example with a blockade now their inability to get ships out [2:43:28] is costing hundreds of millions right so if it's costing hundreds of million dollars a day now not [2:43:32] be able to get their ships out that would be theoretically what they could gain back except [2:43:37] that they still face sanctions now the sanctions haven't been enforced necessarily but in many [2:43:42] cases in previous administrations but they still face sanctions what you've seen happen now that has [2:43:46] never happened but let me just i just for the sake of time yeah i appreciate that the administration [2:43:51] is looking at give and take to get the straits open have you estimated how much of the cash that [2:43:56] will flow into that economy as you said a hundred million dollars a day will make its way ultimately to [2:44:01] iran proxies like hezbollah hamas or paustinian well obviously we assume a lot of it and the dish but [2:44:05] they also have significant reconstruction costs but let me be clear i don't think that's what you're [2:44:09] asking me no what we're the straits are not in exchange for sanctions relief the straits are [2:44:13] no i understand but there will be economic inflows to the regime and yeah unfortunately that's the [2:44:21] case and that continues to be the case that will have to change as well as part of this negotiation so [2:44:25] and and just because time is so tight um my my request is can you commit to giving this committee a [2:44:29] classified briefing to share what the administration is doing to thwart the efforts to get money to [2:44:35] hezbollah islamic jihad and and hamas yes and i think you'd also benefit from hearing from treasury [2:44:40] on that topic as well last effort and i asked the chairman to do that uh way back in may may 8 2018 [2:44:47] the trump administration laid out a fact sheet uh making the case why it was leaving the jcpoa i'm [2:44:53] just go through some of the points and ask you to confirm that the administration's red lines are still the [2:44:57] same uh quote uh from this is may 8 8 2018 this quote the jcpoa failed to deal with the threat of [2:45:05] iran's missile program and did not include a strong enough mechanism for inspection and verification [2:45:09] end quote can you commit to this committee that any resulting deal will include a strong mechanism [2:45:13] for inspections ideally anytime anywhere inspections and verification of iran's missile program missile [2:45:18] program yes well the missile program is being discussed partially because epic fury destroyed much [2:45:23] of it but it still needs to be discussed because it's a delivery system for these these uh so that [2:45:27] that's been a part of the negotiations correct uh again quoting from the may 8 document the jcpoa [2:45:33] foolishly gave the iranian regime a windfall of cash and access to international financial system for [2:45:37] trade and investment end quote can you commit to this committee that any resulting deal will not [2:45:41] foolishly give the iranian regime a windfall of cash and access to the international financial [2:45:46] system for trade and investment yes because they're not going to get any sanctions relief of any kind [2:45:50] unless they get rid of enrichment and they get rid of the highly enriched uranium thank you uh third [2:45:55] point uh and i'm again quoting from the original document the iranian regime must never have an icbm [2:46:01] cease developing any nuclear capable missiles and stop proliferating ballistic missiles to others end quote [2:46:06] can you commit to this committee that any resulting deal will cause iran to cease developing its nuclear [2:46:11] capable missiles and stop proliferating ballistic missiles to others we consider delivery systems to [2:46:15] be a part of them having a nuclear weapon which we said they'll never have right and just because you [2:46:19] have 40 seconds uh again quote unquote the iran regime must stop its threat to freedom of [2:46:24] navigation especially in the persian gulf and red sea that was uh in 2018 can you commit to the [2:46:29] committee that any deal will cause iran to stop its threats of freedom of navigation especially in the [2:46:34] in the gulf now can i commit to that we won't even be able to enter negotiations until they do that [2:46:39] okay and finally can you commit that any agreement any agreement this administration enters into [2:46:44] will ensure iran cannot develop a nuclear weapon that's the whole goal here absolutely [2:46:48] in that vein and most importantly can you commit to this committee that any documented agreement [2:46:53] related iran's nuclear program will be brought before congress as required by anara which i [2:46:57] believe you voted we will comply with anara thank you i yield back and thank you mr schneider for [2:47:02] letting me answer your questions representative bar i was efficient mr secretary thanks for the great job [2:47:10] you're doing um some democrats are making the laughable claim that iran is stronger today than they [2:47:15] than they were before epic fury started because of the disruption in the in the strait of hormuz [2:47:22] you've seen the the trump derangement syndrome in the hearing today can you set the record straight [2:47:28] on whether or not iran is stronger today well they have they have no navy they have no air force they [2:47:34] have no air defenses they have uh substantial they have massive destruction to the defense industrial base [2:47:40] they've lost a substantial percentage of their missile launchers um and of of their drone launchers [2:47:46] as well um they're not benefiting from the straits being closed because the blockade is keeping them [2:47:51] from hundreds of millions of dollars a day in revenue they've had their seat ships seized in the [2:47:55] indo-pacific their leadership is fractured they have hyperinflation their currency is worthless and [2:48:01] they're having trouble making payroll i guess other than that they're doing well thank you do you believe [2:48:05] that uh keeping the credible threat of kinetic military force on the table uh and the president's [2:48:10] willingness to use such force is important to your diplomatic leverage yes because unfortunately we [2:48:15] are dealing with a group of people that don't understand anything but that um and so the the [2:48:19] resolution that's on the floor in the u.s house this week uh would would do do what to the u.s [2:48:26] leverage i don't think technically it does anything i think perceptionally it allows the iranians to [2:48:31] believe that somehow they don't have to make a deal because there's no threat of something bad [2:48:34] happening to them if they don't uh and and just as a follow-up to my my friend congressman schneider's [2:48:40] line of questioning can you describe the key differences between the terms of the deal that [2:48:44] you all are negotiating with iran today versus the terms of the jcpoa well what we're discussing now is [2:48:50] what the negotiations will be about and it will be about zero no enrichment what they're going to do [2:48:56] with their enrichment and what they're going to do with a highly enriched uranium being removed and [2:48:59] disposed being disposed of that wasn't a part of jcpoa the other thing is the jcpoa was time [2:49:05] limited in fact the prohibition on uh certain enrichment would have been expiring this very [2:49:10] year this very year would have been expiring so jcpoa right now would be expiring and they would [2:49:15] be able to be in a position to then ramp up and do whatever they wanted with in compliance with the [2:49:19] jcpoa so there are major differences even in the text of what we're discussing the negotiations [2:49:25] are going to be about but ultimately any deal we do will be a good deal or it won't be a deal and [2:49:31] it'll be better than jcpoa absolutely and i think that's a key point is that this this idea that you [2:49:37] could draw any analogy between what's happening now where the where the administration has totally [2:49:43] obliterated uh the uh nuclear capabilities of of iran plus their conventional capabilities uh you're [2:49:51] negotiating from a position of strength uh that the obama and biden administration was not negotiating [2:49:56] uh from a position of strength at all and and uh and provided up up front sanctions we know what what [2:50:02] the result was uh i want to shift to the indo-pacific real quick uh as you know the taiwan relations act [2:50:08] states that it is the policy of the united states to provide taiwan with um arms of a defensive character [2:50:14] consistent with that policy the trump administration announced in december of 25 an 11 billion arms package [2:50:21] for taiwan the largest ever including high mars howitzers drones javelin anti-tank missiles as a [2:50:26] result the taiwan legislature passed a 25 billion dollar special defense budget that included funding [2:50:31] for an even bigger arms deal for air and defense uh air and missile defense totaling 14 billion a deal [2:50:38] that is not final and a deal that is under review uh as you know one of the six assurances states that [2:50:45] the u.s will not consult with the prc on arms sales to taiwan now you've heard this critics of the [2:50:52] administration have alleged the media has alleged as a result of the beijing summit that president [2:50:58] trump's recent meetings with uh chinese leader xi in beijing not only paused taiwan arms sales that's [2:51:06] their term paused arms sales but also violated the assurance that the u.s will not consult with the prc [2:51:13] directly can you clear the air on this first of all the 11 million in december was the single [2:51:18] largest arms sales ever to taiwan it was more than happened cumulatively under four years of [2:51:23] president biden and in fact i recall that for six years president obama offered zero to taiwan during [2:51:29] his presidency so it was such a big deal by the way that the chinese reacted to it with really hyper [2:51:35] activity in terms of military exercises around taiwan we don't consult with the chinese on these arms [2:51:40] sales we're aware of their position they talk about it all the time and i don't need to tell you it [2:51:44] wouldn't be breaking news that they're not in favor of these arms sales they raise it but they are not [2:51:48] negotiated and they're not consulted that second deal the 14 million dollar one that's currently under [2:51:53] review uh and that would be not that would not be unusual for something that's not a pause that's not [2:51:58] a pause that's under review and we've already done an 11 billion dollar deal just did one in december [2:52:03] right so i i i think the mischaracterization of this as a pause doesn't reflect the the administration's [2:52:11] commitment that they've already made on the 11 billion dollar deal i yield back correct representative [2:52:17] barris thank you mr chairman thank you secretary for being here um i'll admit that i was hesitant [2:52:24] and skeptical and did not support um the actions that took place in venezuela i also will admit that [2:52:29] thus far it's working out better than i would have expected and you know long-term stability if we can [2:52:35] create a better life for the venezuelan people is a good thing if we can reduce that threat in our [2:52:41] hemisphere that's a good thing as well um to the line of questioning that um that i have asked i [2:52:47] think it would go a long way you mentioned that there's a kpmg audit of the venezuelan funds how [2:52:54] the revenue is being used how it's being reinvested in venezuela would you publicly commit to providing [2:53:01] um that audit to this committee and again i think would go a long way to it well it was and it's an ongoing [2:53:06] audit so it's not a once a year audit it's on every expenditure every single disbursement is audited [2:53:11] by kpmg i would also add one more point there's a second layer of control here and that is citibank [2:53:16] itself because they hold the account they also do the know your customer regulations on it which [2:53:21] by the way has slowed down the disbursement in ways that have been problematic providing all that [2:53:26] information yeah yeah no absolutely and that's why we're doing the audit we want people to see that it's [2:53:30] not being stolen or pilfered we think that's part of this recovery is so critical again i think that [2:53:35] that would go a long way to assuaging some of the concerns um i'm gonna follow mr bar's a co-chair [2:53:41] with me on the taiwan caucus um and some of his line of questioning i was going to ask you yes and no [2:53:46] questions but i'll um ask a series of questions i think that go along with um his line of questioning [2:53:53] some of the comments that the president's made recently have created a little bit of ambiguity [2:53:58] um but again what you just um suggested nothing's changed in our relationship um in the taiwan [2:54:05] relations act you know states that the united states will make available to taiwan such defense articles [2:54:10] and defense services as may be necessary um you know the six assurances states that the united states [2:54:17] does not agree to consult with the people's republic of china regarding arms sales to taiwan the taiwan's [2:54:24] relations act the three joint communiques the six assurances have guided our [2:54:29] one china policy for decades and again i think in your previous statements nothing has changed um [2:54:35] with our commitment to upholding the u.s one china policy is that correct our policy on taiwan has not [2:54:40] changed oh great thank you um switching over to something you know that the administration's put a lot [2:54:47] of focus on is our um critical minerals rare earths developing our own capacity you know i was [2:54:54] supporter of the mineral security partnership now the forge act um working with our allies super [2:54:59] important you know work with congresswoman kim on the dominance act which passed out of this committee [2:55:06] which i believe will be coming to the floor on suspension hopefully on monday um i think this is [2:55:11] a strong bipartisan piece of legislation that supports a lot of the goals of the administration [2:55:17] it does um you know create redundancy and you know not a reliance on china it does help build refining [2:55:25] capacity it helps um reinvigorate a workforce there's a bipartisan companionship companion bill [2:55:32] um in the senate i do think um this would go a long way to achieving um national security goals for [2:55:40] the united states and is a good piece of legislation and certainly would want um you to take a look at [2:55:46] that i i will and um to be more consistent on this topic on the critical minerals literally every [2:55:52] engagement we have every country in the world is now discovering they have critical minerals and rare [2:55:56] earths even though they're not that rare uh that's the mining part of it the second part of it as you [2:56:00] know is the processing and refining we need to have that capability built too and we're trying to create [2:56:05] these global alliances to do that so that we're not over dependent on these one source you know particularly [2:56:11] china right and uh third piece questioning i recently was in korea meeting with the the new korean [2:56:17] president um you know lots of conversations taking place with the koreans um one area we did talk about [2:56:24] was you know um our commitment to being the nuclear deterrent for the peninsula and so forth has anything [2:56:30] changed there just no our posture there remains the same and in fact we have new partnerships that [2:56:35] we're trying to now we're not trying to trigger a crisis there we're not trying to trigger a war or [2:56:38] anything uh problematic but uh you know at the mill to mill level we have very strong relations with [2:56:43] korea great um also um you know have been talking to australians um you know paying close attention to [2:56:50] akus again our commitments to akus to that partnership which is critical to um our geopolitical [2:56:58] security in the region that commitment stays firm correct and not only that with australia is also part [2:57:03] of the quad that we have with japan and india they were at our meeting last week we have a lot we're [2:57:07] working on together with them and seek to expand it great and you mentioned that um the quad expects [2:57:13] to have a leaders summit i know that's been delayed a couple times do we expect the leaders we are [2:57:18] hoping to be able to do one this year maybe on the sidelines of another global gathering in the region [2:57:22] but nonetheless a meeting not a standalone but as part of you know where they're all going to be at the [2:57:26] same time it would be easier we're working on getting that scheduled right representative fine [2:57:32] well thank you mr chairman uh mr secretary i firmly believe god puts us where he wants us to be [2:57:37] and i'm grateful every day he's put you where you are so thank you for all the hard work that you're [2:57:42] doing um i want to read you a couple statements and see if you agree with them um i suspect that you [2:57:48] will the first statement is heaven forbid iran were to ever obtain a nuclear weapon do you agree with [2:57:56] that i presume yeah i would use even stronger language okay second one would be iran must never be allowed [2:58:01] to obtain a nuclear weapon would you agree with that baseline policy okay and then the third is the [2:58:07] iranian regime must not gain nuclear weapons would you agree with them these are statements these are [2:58:13] actual quotes from three members on the other side of the aisle who today gave you a whole lot of grief [2:58:22] about what you're doing and what the president is doing to make sure those statements don't come to [2:58:28] pass representatives meeks lou and sherman so my question to you is what changed i mean why would people [2:58:37] say they must never be allowed to have a nuclear weapon and then when we're actually doing what [2:58:42] is necessary to make sure they don't all of the sudden there's a very different tone as they ask you [2:58:48] questions yeah i would say that the notion that they shouldn't have a nuclear weapon is widely held [2:58:52] and not just widely held by members of congress it's widely held by countries around the world in fact [2:58:58] i don't know a single country in the world that says it would be a good idea for iran to have a nuclear [2:59:01] weapon i think what's changed or where the difference comes in is okay what are you going to do about [2:59:06] it you ultimately have to do something about it and when we saw that they were building up this [2:59:10] conventional shield behind which they were going to hide their nuclear program and hold it immune from [2:59:15] foreign from action we had to address it and that's what the president did with epic fury so that was [2:59:20] the difference the difference is we actually did something about it something that multiple [2:59:24] administrations have held as their position it was the biden administration's position it was the obama [2:59:28] administration's position but this president actually did something about it and uh you know many [2:59:32] countries around the world aren't willing to do anything about it except complain or you know [2:59:36] sign on to some letters somewhere but we actually did something about it because if we had not done [2:59:40] so in about a year iran would have had a conventional shield and they could have been able to threaten [2:59:45] not just the region but parts of europe and they would have said if you come after us in our nuclear [2:59:48] program we will impose costs on you you cannot bear so now you have to let us have a nuclear weapon we [2:59:54] were never going to let them have that conventional shield so what happens in your opinion if we did what [2:59:59] they're asking we stand down we stop we go back to the strongly worded letters and and lots of talking [3:00:06] but we don't take the action we just go well you know we don't want them to have a nuclear weapon [3:00:10] but they're going to do what they're going to do what do you think what would your prediction be what [3:00:14] i think the long-term trajectory of iran remains the same in that regard is their ambition is to [3:00:18] ultimately have a nuclear weapon that is ultimately their ambition they probably view it not just as [3:00:23] regime security the way that the they do in north korea they view it as an ability to become the [3:00:28] dominant power in the region once they possess a nuclear weapon nothing stops them from sponsoring [3:00:32] proxy groups all over the region to destabilize jordan saudi arabia multiple sunni countries [3:00:38] and of course wipe out israel so it would be fair to say then that standing in the way of what you're [3:00:43] trying to do over there what we're trying to do over there effectively is emboldening and enabling [3:00:47] iran to get that nuclear weapon well ultimately anytime they don't the only reason they would not go [3:00:52] for a nuclear weapon is because they're forced not to they're never going to do that voluntarily and [3:00:56] they've never agreed to anything voluntarily even the small concessions they made in jcpoa were in [3:01:01] exchange for some benefit to them so clearly this isn't a regime that only understands that they [3:01:07] will only do these things that they're compelled to do so either through an incentive or through a [3:01:11] punitive matter okay changing topics to unra for a minute as you know on october 7 2023 there were [3:01:18] employees of the united nations in the form of unra who actually participated in the terrorist attack that [3:01:25] killed 1200 people um what are we going to do to make sure that the un can never ever again [3:01:32] employ terrorists that are going to go and kill people well obviously we're not going to be [3:01:36] working with unru any longer as you know we've removed ourselves from that and we refuse to engage [3:01:40] them or you be a part of the solution now in gaza gaza there are plenty of other organizations that can play [3:01:45] that role without having the sort of cooperation that they've had with hamas elements including the [3:01:50] presence of hamas elements within their ranks as we've seen and it's part of the thing that was being [3:01:54] talked about earlier in gaza what they don't tell you is a significant percentage of the aid even [3:01:59] the non-unra aid that was entering was winding up in the hands of hamas and they were reselling it in [3:02:03] the black market and of course keeping it for themselves that was not the purpose of the aid [3:02:07] what they're also not telling you is that multiple one of the reasons why the world food program would [3:02:11] not go in or could not go in is because their trucks were being hijacked and their truckers would [3:02:16] not go because they were putting their lives in danger and this was all being systemized weaponized [3:02:21] and manipulated by hamas to their benefit well thank you again for everything you've done everyone [3:02:26] in florida is very proud of you and we're cheering for the work that you do every day thank you mr [3:02:30] secretary thank you mr chairman representative ocheski thank you mr chairman uh first secretary [3:02:36] rubio's earlier testimony referenced the president's son-in-law jared kushner as a private citizen [3:02:42] but in president trump's own words kushner is an envoy of peace alongside steve whitkoff so i ask [3:02:47] unanimous consent to submit for the record a political article from february 19th detailing [3:02:52] the president's announcement which makes clear kushner is more than a private citizen sort thank [3:02:56] you secretary rubio as a senator back in 2023 referencing hunter biden you said quote if his [3:03:04] last name wasn't biden there's no way in the world that he would have made the millions of dollars he made [3:03:09] you also said we can't abandon common sense when someone profits from a family member in power is it [3:03:16] fair to say that you agree that it's wrong for elected officials and their families to profit [3:03:20] from positions of power to use government service to make money yeah of course great i i appreciate [3:03:25] that and i share that sentiment with you sir uh i want to revisit some of the details that were brought [3:03:30] up earlier and put into the record about the president's own uh stock transactions uh a form which he [3:03:36] filed um that shows he completed more than 3 700 stock transactions in just the first three months of this [3:03:42] year alone the president bought hundreds of thousands of dollars in palantir stock shortly before he [3:03:48] publicly praised the company on his social media site as if the name drop enough wasn't enough as if the [3:03:54] name drop itself wasn't enough he included the company's ticker symbol for good measure hardly subtle to [3:03:59] me on march 23rd after nearly a month of war with iran the president said talks were quote very good and [3:04:05] productive and extended his deadline for a deal by five days oil prices dropped and energy stocks fell [3:04:11] while trump bought shares in companies like exxon mobile chevron and other firms positioned to [3:04:16] benefit if the war continued which it did at the president's direction he bought a dip that he created [3:04:23] then there's nvidia the president bought as much as a million dollars in stock just one week before [3:04:27] the commerce department formally approved the sale of nvidia chips to china one week he bought up to five [3:04:34] million dollars more in nvidia stock in february right before the company announced a major chip deal with [3:04:40] meta it's pretty good luck if you ask me if that's not bad enough the president's son struck a [3:04:45] multi-billion dollar crypto deal with a uae state-backed firm after the deal the administration [3:04:51] reversed ai chip restrictions approving transfers of sensitive technology to another uae related entity [3:04:58] chaired by the very same royal family figure involved with the deal with his son that seems like hardly [3:05:04] a coincidence to me and indeed it is self-enrichment tied directly to the president's foreign policy agenda [3:05:10] and it's how the president's net worth has grown by over four billion dollars since he started [3:05:16] this term as the president gets rich his wars and tariffs are crushing hard-working american families [3:05:22] and i think the american people see through the bs this is the most corrupt administration in american [3:05:29] history so secretary rubio earlier today you said you didn't know the facts about the president's [3:05:34] financial dealings i'm happy to share them if you want to see it specifically but having run through [3:05:39] that now that you do know um would you agree and do you have concerns about the fact this [3:05:45] administration is in fact profiting from their position of power well first of all what i said [3:05:48] is the information you guys were putting up including on this board i don't first that's not in my [3:05:52] purview as in department of state and these are things you're producing i don't know if they're [3:05:55] accurate or not but let me just say this i've been in every foreign policy and national security meeting [3:05:59] for the most part this administration has had not once not a single time have i ever seen even the hint [3:06:05] or the indication that any of the decisions being made are for the financial gain of anyone in the [3:06:10] administration those are my observations that's what i can speak to i have not once seen a directive [3:06:15] on our foreign policy or our national security policy that in any way indicates that it's being [3:06:19] done to the benefit of anyone personally that's what i've seen as a first-hand witness and that's [3:06:24] what i can testify to today with all due respect mr secretary i may have to get you a new pair of glasses [3:06:29] because the facts are right in front of you and it seems like malpractice for the secretary of state [3:06:34] to not be able to see this president and his family enriching themselves by billions of dollars [3:06:39] so the only thing i can from no one has ever said in a meeting let's go do this because it's going to [3:06:43] help me make money of course he's not going to say that but not even hint at it not even hint at it [3:06:47] not even on the don't have to hint at it the facts speak for themselves sir they're in the record [3:06:51] they're in the forms the president put forward themselves it's in the billions of dollars he has put [3:06:55] in his pocket it is the timing of the deals and the announcements and the only thing i can see is you [3:07:01] know my question to you as i conclude my time mr secretary is what's changed in your perspective [3:07:06] is it the party affiliation of the president or is your own political ambitions i already told you at [3:07:10] the outset people don't make and i've seen the president say this people should not be making [3:07:14] money off of their government service he said that repeatedly i've heard him say that but not once i want [3:07:19] to reiterate this there has not been a single decision that's been made that i have witnessed or been [3:07:23] a part of that in any way indicate to me or to any reasonable mind that this was linked to some [3:07:28] financial agreement or arrangement and i think the facts clearly are differently and i hope to take [3:07:33] a look at them and with that i yield back mr chairman representative kim thank you chairman mast [3:07:38] thank you secretary rubio for joining us right here at the corner thank you for being with us today [3:07:46] secretary rubio diversifying critical mineral supply chains away from china is a priority of both of us [3:07:55] um i want to thank you and the department for your collaboration with my subcommittee on related [3:08:00] legislation which was already mentioned dominance act that we recently passed unanimously through this [3:08:07] committee the fy 27 budget requests five billion dollars for new america first opportunity fund [3:08:15] including 250 million dollars for critical minerals so can you expand on that request and clarify [3:08:22] whether these funds are intended to support forge pack silica the economic security zone in the [3:08:29] philippines that was announced on april 16 or other priorities yeah all of the above we want to have [3:08:35] the flexibility to jump on these opportunities in a very nimble and effective way we have a couple [3:08:39] things going on at the same time the first is i would say that a feature of our bilateral engagement [3:08:44] all over the world and every one of our embassies you travel to and many of you have traveled you will see [3:08:48] that critical minerals and supply chains feature prominently in all the diplomatic work that we're [3:08:53] doing and we're actually having countries approach us and say critical minerals should be a part of [3:08:57] our agreement and our relationship because they want to see those resources used to the benefit of [3:09:01] their people in a responsible way the second thing is we hosted this ministerial we followed up on in [3:09:06] which we brought together dozens of countries from around the world who are all agreeing to this compact [3:09:11] that we're going to cooperate with one another not just for access to the minerals but for access to the [3:09:15] refining and processing capability that turns those minerals into useful parts of our supply chain [3:09:21] the third on pack silica is very focused on the specific supply chain critical to the to the growth [3:09:26] in ai and what you'll need in order to power ai in the 21st century and when you point to the [3:09:31] philippines that's a very creative opportunity in which there was this land that they control that [3:09:36] that's in the government there has actually used to have a military presence on it and by the united states [3:09:40] and now that's going to be turned over as an innovation zone for this entire ecosystem [3:09:45] and we want to have the we want to be nimble enough to be able to jump on these these opportunities [3:09:49] sometimes present themselves outside the regular you know earmark process or the regular financing [3:09:56] process appropriations process of congress we don't want good opportunities to pass us by because our [3:10:02] competitors around the world are much more nimble and able to move much quicker and we've lost [3:10:06] opportunities in the past because of that thank you very much this is exactly why we appreciate working [3:10:12] with the administration and the priorities in this uh breaking that uh critical mineral supply chain from [3:10:19] china so thank you um in february the administration released its long anticipated maritime action plan [3:10:28] that right rightly focuses on re-industrializing american shipbuilding and reducing reliance on chinese-built [3:10:35] ships the plan notes but does not focus on the need to work with our international partners to [3:10:42] address the short-term gaps in our shipping industry my international counterparts have noted that absent a [3:10:48] ministry of industry they are unsure whom to engage on the u.s side for international shipbuilding matters [3:10:55] so mr secretary do you agree that the state department should be the primary point of entry for these [3:11:01] discussions and if so which office within the state department should lead that well i'm not prepared to claim that [3:11:08] as belonging to us but i certainly know that our economic bureau will play a key role in it it may be [3:11:12] it's better positioned in commerce potentially the department of war will have a role to play in this [3:11:17] as well because some of this involves shipbuilding for our navy i can say that in the case of finland [3:11:21] we're entering into that agreement on the icebreakers which will help they'll help us and they're very [3:11:26] good at the construction of that i know with south korea there's been a part of our agreement with them [3:11:31] is the ability to not just uh build ships here in the united states but they may be able to build a few in [3:11:36] south korea as well that would be helpful to us so we are looking to this unfortunately unfortunately [3:11:41] what has happened in the world is that the capacity of non other than china very few countries have [3:11:47] invested heavily in their shipbuilding for a long time that's an industrial capacity that's been lost [3:11:52] because they've been subsidizing their industry and producing it at half price has such a high rate [3:11:56] so that's one more thing that we need to re-industrialize to the broader world and ultimately hopefully to [3:12:01] the united states and our shipyards here as well thank you very quickly on the uh taiwan [3:12:06] um sales it's already been addressed many times but given the growing prc threats against taiwan [3:12:11] there is a strong bipartisan consensus here in congress that taiwan must receive the defensive [3:12:17] system it has already purchased and paid for without uh undue delay so can you provide an update on the [3:12:24] current status of these deliveries and the administration's plan to expedite them well the first [3:12:29] tranches was the single largest sale to taiwan ever was the 11 billion dollars in december that was [3:12:34] approved and is moving the second is i think the 14 billion dollar one that is still under review and [3:12:39] it's under review for a variety of reasons that don't necessarily just include taiwan it includes [3:12:43] the availability of the stocks in the short term we have to balance that with our own procurement [3:12:47] process so it's a normal to review afford it's a large sale i mean it's not small it's a it would be [3:12:52] the biggest one ever and i just remind everybody the 11 billion we did in december i believe was more [3:12:57] than was sold to taiwan the entire the entirety of the biden presidency and that just happened five months ago [3:13:03] representative moskowitz thank you uh thank you mr chairman uh thank you mr secretary for being [3:13:07] here today and also thank you for staying uh until the end so all members can ask questions a lot of [3:13:11] a lot of secretaries don't do that so thank you for for doing that tell me that was an option [3:13:18] uh take that up with the chairman uh i want to talk uh you went through a list of uh successes for [3:13:26] the administration one of which uh was the shield of the americas and i i know uh i i thank the [3:13:31] the administration for creating the shield of americas and and sending christy noem out of the [3:13:35] country um i i want to focus on iran for a second i i think when we talk about success right success is [3:13:46] iran is no no no longer pursuing nuclear weapons success is that the uranium they have is gone [3:13:51] and it's fulfilling 30 or 40 years of u.s policy right that's success do you agree with that i mean [3:13:59] ultimately we did it for a reason we don't want there to be a nuclear armed iran so you know look [3:14:03] iran can make whatever pledges they want it's not worth the paper it's written on but making sure [3:14:08] the nuclear dust is out making sure the facilities that they have underground are gone that is success [3:14:13] and i assume you would agree that any deal that you think the president should sign or not sign [3:14:19] has to address those core issues absolutely so the removal of highly enriched uranium is an [3:14:24] irreversible step you remove it or you destroy it it's not there anymore on enrichment those are limits [3:14:29] but if you're not inspecting it they can always violate it and as long as they have the equipment [3:14:32] and the know-how they could always violate it in the future as well so that would have to be you [3:14:36] know that's the one that would have to be monitored but the enrichment you could verify immediately [3:14:40] because you either have it or you don't yeah and for me i think you have to dismantle what's there and [3:14:45] you have to get out what's there i think that's the most critical piece because you know iran has [3:14:50] survived multiple administrations that's their whole goal their whole goal is just run out the clock [3:14:53] they've run out of clock uh previously and so the idea that they'll pledge to do something in the future [3:14:59] uh i i just don't think we can trust that once we pull away uh the military once we move on to [3:15:04] another topic their pledge is kind of irrelevant getting what's there removed i i think has to be [3:15:10] the most important thing otherwise it's hard to convince i think the american people uh that it was [3:15:16] worth the success we we talked a lot about critical minerals i think the administration's doing a [3:15:20] really good job on critical minerals these rare minerals that we need for our military for you know [3:15:26] technology but i don't think the american people understand how important it really is and what [3:15:30] china is doing around the world i mean do you think the administration could do a slightly better [3:15:34] job on educating the american people why this is so important and why they should care about that [3:15:40] i think we all need to do a better job and we start i mean i started talking about this issue [3:15:44] when i was in the u.s senate but frankly it's not not sexy you know i mean you have to explain [3:15:49] it to people because they have to understand that there you can build the greatest car in the world [3:15:52] you can build the greatest plane in the world you can build the greatest weapon system in the world and you [3:15:56] can build the greatest technology and infrastructure in the world if it's missing one little thing [3:16:01] one chip one element that you need to build it if it's missing that the whole thing doesn't work you [3:16:06] can't do it i think back to the magnets that are critical to the cars and when the chinese cut us off [3:16:12] and the world off of those magnets that they were producing for cars no i wasn't even that conversant [3:16:17] in the issue before it happened so i think there are vulnerabilities like that we've mapped out those [3:16:21] vulnerabilities i would agree i think this is going to require a sustained public campaign [3:16:26] to tell people when we talk about critical minerals what we're actually talking about [3:16:29] and why it's important and i i think that's right and i think people don't understand exactly [3:16:33] the long game that china is playing and i think it's important uh for uh u.s foreign policy around [3:16:37] the world mr secretary you know the war in gaza uh is all over my algorithm all over my feet every [3:16:45] day but you know what's not on my algorithm or anyone else's algorithm here or the kids in college [3:16:51] there's nothing about the ukraine russia war about the hundreds of thousands of people that are dead in [3:16:56] that war or the 25 000 people that are kids that were kidnapped or all the kids that were killed in [3:17:02] that war uh the the terrible images that exist in a real war why is it do you think and is it the chinese [3:17:09] again that you know the algorithm is full of what's going on in the middle east but the ukraine russia [3:17:15] war nothing no images no stories about the kids no stories about the hundreds of thousands of people that [3:17:21] are dead yeah i can't speak to the algorithms and what the you know the the those systems are doing [3:17:27] with regard to that i can tell you that in addition to what you've just mentioned i do think that this [3:17:31] is my observation this war has now lasted longer than the second world war it's i don't want to use [3:17:37] the term stalemate but clearly both sides are trading a kilometer for a kilometer an incredible death [3:17:42] rate the russians are losing 5 000 soldiers a week which is a crazy number and the ukrainians are losing [3:17:48] people too but not nearly as many are at the rate it's sort of a stalemated stagnated fight that now [3:17:53] i think threatens to escalate because we're seeing these deep strikes into russia and deep [3:17:57] strikes and i don't want to call you off mr chairman i only i mean mr secretary i have only [3:17:59] nine seconds at cuba real quick thank you guys for indicting relo castro i wish it would have happened [3:18:04] years ago the cuban people deserve to be free the time has come i i'd love just to give you a couple [3:18:12] a minute or to talk about what you see uh for that island in the coming years and just to be clear [3:18:16] we didn't indict ro castro a grand jury in south florida indicted him and then the well america [3:18:20] americans yeah i know but i know what you meant i'm just saying i want to be clear it was done [3:18:23] through a grand jury it wasn't yeah i've spoken to this a few moments ago as well we'd like to see [3:18:27] a better future in cuba one in which the cuban people have something that looks like the way other [3:18:32] people every other country in the caribbean lives uh the the impediment there unfortunately is this [3:18:36] military conglomerate that controls 70 percent of their gdp and none of its revenue translates to the [3:18:41] treasury and therefore doesn't translate to the benefit of the cuban people so we're open to an [3:18:45] arrangement that allows that process to begin they're the ones that have been recalcitrant in [3:18:50] the meantime we're prepared to provide humanitarian assistance to the people of cuba so long as it's [3:18:54] distributed by non-governmental organizations that are trusted like samaritan's purse caritas through [3:18:59] the catholic church the u.n others but it can't be stolen and wind up in the gaysa dollar stores that [3:19:04] can't happen representative zinke thank you mr chairman and mr secretary always great to see you and uh [3:19:14] uh just to change little topics where it isn't ukraine or venezuela or cuba or taiwan or one of the big [3:19:22] ones uh congress passed the u.s foundation for international conservation in the 2025 nda it passed [3:19:31] with a wide bipartisan effort i think you probably voted for it but as you recall what it was was really [3:19:36] an effort to have a public private partnership to remove anti-poaching and cut off the funds for [3:19:44] terrorist organizations in africa primarily and you know the list but i'm concerned obviously uh you [3:19:51] know on it because per the law it said that state department was going to establish the board in [3:19:57] consultation with congress before and the money's already been allotted there's a lot of money in [3:20:03] there and i just recently came back from africa and it's happening every day that the anti the poaching [3:20:09] activities are again funding the terrorist organizations were going out and what i'd like [3:20:14] is a commitment uh from the state department to move forward on appointing the board because at the [3:20:19] end of the day nothing can happen until the board meets to unleash the the leverage private dollars which [3:20:26] are i think two to one ratio that can't happen the program is at all standstill until the state [3:20:32] department appoints the board in consultation with congress but the first step is with you could i have your [3:20:37] commitment that you're going to prioritize this and i told others we're going to follow up but i [3:20:41] believe there's a presidential appointment role in that board if i'm if i'm not mistaken about the uh [3:20:45] so we'll have to check with white house and personnel as well but i'll get you an answer the board has [3:20:49] been the impediment you're right and my my understanding is reading the lie it's the state department [3:20:54] uh appoints yeah no doubt in coordination with the white house but if you if you would prioritize it [3:21:00] because i think this program is an incredibly important and effective program because it leverages private [3:21:06] dollars like we haven't seen in africa it is a problem and with that mr secretary let me yield [3:21:12] to my colleague from florida miss salazar who would like to ask you some questions thank you thank you [3:21:18] again for your service yes mr secretary i just want to continue with cuba to see if we can finish [3:21:25] your thoughts on it as you were saying guys that control 70 percent of uh the uh the everything [3:21:31] their resources in cuba we know that the castor family is the the one in charge of that military [3:21:37] mafia how is there any way that we could find another del c number two following the same example [3:21:44] that we have in venezuela where we removed to maduro because the grand jury indicted him and he was in [3:21:49] the transnational criminal organization lists if that were to happen could we find a del c number two [3:21:55] well first of all i think that um some of the models you want to look at is the way the czech republic or [3:22:00] poland transitioned out of the and one of the things they did is they did preserve certain [3:22:04] institutions in their society in order to provide stability and longevity to the project they were [3:22:09] in you even we understand that there are no institutions well i think you're asking me to [3:22:13] identify as our specific individuals in the cuban government i think there are specific maybe [3:22:18] technocrats that you could work with i think it's a little harder when you get higher up because of the [3:22:22] ideological bent that some of them have and i agree with what you're saying people that that are not [3:22:27] their their hands are not full of blood could we consider the possibility in order to avoid civil [3:22:32] wars and instability and chaos i think the united states is open to a negotiated situation that puts [3:22:37] cuba on a path towards democracy prosperity freedom norm normalcy we would be open to that and we would [3:22:43] work with whoever is open to doing it obviously it'll be challenging and that system is all i've said [3:22:47] i mean it's some of these people have committed 67 years to this viewpoint it isn't hard it's not going [3:22:52] to be easy for them we know but have we identified we know that very well in our community but have [3:22:57] we been able to identify someone that could feel that role well i wouldn't i wouldn't say that we've [3:23:02] identified a specific individual that could play that role i think there are clearly people within [3:23:06] the technocratic realm of the government that could play some role in all of this but ultimately if [3:23:11] you're asking me is there a singular individual right now that we would trust and rely on to lead this [3:23:15] transition from start to finish i can't give you that name right now i understand now we know that today [3:23:20] raul turns 95 years old at 95 you're pretty old and making decisions is very hard we know that [3:23:27] el cangrejo is his grandson he's younger 41 years old don't you think that maybe we i mean are you [3:23:33] sending messages to the younger generation to convince raul in order to make it easier for that island like [3:23:39] you said to become jamaica or uh dominican republic taiwan singapore and hong kong yeah i think that there [3:23:47] are clearly individuals within the apparatus of power in that country that understand that what [3:23:51] they have now is not sustainable needs to be fixed but they don't have power do they they cannot be [3:23:55] even if they have power they don't know how to do it or they don't have enough power because so much of [3:23:59] it has to be consensus built internally but there are clearly people that are aware that what they have [3:24:03] now is not sustainable thank you mr secretary representative johnson thank you so much mr chairman mr secretary [3:24:11] thank you for being here um i know that my colleagues have addressed the iran and affordability of energy [3:24:21] prices with you um during this hearing already um being from texas obviously energy is a is a big issue [3:24:29] in our state and and i've heard repeatedly on the um i just want you to know i've heard repeatedly on the [3:24:34] campaign trail and then from just my constituents in general just how much the rise of gas prices is [3:24:40] really hurting our economy and i just want to express my concern that the administration did not [3:24:47] properly analyze the effect of this war on gas prices the effect of this war on the economy the [3:24:53] effect of this war on affordability and i hope that you will take that into consideration as you make [3:24:58] your further decisions um because it's very concerning it's really hurting a lot of people at home [3:25:03] i'd like to focus um my time with you on afghan allies i think i don't think that topic's been really [3:25:10] brought up much today um the trump administration continues to treat our afghan allies and with [3:25:16] dishonor in my in my opinion in my district mohammed nazir paktawali was who fought alongside u.s special [3:25:24] forces in afghanistan died in ice custody after participating in the afghan evac program the united [3:25:32] states brought him and his family here to this country he was wrongfully detained and was as a 41 year [3:25:38] old man was dead 21 i mean 24 hours later i'm very concerned what's happening with our afghan allies [3:25:46] and what we're doing in this country under your leadership u.s state department dismantled the [3:25:51] office of coordinator for afghan relocation efforts and halted the visa processing for afghan allies [3:25:56] abandoned abandoning thousands of our allies that are here in my opinion it's dishonorable and it's [3:26:02] damaging america will face fights tomorrow and thanks to the trump administration's treachery to this [3:26:07] community we may face them alone i don't know how this administration can expect citizens from [3:26:13] other countries to rise up and stand with us at great personal peril to themselves based on a promise [3:26:20] that will take care of them when they see how we have failed our promises to those from afghanistan [3:26:27] since you've been forgotten what this country stands for i'd like to remind you of your own words [3:26:30] from your own 2016 presidential campaign wherever freedom and human rights spread partners of our nation [3:26:36] are born but whenever foreign policy comes unhinged from its moral purpose it weakens global stability [3:26:41] and forms cracks in our national resolve i believe that this is what's happening with afghanistan sir [3:26:49] what is your plan to deal with our afghan allies with the brave men and women that stood alongside [3:26:56] our military that are here in this country is your plan to return them to the taliban no but that's not [3:27:02] anyone's plan i think the plan is to find a third safe country where they can go to that they're [3:27:07] comfortable and choosing voluntarily to go there and we're looking for more and more countries to step [3:27:11] forward and assume it as you know the issues you raise are also tied into the broader migratory [3:27:16] decisions that have been made by this administration we're operating under an executive order right now [3:27:20] that does not allow any afghans into the country after the aftermath of the national guard attack against [3:27:25] the national guard here in washington dc a year ago and then there are also other dhs [3:27:29] determinations our role we continue to process the folks that are applying so that their paperwork [3:27:34] is in order but ultimately we don't want them stranded forever and where they are we want them [3:27:38] to be able to go to somewhere that's not afghanistan that they choose to want to go to and that are [3:27:42] welcoming of them and we actively are engaging countries around the world or three or four that [3:27:46] have already spoken to us about their willingness to do it obviously they're not going to take you [3:27:52] know a thousand but we might be able to get 300 here 400 here places where they feel comfortable [3:27:57] going to and that are assuming and welcoming to them we're not returning them to the taliban we [3:28:02] understand that would not be the outcome we want to see right i do think that the the position of the [3:28:06] united states to now by bringing these families to our country after they honorably served our country [3:28:13] alongside our men and women and now to say now get out we don't want you anymore uh based on one [3:28:19] isolated incident is morally reprehensible it does a disservice to them and it's wrong and it's bad policy [3:28:25] uh mr chairman i'd like to ask unanimous consent to enter the record on april 21st the new york [3:28:31] times article trump has said to be in talks to send afghanists afghans who aided with u.s [3:28:35] forces to the congo mr secretary is it the policy of this government to send these afghan folks to the [3:28:43] congo that's just one country the policy united states is to find multiple countries and they [3:28:48] would be able to choose which one they want to go to of the options that they're presented that was [3:28:52] based on a leak of a internal document that was just one country that expressed interest but there [3:28:56] are multiple others that have as well and so what are they going to be forced to go to the country [3:29:00] what if they don't want to go to the congo what if they don't want to go to afghanistan what is their [3:29:03] option no we don't want to force any that's why i'm saying we want to have multiple countries so they [3:29:07] can choose here the five or six countries that will let you go which one of them do you want to go [3:29:11] to it's not to force them to give them options about places they can relocate representative biggs [3:29:17] thank you mr chairman and secretary rubio thank you for your service this country finally has a [3:29:24] secretary of state who puts america first and i'm very proud to stand with you in february of 2025 [3:29:31] the state department eliminated nearly 60 billion dollars from over 4 000 ongoing grants and another 54 [3:29:39] 54 54 billion dollars in multi-year usa id awards money that was on autopilot flying out the door [3:29:50] every single year with zero accountability to the american people programs that spent 70 000 [3:29:56] dollars on a dei musical in ireland 2.5 million dollars on electric vehicles in vietnam [3:30:04] and six million dollars on tourism development in egypt that is waste and that is fraud and that is [3:30:11] abuse of the american taxpayer dollars plain and simple i'm proud to stand with an administration [3:30:18] that had the backbone to do what washington has refused to do for decades what has been eliminated [3:30:25] is very significant it is historic and it is just the start the savings from usa id cuts have already sparked [3:30:34] serious proposals to redirect billions towards something that actually matters like repairing [3:30:40] veterans homes i'm talking about long-term veterans homes like those in south carolina and throughout [3:30:46] this country that is what america first looks like not sesame street in iraq not transgender opera in [3:30:55] colombia but secretary rubio i would i would like to know what is still in that remaining portfolio [3:31:03] that should not be there what programs are still drawing a check that wouldn't survive 10 seconds of [3:31:10] scrutiny in front of a working family in my district like the third district of south carolina [3:31:16] and how do we complete the mission of putting america first in every single line item of this budget [3:31:23] because i can tell you the people in my district are not going to accept it they are tired of hearing [3:31:30] well we got most of it what is your commitment mr secretary to finishing the job yeah well it's [3:31:36] happening already so usa id no longer functions opera there is a usa id but it's largely now operating [3:31:42] as a wrap-up and wind down operation so that's what's happening in usa id we took all the programs that [3:31:47] were worth preserving and all the programs that were worth doing and they're all under the state [3:31:51] department now so you have the state department is conducting foreign aid and foreign assistance within [3:31:56] the context of the criteria that we've created and those are outlined in this year's budget request [3:32:01] and then there are legacy programs that we did not bring over the state that are still at usaid some [3:32:05] of which may not be operating any longer but are tied up in litigation they claim that they're owed money [3:32:09] they got a judge trying to get us to pay them or if not there's wind down costs and unwrapping those [3:32:14] programs they're not active programs but some of them are under active litigation because the ngo is suing [3:32:20] the government and a judge is saying well you you uh you may have to pay them so make sure you [3:32:25] preserve the money until i rule on it so those may take years to clear out they're not active programs [3:32:30] but they're involved in litigation but those are under the usa id portfolio not under state and i no [3:32:35] longer am the acting official at usa id and and that's being run through the office of management and [3:32:41] budget well thank you so much um i appreciate the work and the efforts that you're doing and i know [3:32:47] our taxpayers in my district do and with that mr chairman i yield back secretary rubio they've called our [3:32:54] votes but we have this last row of individuals to your left do you think we have time to work [3:32:58] through them yeah we can't i have to go to the senate in a little while but i'll talk fast thank [3:33:03] you representative boylan thank you mr chairman uh secretary thank you very much uh we've been talking [3:33:10] regularly i appreciate all your interest into the indopacom and last time we were out here uh at the [3:33:16] hearing we spoke about the importance of establishing a passport issuance office in guam and as you know [3:33:22] residents in guam must have their passports issued from honolulu which creates a huge barriers in [3:33:27] emergency situations so i want to thank you again your staff for working with us on this issue and [3:33:32] i can can you briefly say um uh touch on where we're at with this process of establishing the [3:33:37] passport issuance office in guam please we are on the status of it yes i think we're working on trying [3:33:43] to do it we'd like to do it i think there's uh we may have news for you on that in a in a couple weeks [3:33:49] as we're going through our review of our visa offices around the world and it's part of our consolidation [3:33:53] efforts is to free up resources for other places where it may be more useful so um i think we'll [3:33:59] have news for you in a couple weeks if you just bear with us it's quite exciting thank you secretary [3:34:03] and last year i introduced a bipartisan clean pacific act with rep case raderegan and king hines to [3:34:08] establish pacific islands counter narcotics initiative to assist partner nations with counter drug [3:34:14] interdiction efforts this year's budget request can uh continues uh contains strong support for [3:34:21] incle uh and outlines their strategic priority uh disrupting u.s inbound illicit drug flows especially [3:34:29] fentanyl meth and cocaine and expanding u.s advantage and access in regions critical to the national [3:34:35] security like indopacom can you speak how the state department is working with partner nations in the [3:34:40] pacific to combat narcotic trafficking in the region absolutely and our department of war partners and [3:34:46] our dhs partners are also involved in that effort and it involves two things number one is allowing us [3:34:51] in some cases to cooperate with them to work alongside them in this work and the other is [3:34:56] building their domestic capacity so they can have better awareness some of it is domain awareness radar [3:35:00] systems and other cases we're providing that to them the intelligence that they need to action [3:35:05] the third is training and equipping which obviously is a key part of being able to take on these groups [3:35:09] that the challenge with these transnational groups is that in some cases they have more money [3:35:13] and better weapons than the actual host government it's been a problem in place after place [3:35:18] but as you've seen more recently guatemala has now entered an agreement with us we're cooperating [3:35:22] very closely with ecuador el salvador has been there from the beginning uh we're hopeful that we can [3:35:26] increase our cooperation under the new administration in honduras so i think we've made good progress in [3:35:31] that regard thank you mr secretary and how do you believe guam and the other territories can leverage [3:35:36] their strategic location for promoting foreign policy interests in the indo-pacific well a couple points [3:35:42] obviously number one as many of these uh as a domain awareness just from a geographic perspective the [3:35:48] ability to be there allows you from the military side to be able to station forces but also allows [3:35:53] you to do more activities regarding the safety of navigation freedom of navigation domain awareness [3:35:58] to control to support that the safety and under of undersea cables that are increasingly under threat [3:36:04] from being disrupted i mean there's a whole host of of areas illegal fishing there's a whole host of [3:36:10] things of cooperation that we could reach and that the pacific islands are geographically prime [3:36:15] located to really help us and and we've given them more attention we've been more engaged at a [3:36:20] bilateral level than we've ever been with pacific islands thank you mr secretary final question the [3:36:24] recent years we've seen uh malign influence grow in the indo-pacific and threatening the stability of [3:36:30] the region how is the state department responding to the increased ccp related funding in police training [3:36:36] across the pacific again it's a topic that we're raising with our partners but first on awareness [3:36:42] it's not just in the pacific i've seen we've seen extrajudicial extraterritorial efforts on the part of [3:36:47] the ccp in multiple places around the world and so in all of our diplomatic engagements we raise these [3:36:52] issues with these countries the the opening of a police stations the the sending of individuals to [3:36:57] harass chinese nationals that are abroad uh who they view as a threat or what have you it's become a [3:37:03] feature of much of our engagement in many countries around the world mr secretary and mr chairman like to [3:37:10] you my last minutes to uh rep salazar please she's got this thing rigged her time that's great [3:37:23] it's five minutes and i know i know i understand so uh okay so let's go let's continue then uh with [3:37:29] the cuba issue and with the venezuela i was asking you earlier today that uh venezuelans have um [3:37:35] a desire to have free and fair elections so we know that we are in the country that we've liberated [3:37:39] them but the big question is is it and you answered me partially i just wanted to give you the opportunity [3:37:45] to finish um why can we just establish and send the signal to the delci group and to all the maduro um [3:37:54] cooperate people that were cooperating with the maduro regime that are still in power because of delci [3:38:00] why can't we just send a clear message that elections will be coming let's say december of 27 [3:38:06] beginning of 28. in that way i think the rule of law will start they will have the impression that the [3:38:11] rules law will be established yeah i think that impression has been clear i mean the the venezuela [3:38:17] that everyone wants for the future is not possible without free and fair elections they have to [3:38:21] understand that it's been a feature of all of our engagements with them and it continues to be [3:38:24] i'm not sure it would serve that purpose to announce a date certain you know in a public forum [3:38:29] because the conditions have to be in place it's not just about saying i'm going to call elections [3:38:33] in december or january it's about is there a free press is our political parties able to organize and [3:38:38] operate that has to happen and we agree mr secretary your time's expired all right your time's expired [3:38:43] mr chair uh we do want to get through multiple members and get to mr miller so if you could go as [3:38:48] quickly as you can before votes thank you you spoke about the 60 percent enriched uranium uh iran also has [3:38:55] significant amounts of 20 percent enriched uranium uh the more difficult part is to go from five [3:39:00] percent to twenty percent uh what is your view in negotiations of the twenty percent uranium well [3:39:05] i've i've used the term uh highly and sixty percent because that's the one that clearly has i mean even [3:39:10] twenty percent you could argue not that i claim that they are but you could argue they're being used for [3:39:14] medical isotopes and things of this nature but sixty percent there's no reason for it the only way you get [3:39:18] the 60s because you're on your way to 90. but the term we actually use in the talks and in everything [3:39:22] we're on is highly enriched uranium so it would be correct that would cover the 20 correct very good [3:39:27] thank you uh well listen i want to congratulate you uh for the for the impressive job you're doing [3:39:32] for the american uh people uh my only critique would be that we need to hear more from uh marco rubio [3:39:38] uh president trump is obviously in a class by himself but uh you're the best communicator in the [3:39:43] administration on complex uh foreign policy issues i was in the room with you in munich [3:39:48] so i know you wear a lot of hats there's a lot of memes about you but please continue to be [3:39:52] uh as vocal and up front as you can a question i have about is expeditionary diplomacy i had the [3:39:59] privilege of serving as a state department officer in iraq during the iraq surge i had twice passed a 100 [3:40:05] classes and had uh offers to bfso but i actually came in as a 3161 hire at the time because uh the [3:40:12] state department did not have a capability for expeditionary counterinsurgency this is something [3:40:18] i've been working on with uh former ambassador ryan crocker to both uh develop this capability [3:40:23] look at something like a state department reserve corps and also as a legacy of benghazi there has been [3:40:29] because the politics around it there has been sort of this mindset set in that we can't take any [3:40:33] casualties among state department officers we need to have uh people in the state department that can [3:40:39] push out and can serve and i wish if you could speak uh to the american people and to state department [3:40:43] officers about what your view is about a more expedition function it's a concept we're very [3:40:48] interested in and i know you're interested in it as well and just so i can put it in simple terms [3:40:52] it's basically the ability to deploy diplomats in a place where we may not have an embassy and we may [3:40:56] not have all the trappings obviously diplomatic security and others get concerned because in their [3:41:01] mindset the risk factor should be zero they don't want anyone being harmed but i think the i think the [3:41:06] point you're raising is there are some instances in which you will take some risks people know they're [3:41:10] signing up for a risky proposition but it's a high reward for the country if in fact they're successful [3:41:14] so we're interested in the concept we obviously have to work through our system to make sure we [3:41:18] can align it and create something that's functional and i'd love to work with you on it because i see [3:41:22] the promise in the concept for sure and it's a concept that's existed in the past and thank you just [3:41:27] finally and being mindful of our time considerations i think you guys have done an amazing job of needed [3:41:32] reforms of bringing USAID under the province and state department and certainly de-wokifying uh some of the [3:41:38] nonsense that was going on uh we still do have a lot of great state department officers out there [3:41:42] that are very proud uh to serve our country and under your leadership i do talk to some of them uh from [3:41:49] time to time and they have do have some worry and some questions about uh the overall direction of the [3:41:54] institution so i'd just like to uh give the ability in in the uh the context of this budget request you're [3:42:00] making uh to uh congress to sort of sum up your thoughts and the vision of our current state department [3:42:06] officers for the future yeah i think for the futures we're trying to empower our regional well [3:42:09] we're trying to empower our embassies through our regional bureaus around the world we want them to [3:42:13] be the the the the center focus of how we conduct foreign policy because they're on the ground too [3:42:18] often in the past foreign policy was mixed between our diplomacy was mixed between the regional bureaus and [3:42:23] then you had these functional bureaus that had a worldwide mandate on a topic and they ended up crashing [3:42:28] into each other now what we want is to truly empower our ambassadors and the people in the field in [3:42:33] these embassies that are on the ground every single day we want decisions to be driven from the bottom [3:42:37] up not from the top down some of our best ideas come from the cables that are coming out of the field [3:42:41] and back to us and we want regional bureaus that are empowered as well uh to be able to coordinate all [3:42:46] this when when the lines cross between different countries in the same region we're also encouraging [3:42:51] greater regional integration so for example our western hemisphere ambassadors are now all having a [3:42:56] are about to start a monthly conference call so that they're all coordinating with each other [3:43:00] and on regional affairs these are the kinds of things that we're trying to encourage but ultimately [3:43:04] what we want is a state department whose foreign policy is driven by the national interest and [3:43:08] understands that first and foremost you have to define what's in the national interest and you [3:43:12] have to pursue it in a pragmatic and effective way that's what we want our diplomacy to be about [3:43:17] and i think some of that some of that mission had been lost and that's why multiple secretaries [3:43:21] of states before me had tried or wanted to reorganize the state department and weren't able to do it i'm [3:43:26] glad we did and i think it's going to get stronger every year under this new organizational scheme [3:43:30] thank you very much mr chair yieldback representative luna secretary rubio thank you for being here [3:43:34] today um i was wondering if you could let me know if you are familiar with the name of neville roarsingham [3:43:41] um yeah he's a i think an american millionaire living in china who's funding all of these left-wing [3:43:47] radical loons correct uh when you were on senate intelligence you had actually sent a letter um [3:43:53] encouraging the department of justice to look into him for a far violation for those people who will see [3:43:58] this clip later on the internet can you just briefly explain what farra is it's the foreign agent [3:44:02] registration act and it means if you're operating on behalf of a foreign country uh you have to [3:44:07] register and declare yourself as such um to provide some context for those looking at this uh mr [3:44:12] singham's in total given 1.3 million to an organization called code point code pink as well [3:44:17] as over 278 million to various non-profits since 2017. um secretary rubio it's in my opinion [3:44:23] observing what's been happening on both sides really contributing to the political divide in this country [3:44:27] that many countries are engaging in influencer operations to include psychological operations [3:44:33] on the american people with the intent to undermine not just our foreign policy from the administration's [3:44:38] perspective but also to pit us against one another would you concur with that statement there's no [3:44:43] doubt absolutely um are you aware of any countries in particular that are currently engaging in this [3:44:49] well i don't think there's any doubt that we see evidence of it from the ccp we've historically seen [3:44:53] some of it as well from russia historically in the past in a different way i think you're starting to [3:44:58] see some of it from cuba and i think some of these are linked with one another in fact that group that [3:45:01] you just mentioned actually traveled to cuba stayed at a very fancy and expensive hotel that is sanctioned [3:45:07] and uh i think are now being looked at by the appropriate officials to see if they violated u.s law [3:45:13] in the trips that they're taking but there's no doubt that when you have people showing up with pre-printed signs [3:45:18] 24 hours after nicolas maduro was arrested and extradited to the united states uh that's not an [3:45:24] organic movement someone's paying for that i think one of those organizations would be the national [3:45:27] network on cuba which is a pro-communist anti-american organization comprised of dozens of member [3:45:34] organizations to include code pink the communist party usa democrat socialists of america socialist [3:45:39] worker parties and various organizations to include armed queers of salt lake city which tyler [3:45:44] robinson the individual who murdered our friend charlie kirk has loose ties to an association with [3:45:50] at the time of the assassination um i just want to point out that from my perspective and in talking [3:45:55] with you personally i can see that you are very much of the mind mindset of peace through strength [3:46:00] but also pursuing peace first before you hit people with a big stick so i appreciate that perspective [3:46:04] because it is refreshing and not common in washington dc but with that being said i heard a lot of talk [3:46:09] today on russia specifically i understand that peace talks are very much so alive and well and that the [3:46:14] united states for the first time ever at least with this administration and you heading the sec uh [3:46:18] head of the secret um as the secretary of state um have been instrumental in those talks um i would [3:46:24] like to though ask you for the first time in 20 years recently um we had the russian duma come here to [3:46:30] meet with members of congress what is the end result when congress fails to open up dialogue and at [3:46:37] least maintains communications with another superpower like russia well i think there's two things to [3:46:42] discuss one is the war in ukraine which we'd like to see enter a negotiated settlement and separate [3:46:46] from that is a bilateral relationship with a country that possesses if not the largest the second largest [3:46:50] nuclear arsenal in the world at a minimum we have to have relations and conversations with russians we [3:46:55] just do whether we like what they're doing or not because given their those factors that i just pointed [3:47:00] to i've had multiple conversations with the foreign minister lavrov and we have to because that's [3:47:04] mature diplomacy and it's important it's the same with china we have to have communication with [3:47:08] them and there are issues in our bilateral relations that have nothing to do with ukraine so now i think [3:47:14] our relations with them will be friendlier and easier to pursue once the war in ukraine is wrapped [3:47:19] up and we've made that point in this engagement but i think what we've learned and certainly i think [3:47:23] has been affirmed to us in the last year and a half is you're much better off having someone to talk [3:47:28] to on the other side than not and this is a president who's willing to meet with and talk to anybody he [3:47:32] doesn't view talks and engaging a foreign counterpart as a concession the way it's been treated in the [3:47:38] past sometimes it leads to something sometimes it leads to nothing sometimes that vehicle of [3:47:43] communication proves uh incredibly valuable in a potential conflict or crisis i'd like to end by [3:47:49] saying this i completely agree with you i think that it is our job and responsibility in congress to [3:47:54] maintain open dialogue and discussion but i do think that you guys will be successful in this peace deal [3:47:58] and so i want to be the first to congratulate you on that because i think that sometimes in this [3:48:02] instance having the courage to step up and do the right thing and lead by example is a big thing so [3:48:07] with that chairman i yield the rest of my time representative miller thank you mr chairman mr [3:48:12] secretary it's good to see you uh you were the first person i worked for when i started in politics [3:48:16] and this is very unique for me but first and foremost i just want to say thank you for the job that [3:48:20] you've been doing uh people back home they comment on you know your stability your bearing and how you [3:48:25] represent our country on the world stage uh you know thank you for doing that and look you're sitting [3:48:31] here today and for several hours and our colleagues on the left for the vast majority of them they [3:48:36] want to get a political stunt they don't want to hear your answers and that's why they wouldn't let [3:48:41] you and afford you the ability to speak because they know that you would school them in every which [3:48:45] way possible and actually tell them that two plus two equals four and for a lot of them that's hard to [3:48:50] understand so i respect your ability uh but look you have been you know asked a ton of tough questions [3:48:56] you know this is your time if you would like it i know you have spoken a lot today but if there is [3:49:00] anything that you would like to correct the record on by any of our colleagues on the left or even on [3:49:05] the right that may have misspoken i'd like to give you this time if you would like it and just one last [3:49:10] thing uh when you're done with all of this you know if you could come to cleveland ohio i know it's not [3:49:15] where you're from but the cleveland browns could use a really good coach and so with all the different hats [3:49:19] you've been wearing uh maybe you could take us to a super bowl but at that point i leave the rest [3:49:24] to you well i don't claim i can lead that that to super bowl or but i wish them luck in cleveland on [3:49:29] that look i thank you for the opportunity i think we've covered almost everything and thank you for [3:49:32] giving me the opportunity to do that unfortunately i have to be in the senate here in just a few minutes [3:49:35] and they get really mad if you're late but i just want to touch off by saying look every element of [3:49:40] our foreign policy and everything we do including aid is now synergized and it's about the national [3:49:44] interest and i do think it's important to point out and continue to point out we are the most generous [3:49:48] country in the world by far we give way more money than anybody else does to all these things [3:49:53] other countries who are very rich powerful countries should step up too if they want to join [3:49:57] in helping there's no evidence that that's the case we've seen a little bit of an increase among [3:50:01] some countries but it's not just us the canadians the uk other european countries have cut back in [3:50:05] their expenditures as well on foreign aid uh not timed with us it just happens to be they have those [3:50:10] domestic considerations to take into account this is the most generous country in the world this year [3:50:15] alone there will be millions of people around the world that will receive food and medicine and [3:50:19] medical care and and uh in a way that that that that furthers our national interest but is also [3:50:25] good for them and we do that more than anyone on the planet foreign aid and what this country does [3:50:29] to help people around the world is something we should be proud of but it has to be done the right [3:50:33] way we can't be spending money on things that don't further the national interest and we can't be [3:50:37] spending money on things that waste the taxpayer dollars and we can't be spending money on social [3:50:42] experiments around the world that further the aims of an ideological movement in the united states [3:50:47] that's not what foreign aid is ever supposed to have been about and that's what we're going to get [3:50:50] it back to on foreign policy we're going to be pragmatic but we're going to be principled at the [3:50:54] same time we have to understand that when it comes to foreign policy oftentimes you're not given the choice [3:51:00] between the clearly good one and the clearly bad one sometimes you're given two bad choices and you're [3:51:05] trying to figure out which one of these two bad choices is the least harmful to the country [3:51:09] in the end at the end of the day foreign relations between countries is about one thing the national [3:51:15] interest i expect that every time i meet with a foreign minister of another country that foreign [3:51:19] minister is going to push for what is in the interest of their country i need to push for what's in the [3:51:24] interest of ours not what's in the interest of the world not so what in the interest of what's in the [3:51:29] interest of ours in those cases where our foreign uh where our national interests align that's where [3:51:34] cooperation happens that's where alliances are formed in those instances where our interests don't align that's [3:51:39] where you hope that diplomacy and cooperation can find a way through but in the end our foreign [3:51:45] policy must always be about what is best for america before anything else this is not a novel [3:51:49] concept it is a classic concept and one that was lost for a long time in american foreign policy [3:51:55] and i'm happy and honored to be a part of trying to restore it thank you mr secretary mr chairman [3:52:00] you're back final member representative mckenzie thank you thank you mr chairman thank you secretary [3:52:05] rubio for joining us today i have the pleasure of representing allentown pennsylvania it's home to [3:52:10] one of the largest syrian american populations in the country and obviously there have been a number [3:52:17] of atrocities in that country during the ongoing conflict there some of them targeting the christian [3:52:22] population on june 22nd of last year the mar elias bombing happened at a church and we are coming up [3:52:29] on that one year anniversary i'd like to just ask you very briefly if you can give us an update on [3:52:35] what's going on in syria what we're doing to achieve stability in that country uh with the [3:52:41] leadership that is now in place and also any updates on religious minority protections well [3:52:47] we talked a lot today about venezuela and other places syria is far more complicated first of all [3:52:51] assad deliberately divided groups in that country against each other and some of those frictions and [3:52:56] some of those resentments exist it wasn't always the case in syria it's one of the few places in the [3:53:00] middle east where you actually had sunni shia christian druze and other communities living in [3:53:05] kurds living alongside one another but assad and especially during the civil war period pitted these [3:53:11] groups against each other so in many cases when you're seeing these atrocities what you're seeing [3:53:15] is some unit of some fighting group from one side going after and seeking retribution against [3:53:21] a group and another and it's a real challenge i think you've seen a a diminution in this but [3:53:26] nonetheless it exists and it's already happened too much the second is uh you know the core here [3:53:31] and our goal is to have a nationalistic government in damascus that seeks not to expand power or not [3:53:39] to turn syria into a base of operations for a foreign power but to build a syrian state that's inclusive [3:53:44] of all of the elements in it that's what we have engaged with the interim government there on that's [3:53:48] what we've been and we've given them and tried to give them every opportunity possible to succeed we've [3:53:53] had some successes as an example when we had uh some fighting break out especially in the northeast [3:53:59] and we had these isis prisons this is an underreported story but we had these isis prisoners there [3:54:04] they agreed and were very cooperative in getting those prisoners transferred out of syria and into [3:54:09] iraqi prisons before there would be a jailbreak that could threaten them and also threaten the region [3:54:14] i think we've seen significant progress in the relationship between kurds and and uh and the central [3:54:20] government there's more work to be done but some of that tension has now been downplayed down in the [3:54:25] south there's more complexity of course uh there are different jews elements and bedouin elements [3:54:30] that have been more difficult to deal with but we're trying to give the syrian government there that's [3:54:35] in place every opportunity to succeed and obviously there's a trust but verify component to this [3:54:40] i will say this and i want to be everything we've asked them to do they have tried to do or have done [3:54:46] including counterterrorism cooperation but they have some capability gaps they still have individuals [3:54:51] within their armed forces quote unquote that are members of radical groups and have certain ideologies [3:54:58] and don't necessarily neatly disciplined i think they're working through that but there's a challenge [3:55:02] again because of capacity so this is a long-term project one that i think is going to exist long [3:55:08] after this administration i hope the next administration will pick up the baton but i remind everybody [3:55:12] that just two years ago syria was a operating base for the iranian regime and all of its proxies and [3:55:19] had syria stood on the table for them it's interestingly enough in the midst of epic furor and everything [3:55:24] that's happening in the region the one country that didn't see any of this you saw it in lebanon you [3:55:28] saw it in iraq you didn't see it in syria and i think that alone is a sign of why what's happening [3:55:33] there has been good but not good enough we have a long ways to go well thank you appreciate that detailed [3:55:39] answer and your continued focus on syria and improving stability in the country uh the syrians [3:55:45] i know uh and the syrian americans say that they don't see those differences along religious lines [3:55:51] that is as you pointed out divisions that were created by somebody else uh so what we can do to [3:55:56] heal those uh divisions protect religious minorities in the country and ultimately get back to a stable and [3:56:01] safe syria for all those individuals we agree 100 the future that the government in place now claims to [3:56:08] want is impossible unless every element of syrian society is incorporated in power sharing and has [3:56:14] a voice and influence over its own future and of course isn't being killed thank you again and look [3:56:19] forward to working with you as we move forward i yield back mr secretary i thank you for your valuable [3:56:24] testimony today members may have some more questions for you uh they will have five days to submit [3:56:29] statements questions and extraneous materials for the record subject to length limitations and without [3:56:35] objection this committee stands adjourned