Breaking news about the deal between Israel and Hamas to end their 15 month war in Gaza, and why President Trump is going to be the peace president before he even takes office. The deal was reached by President Trump's envoy Steve Witkoff, who was tasked with bringing the hostages home before the first day of his administration.
00:00:36.000His spirit, his love of this country, he's done an amazing job building one of the most powerful youth organizations ever created, Turning Point USA. We will not embrace the ideas that have destroyed countries, destroyed lives, and we are going to fight for freedom on campuses across the country.
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00:03:13.000Joe Biden had an opportunity to end this conflict.
00:03:16.000In fact, you could make an argument that if Joe Biden and Kamala Harris would have been able to end this war back last year, this would have helped them politically.
00:03:27.000All of the kids who I told them, I said, vote for Trump.
00:04:16.000What it takes is for President Trump and Steve Witkoff to go right into the scenario before he's even president during a transition period.
00:04:25.000President Donald Trump becomes president in four days and 23 hours.
00:11:26.000The question they had, these young Arab Muslim men, as you can see how young men moved to the right, They said, what is President Trump going to do about the war in Gaza?
00:11:48.000And they said, we're all going to vote for Trump.
00:11:50.000Our whole community is going to vote for Trump.
00:11:52.000And they said, if, they told me this, these young Arab Muslim men, they said, if President Trump delivers a peace deal, it will change the direction.
00:12:04.000Of how Arab Muslims view politics for a generation.
00:12:07.000They were telling me that amongst all of their friends and their family in Middle Eastern Arab Muslim communities in Michigan, in Pennsylvania, in Minnesota, they will be watching Trump very closely.
00:12:22.000And that if Trump does deliver this victory, if Trump does deliver a peace deal, that they will leave the Democrat Party in major numbers.
00:12:33.000According to CNN exit polls in Michigan, President Trump won the youth vote, R plus 3, a 27-point swing from 2020. In 2020, Biden won the youth vote by 24 points.
00:12:47.000In 2024, Trump won the youth vote by 3 points.
00:12:52.000Even amongst young, non-Arab kids on campuses, I would be asked about the Gaza-Israel conflict all the time.
00:13:03.000Charlie, when is the killing going to stop?
00:14:42.000Turns out Joe Biden and the American war machine brought to you by Kamala Harris and Leon Panetta, they're the ones that wanted to see this conflict continuing.
00:14:54.000And it's a pause in fighting, which is a phenomenal thing.
00:15:00.000Now, a deeper peace agreement is going to come down the road.
00:15:02.000But it goes to show the command that President Trump has and the Arabs who flipped to voting for Trump just learned something very quickly.
00:15:11.000More than any other politician in America, Trump keeps his promises.
00:15:15.000I want every Arab Muslim that is watching right now, and there's a lot of you, young Arabs.
00:15:21.000And especially young men that watch us on social media, I want you to listen carefully.
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00:16:55.000That it doesn't come at our expense, that we don't find ourselves in a world in which we are dependent on China or any foreign power for that matter.
00:17:02.000For the raw materials that we need, for the ability to make medicine, for the ability to fuel our economy.
00:17:10.000the ability to feed ourselves or our people.
00:17:12.000We cannot be a country that becomes dependent on foreign powers.
00:17:15.000And so much of that involves not simply how we engage in the world, but also what we do here domestically.
00:17:21.000That is not the responsibility of the Department of State, but it is important for us to point to that much of what's happened with China, much of what's happening now, is what we are not doing.
00:17:30.000Whether it's through our own industry and the development of our own industries, or access to raw minerals and raw resources that are critical to fueling and or building a modern economy.
00:17:42.000You talk about China playing by a different set of rules, and they do the ones that we think of as traditional rules.
00:17:47.000And I appreciate your comments to Senator Ricketts about China and even the definition of them as a developing nation.
00:18:44.000I think we need to, first of all, and I mentioned this in my opening statement, we have to acknowledge that many of the global institutions that were created, not just in the post-war era, but the post-Cold War era, have been weaponized against this.
00:18:59.000The Security Council of the United Nations, which was created ostensibly for two of the greatest drivers of instability in the world today, hold a veto vote at the Security Council.
00:19:08.000It's basically rendered the Security Council almost irrelevant.
00:19:11.000By the same token, I would say I am not against multilateral organizations.
00:19:15.000As long as that or any foreign arrangement we have serves the national interest of the United States.
00:19:20.000I do not believe, and the President has made this abundantly clear, President Trump, that under no circumstances should any foreign entity or multilateral international organization have veto power over the national security interests of the United States of America.
00:19:35.000The second point that I would point to is that the Chinese have very aggressively played this.
00:19:39.000They have figured out, and it isn't hard to figure out, that even the smallest nation-state has a vote at the United Nations General Assembly.
00:19:45.000And they have worked hard to not just court, but entrap a handful of votes around the world, and including in our own hemisphere.
00:19:52.000If you look at the Caribbean basin in Grenada and places like that, where they go into these countries and they don't just provide a million dollars, a billion dollars to build the stadium.
00:20:00.000They also give you five or six million dollars under the table for your family and friends.
00:20:24.000We prefer to have American investment, but you're not offering any.
00:20:28.000And so we're left with the only alternative, and that is take the Chinese investment, even though it comes with strong strings attached that include things like debt diplomacy or debt traps.
00:20:38.000And expectations of diplomatic cooperation at these international forums.
00:20:43.000My final question has to do, because you used the phrase, we need to be able to fuel our economy, and I'll talk a little bit about energy.
00:20:49.000People who live in foreign developing nations, they want to be able to fuel their economy as well.
00:20:53.000They need a stable energy source to grow their economy, to improve lives.
00:20:57.000Many of the countries you've traveled to and I have, we've seen what energy poverty can do to people to make it harder for them.
00:21:03.000We have an ability to help these countries develop a stable energy supply.
00:21:07.000But this current administration, the Biden administration, has put restrictions in place on funding of certain energy resources, such as coal, natural gas.
00:21:16.000The United States should be working to promote an all-of-the-above energy strategy and help our friends and allies have affordable energy as opposed to what is the politically correct type of energy to be used.
00:21:28.000I believe we should be helping these countries with energy.
00:21:32.000And are you committed to ensuring the State Department is promoting all forms of energy projects across the globe, including oil, gas, coal, affordable energy that will help people raise their standards?
00:21:42.000In fact, there should be a centerpiece.
00:21:43.000One of our centerpieces for economic diplomacy.
00:21:45.000We talked earlier, I think it was Senator Coons, had mentioned the work on fragile states and the hope of preventing fragility so that states don't collapse into some of the havens that you now see where terrorism takes a hold and so forth.
00:22:00.000One of the things you can do to help a country become more stable and then more prosperous...
00:22:16.000We know in the days of infectious diseases, for example, an outbreak of an infectious disease anywhere is a threat to public health everywhere.
00:22:24.000More than that, we see the climate challenges, migration patterns there, threaten to destabilize the Middle East and other areas.
00:22:31.000Egypt, for example, literally is hosting millions, millions of refugees in Egypt right now.
00:22:39.000Now, my frustrations in my 12 years here is that we as a nation have not really prioritized it.
00:22:46.000We do not have ambassadors in some countries where China And Russia, who understand the African opportunities, are investing heavily.
00:22:56.000I've gone around the world and in my times in African countries, I often encounter people that say, hey, the Chinese are here, where are you?
00:23:05.000And it's not just ambassadorial placements.
00:23:08.000Other critical positions in embassies just aren't being filled.
00:23:12.000And therefore, we're being outplayed by the Chinese and the Russians.
00:23:17.000African countries and leaders have told me time and time again, we prefer you.
00:23:24.000And we can see by legal immigration patterns that their people would rather our way of life than the Chinese or the Russians.
00:23:31.000But we are simply being outplayed in ways that we can counter if we had a real focus and a real strategy for engaging Africa.
00:23:41.000And the impact of U.S. engagement is real.
00:23:43.000And the backbone of our diplomacy is that diplomat abroad.
00:23:47.000Is that Secretary of State on down people saying this is a priority?
00:23:52.000I said this to you in our office and I want to make it plain now that we are at a point in this country that what we do in the Senate and in the White House and in the State Department are planting seeds for the future.
00:24:04.000We could put a tremendous harvest in 10-20 years prioritizing and emphasizing our work in Africa.
00:24:10.000Not to do so undermines the three points that you said at the beginning that I agree.
00:24:15.000Our foreign policy should be guided by what makes us safe, strong, and prosperous.
00:24:21.000And the future, in so many ways, is Africa.
00:24:23.000Could you just talk to me a little bit about how you are prioritizing it, how you understand the critical opportunities and the dangers of not engaging at a higher level than either the Biden administration, Trump administration, Clinton administration, Bush administration have done?
00:24:36.000Yeah, and I'll preface it by saying that, obviously, I'm not confirmed yet.
00:24:42.000There will be a national security strategy that will frame much of what we do in foreign policy.
00:24:46.000So what I'm going to share with you basically here today is – As someone who will be at that table, some of the impressions that I would share with regards to our historic involvement in Africa and also some of our challenges moving forward.
00:24:58.000And you've already highlighted all the things about the growth that's going to happen.
00:25:02.000They'll double in population between now and 20, 20, 35, or what have you.
00:25:12.000Those are also places that I think provide an extraordinary opportunity, properly positioned for America to become more prosperous.
00:25:19.000Literally, more people that can afford to buy the things Americans provide, both in services and goods, and vice versa.
00:25:24.000So I think there's an extraordinary opportunity.
00:25:26.000Where I think some of our situation in Africa has fallen off, it's been, and rightfully so, heavily focused on counterterrorism and solely on counterterrorism in some places.
00:25:53.000I think we're also learning from the Sahel how quickly the situation changes.
00:25:56.000Despite significant counterterrorism contributions, each of those countries have pivoted to their great mistake, grave error, towards the Africa core led by Russia.
00:26:05.000These people are not any good at fighting counterterrorism and unreliable.
00:26:10.000And I think the moment will come when they'll realize that and maybe there will be a new opportunity to engage.
00:26:14.000On the flip side of it, if you look at littoral West Africa, there are real opportunities there.
00:26:19.000And in fact, ongoing engagements, not just on counterterrorism, but on economic progress.
00:26:25.000another place where we have already seen substantial improvements because of the The Accords, but also because phase two of that relationship that continues to build.
00:26:34.000You also talk about one thing that I don't think has been talked about enough, and I think we hear the term as a 19th century term.
00:26:40.000The impact that malaria has is not simply a health crisis, a humanitarian crisis.
00:26:51.000It pulls kids out of school for long periods of time and not end their lives.
00:26:55.000It literally sets people and communities back.
00:26:58.000We're leveraging private partnerships to deal with things like malaria.
00:27:02.000It pays extraordinary dividends if it's appropriately done and channeled.
00:27:05.000And that is something that I think could, as part of an overall approach to Africa, include, be included in things that you could argue are improving our prosperity, our security.
00:27:17.000You've affirmed a lot of this to me in our private talks.
00:27:21.000I just want to make an emphasis publicly here.
00:27:23.000That the disinformation in Africa, and I've mentioned disinformation writ large, but, you know, for example, the Washington Post published an article in October detailing how Russian propagandists targeted U.S. anti-malaria programs in Burkina Faso.
00:27:37.000The Africa Center for Strategic Studies report published in March 2024 highlighted how Russia and China are leading sponsors of disinformation campaigns in Africa that are showing incredible success because we aren't doing a coordinated campaign to counter their misinformation.
00:27:53.000And so I'm looking forward to working with you.
00:27:55.000I hope that you'll prioritize this for the sake of America's future, that you could be the Secretary of State that says we have a vision for Africa and we're backing it up, not just from the Secretary's office, but all the way down to making sure key resources are invested in countering disinformation as well as making sure...
00:28:17.000It's not a popular post, as you know, for many State Department people.
00:28:20.000We've got to make it that way and let people know that they're helping to define the future of not just the United States, but humanity by focusing on Africa.
00:28:28.000I cannot let my time expire without talking about the biggest humanitarian crisis going on on the planet Earth right now, what is happening in Sudan.
00:28:40.000It's been called by our country a genocide.
00:28:42.000There's a famine being declared in areas where you're seeing unbelievable levels of systemic sexual violence going on.
00:28:51.000I traveled to the Sudan border with Chad and saw humanitarian crises like I'd never seen before, and I've been around the world looking at humanitarian crises.
00:29:01.000We have a great special envoy who you've already positively name-checked in this confirmation hearing.
00:29:08.000It is so important and vital that that work continue and that we work for diplomatic solutions.
00:29:15.000There are a lot of our allies who've been implicated in fueling this crisis.
00:29:19.000This is an opportunity to end this crisis by diplomacy, to bring about one of the most important peace processes there are.
00:29:27.000And I'm hoping that you and incoming President Trump will prioritize that.
00:29:32.000In an era in which the term genocide has been misappropriated to almost a global slander, an international slander, this is a real genocide.
00:29:42.000By its very definition, this is the ethnic targeting of specific groups for extermination, for elimination.
00:29:49.000By groups, by the way, that are being funded by nations that we have alliances and partnerships with in other parts of the world.
00:29:57.000I think part of our engagement with the UAE, and it'll have to be a pragmatic engagement.
00:30:01.000I mean, they're important players in what we hope to resolve in the Middle East.
00:30:04.000And I think as part of that engagement, we also need to raise the fact that they are openly supporting an entity that is carrying out a genocide.
00:30:13.000And I think for those who are interested in going out and actually protesting a real genocide, this is to be the one.
00:30:22.000It is morally reprehensible that this crisis gets virtually no attention in our country, especially because of the role we should be playing today.
00:30:33.000And my time is over, but I want to say this.
00:30:49.000And again, I just want to keep calling out these moral omissions of our country, often at least in the press, of an inability to focus our compassion, empathy, and understanding of our interwoven destinies with places like Africa and places like Haiti. and understanding of our interwoven destinies with places like Africa Thank you, Senator.
00:32:00.000Senator Rubio, congratulations on your nomination.
00:32:04.000One of the questions that I've asked over time to secretaries of state, as well as ambassadors and others from the State Department, is can you name for me instances where sanctions have changed behavior for the better?
00:32:18.000I'm not going to ask you that question now.
00:32:20.000I'm going to wait until you come back to ask you.
00:32:21.000There's a preview of what I'll ask you the next time.
00:32:24.000But the reason I bring that up is that I think...
00:32:28.000Hopefully, people think of sanctions as a way of trying to modulate behavior.
00:32:32.000You want better behavior out of a country.
00:32:34.000A country's doing something you don't like.
00:32:35.000You'd like them to change their behavior for better through sanctions.
00:32:48.000And so as punishment, they kind of work.
00:32:51.000I don't think they're deterring Russia's behavior or changing it.
00:32:54.000But really, sanctions can have effect in a couple of ways.
00:32:58.000I think the threat of a sanction, the same way the threat of a tariff, can have an effect on behavior.
00:33:03.000But once placed, I think a sanction or tariff only has effect on someone's behavior if you remove it.
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00:34:10.000Dual use parts to Russia to use in the war against Ukraine.
00:34:20.000But they got to China and they shamed them in public and called them names and told them they're terrible people and they should quit doing it.
00:34:27.000I would argue that there's another way to try to get behavioral changes.
00:34:32.000I would argue that the opposite of sanctions is trade.
00:34:35.000And so we have a lot of sanctions on China.
00:34:37.000If I had been the one going to China with a mission, I would have said to China very quietly, We may not be able to undo everything, but perhaps we could undo one bit of sanctions that will enhance your economy by X amount if you'll agree to quit selling dual-use parts to Russia.
00:34:54.000And I think that's just a different look on things, and I don't think we're getting it very often.
00:34:59.000I guess my hope is that you will think about a different way of doing business other than just saying, let's sanction everybody and let's call people names we don't like, because I don't think it helps.
00:35:09.000I think it actually makes the situation worse.
00:35:11.000It doesn't mean we throw up in a ball and just say, do whatever you want.
00:35:14.000But there has to be some give and take.
00:35:16.000There has to be something we take back.
00:35:18.000And so I guess my general question to you would be, we know a lot to stick.
00:35:23.000We know about sanctions and this and that.
00:35:25.000Do you see any possibility of any carrot with China to make relations better with China?
00:35:31.000Well, let me first say, indeed, I've been strongly worded in my views of China.
00:35:35.000Let me just point out, they've said mean things about me, too.
00:35:38.000I'm not sure that they're fans of mine in that regard here.
00:35:41.000My role now as the Secretary of State is to lead the diplomatic wing of the country, and that will involve engaging them.
00:35:48.000The fact of the matter is, in a mature and prudent conversation, and I would expect that they, at the end of the day, are also mature and prudent practitioners of foreign policy.
00:35:57.000They've got a billion people and nuclear weapons and a large economy.
00:36:00.000We have 400 million people, the largest economy in the world, and nuclear weapons.
00:36:03.000And it is in their interest, our interest, and the interest of the world for two great powers to be...
00:36:08.000In fact, despite everything I have said, I have consistently throughout my career said that it is that geopolitical balance between our countries, or imbalance, developing imbalance, that is the greatest risk to global security and prosperity, because that could quickly trigger not just a trade and economic conflict, but an armed one, which could be catastrophic.
00:36:27.000Never in the history of mankind have two powers like the United States and China.
00:36:32.000Ever faced off in a global conflict, and the outcome would be catastrophic, and we should want to avoid it, and so should they.
00:36:39.000Yes, we are going to have to deal with China.
00:36:40.000They're too big and too important in the world, and they're going to have to deal with us.
00:36:43.000And my goal is that it is dealt with in a way that furthers our national interest.
00:36:47.000What cannot continue to happen is that China continues to assume all of the benefits of the international system and none of its obligations.
00:36:54.000All the benefits of global trade and commerce and none of its obligations.
00:36:57.000Your point on sanctions are important.
00:37:01.000I think that one of the things that's happened over time is we have adopted this view that we're going to be involved in less armed conflicts, which I think is a positive, generally speaking, right?
00:38:28.000I thought our conversation in my office was great.
00:38:30.000We talked about a bunch of different things.
00:38:33.000And I think the American people deserve new leadership in this position and be focused on the right things.
00:38:40.000So I just want to rifle through a couple of questions.
00:38:43.000One of the things I think in refocusing the attention of the office and one of the real challenges I think we've dealt with the last four years.
00:38:50.000Is this obsession that the Biden administration has had with DEI. And Pete Buttigieg, for example, implemented this and was focused on this.
00:39:02.000And a month before the first national ground stop of our national airspace since 9-11, he was busy renaming the air notice system to be more inclusive.
00:39:32.000When we talk about safety, we're talking about getting on airplanes and flying through the airspace, so air traffic controllers and pilots and the mechanics and the machinists that build the planes.
00:39:45.000We want the hiring decisions to be based on merit.
00:39:50.000We want the best people in these jobs.
00:39:53.000Now, we can have a conversation and should have a conversation about what communities are we drawing from?
00:39:58.000Are we accessing the right communities saying, hey, there's great opportunities at Boeing or one of the airlines or at air traffic control, accessing a lot of communities with the information about opportunities in these fields?
00:40:12.000Is something that I would commit to doing.
00:40:15.000But we can only hire the best and the brightest because everyone's safety is at stake.
00:40:23.000I talked the last time we met, under the FAA, there's the Office of Commercial Space Transportation, or AST, and it's responsible for licensing and regulating all the commercial space.
00:40:35.000The commercial rocket launch and reentry activities in the United States, it's a little-known agency.
00:40:41.000The only reason, quite frankly, that I'm aware of it is because I was the ranking member of the Space and Science Subcommittee the last two years and learned more than I ever thought I would ever learn coming into the Senate about how important and how critical.
00:40:52.000So let me explain the profundity of what's happening here.
00:40:56.000Senator Schmidt is going back and forth in between committees, typically under the Mitch McConnell rules.
00:41:02.000You have one hearing, and you're not allowed to bounce back and forth.
00:41:06.000But the new energy of people like Jim Banks, previously J.D. Vance, of Eric Schmidt, of this new generation of senators that say, wait a second, I sit around and do nothing half the time in one of these committee hearings.
00:41:22.000Why don't we have two or three of those going on at once?
00:41:25.000And I'll ask my question, exit, go back to the next one, and I can have a staffer sitting there.
00:41:31.000Taking notes, hearing what people are saying.
00:41:34.000This allows you to do concurrent nominations.
00:42:26.000It's Congress, most recently the Foreign Service Families Act.
00:42:32.000As you know, and we discussed yesterday, you know the importance of supporting the men and women at the State Department, including the Foreign Service.
00:42:40.000And I appreciate your willingness to work with us in the caucus to continue to make sure that they have what they need to do their jobs effectively.
00:42:51.000We also discussed the ongoing war in Ukraine and the importance of supporting the Ukrainian people.
00:42:58.000And I just want to say for the record, I support and endorse everything that Senator Shaheen said on that score, so I don't have to go into great detail.
00:43:05.000I will say that we know what happens in Ukraine does not stay in Ukraine.
00:43:14.000That is what we've heard repeatedly from leaders in Japan, leaders in South Korea, and other partners of ours in the Indo.
00:43:25.000I hope that we will continue to focus on that because what we do know is that President Xi has one eye on what's happening in Ukraine and another eye on what's happening in Taiwan and measuring everybody's response.
00:43:44.000Like you, and we've worked on a bipartisan basis to try to make sure that we meet the challenge of China.
00:43:51.000Lots of important pieces of legislation that have passed, but none yet to really rise to meeting those challenges.
00:43:59.000I do support the Biden administration's ongoing efforts to restrict the flow of very high-end technologies, the highest-end ships, to China that can be used in their military.
00:44:11.000We need to do that successfully with our allies to do that, just like the Trump administration back in the day worked on the Huawei issue.
00:44:18.000So my view is that we need to expand that effort.
00:44:23.000We also discussed the volatile situation in the Middle East.
00:44:28.000You know we often talk about the importance of shifting our focus to China.
00:44:34.000China and the Indo-Pacific, but we always seem to get dragged back into conflicts in the Middle East.
00:44:42.000Good riddance to the murderous Assad regime.
00:44:47.000Obviously, we have a stake in what comes next in Syria, given the fact that it's a very volatile part of the world.
00:44:56.000I support the very cautious engagement of the Biden administration with HTS, but we should acknowledge their very poisonous genealogy, beginning with al-Qaeda morphing into al-Nusra.
00:45:11.000The other issue, of course, in Syria is that when you've got a situation Like we see today, there are opportunities for ISIS to get further back on its feet, to provide it more oxygen.
00:45:27.000And as you know, the tip of the spear in our fight against ISIS has been our Syrian Kurdish partners, the SDF. But at this moment, President Erdogan of Turkey has been backing attacks of the so-called Syrian National Army.
00:45:47.000Which Turkey largely controls against our partners, the Syrian Kurds, which opens the door to a revival of ISIS. Because of the actions of the United States government, Turkey has so far paused that effort.
00:46:04.000Senator Graham and I have introduced legislation to impose sanctions on Turkey.
00:46:09.000Should they renew those attacks in an aggressive way?
00:46:16.000I know that you recognize the importance of that partnership with the Syrian Kurds, but just a very straightforward question.
00:46:23.000Do you agree that we should continue to support our partners, the SDF, in the fight against ISIS?
00:46:33.000Not only that, but I think we also need to recognize that there are implications to abandoning partners who have a great sacrifice and threat actually to the ISIS. Fighters.
00:46:43.000One of the reasons why we were able to dismantle ICE is because they were willing to host them in jails.
00:47:07.000It is in the national interest of the United States, if possible, to have a Syria that's no longer a playground for ISIS, that respects religious minorities, ranging from Alawis all the way to Christians, that protects the Kurds, and at the same time is not a vehicle through which Iran can spread its terrorism to Hezbollah and destabilize Lebanon, not to mention what's happened in other parts.
00:47:31.000Not only is it in the national interest of the United States, it's in the national interest of virtually every nation state in the Middle East to see that come about.
00:47:39.000There is an interesting dynamic at play.
00:47:43.000And Senator Post a moment ago about the impact of sanctions.
00:47:46.000I would argue that the Caesar sanctions directly contributed to the downfall of the Assad regime in many ways.
00:47:53.000We find ourselves in this interesting situation now where because it, I think, is reauthorized as part of NDAA, we now have these sanctions in place against the government that no longer exists.
00:48:02.000But nonetheless, it's an opportunity for us to explore how we could use that tool, the removal of it, and others, if in fact the territory is fertile for these outcomes.
00:48:13.000There are impediments to this that go beyond simply the new people in charge.
00:48:17.000And one of them, as you pointed out, is Erdogan and what his intentions are.
00:48:21.000Right now, there's a very tenuous ceasefire with regards to the Kurds.
00:48:24.000It's important for that to be maintained.
00:48:25.000I think it's important to signal to Erdogan early, including through this hearing, that they should not view a transition in power in the U.S. as a window in which they could take advantage of to sort of violate whatever agreements were in place.
00:48:39.000Right now, what we want in Syria is stability so that we can explore what opportunities exist to bring I agree with everything you just said.
00:49:08.000I look forward to working with you on that.
00:49:10.000Let me turn to the Israeli-Palestinian.
00:49:17.000We've also witnessed the devastation and human rights catastrophe in Gaza.
00:49:28.000Like you, I've met Israeli families who lost loved ones on October 7th.
00:49:33.000I've also met with Palestinian families who lost kids and other innocents in this war.
00:49:38.000So I'm very pleased to see the announcement.
00:49:43.000Today of the ceasefire and the return of hostages.
00:49:48.000Let us pray that it holds and that it is implemented.
00:49:51.000But of course, as we discussed yesterday, the question is what happens next.
00:49:56.000And we all agree that Hamas can have no role in the governance of Gaza or any other place.
00:50:03.000We also know that for all its flaws and faults, the Palestinian Authority has recognized Israel's right to exist for the last 30 years since the Oslo Accords.
00:50:13.000Their security forces are trained by U.S. forces.
00:50:16.000They today are fighting Palestinian militants in certain parts of the West Bank.
00:50:21.000But at the same time, their funds have been restricted by Gaza.
00:50:26.000The Netanyahu government today, these are the funds that belong to the PA. We've seen a record increase in the number of settlements in the West Bank.
00:50:36.000And so the PA is not able to deliver on what had been the hope of Oslo, which is self-determination, security, and dignity for both Israelis.
00:50:50.000Senator, I will do everything in my power to prevent illegal gunrunners in our country.
00:51:05.000When I left being a state prosecutor to run for attorney general, I almost didn't run because I was working on a wire case involving illegal gunrunners.
00:51:17.000The DOJ issued in 2022 a use of force policy for its federal law enforcement officers.
00:51:22.000It was approved by the heads of the DEA, FBI, U.S. Marshals, and ATF, and many of them said it is actually a use-of-force policy that actually protects law enforcement officers as well as protects others from having their rights violated.
00:51:39.000It was also endorsed by the Fraternal Order of Police and NAPO, the National Association of Police Organizations.
00:51:45.000This policy is considered best practices in law enforcement.
00:51:48.000Will you commit to continuing this policy?
00:51:50.000While we may have won this election, the fight to restore our great nation is only beginning.
00:52:01.000As America's only Christian conservative wireless provider, Patriot Mobile offers a way to vote with your wallet without compromising on quality or convenience.
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00:52:26.000But the difference is every dollar you spend supports the First and Second Amendments, Sanctity of Life, our veterans, and first responders.
00:53:16.000It was a pleasure to work with you as a state attorney general for a number of years, and I'm delighted to see you here today before the committee.
00:53:25.000I, too, have taken note of the number of times you have been asked about weaponization of the Department of Justice as if it was a theoretical possibility that might happen in the future.
00:53:34.000One of my colleagues on the other side said, weaponization may well occur under your tenure.
00:53:40.000We all know that weaponization has occurred like we've never seen before in American history under this administration.
00:54:16.000After the Dobbs case was decided by the Supreme Court, over 100 pregnancy care centers, And over 300 churches in this country were attacked, vandalized, firebombed.
00:54:30.000Do you happen to know off the top of your head how many prosecutions Merrick Garland's Justice Department brought in those cases?
00:54:47.000And I might just add, these pregnancy care centers, the attacks on them, which were violent, which were gruesome, were egged on and encouraged by rhetoric from members of Congress, including members of this body, who have said that pregnancy care centers aren't real medicine, that they're not real doctors.
00:55:15.000They use legislation, a law known as the FACE Act, to prosecute at least 53 different pro-life demonstrators, including people like Mark Hauk from Pennsylvania, whom this Justice Department sent a SWAT team to his door in the early morning hours.
00:55:48.000Will you protect churches and pregnancy care centers when they are targeted for violence, when they are targeted for intimidation, when their members or parishioners are threatened with violence or other acts of illegal behavior?
00:56:17.000Will you ensure that nothing like the Mark Houck case happens again, that Americans do not have SWAT teams arriving on their front doors with armed weapons to terrorize their children and their spouses?
00:56:29.000Only in the end, of course, to have the case lost because there was nothing to it.
00:56:33.000Will you put an end to that kind of deliberate intimidation of the good American citizens on the basis of their religious beliefs?
00:56:52.000I also have heard you've been asked about your comment that you thought that in some cases we need to investigate the investigators, the ones who were bad.
00:57:00.000You know, I have to say I'm glad to hear you stand by that.
00:57:15.000Developed by the FBI field office in Richmond, Virginia, 23rd January, 2023, targeting Catholic parishes for spying, for recruitment of infiltrators.
00:57:27.000I mean, the memo goes on and on and on about the FBI's plans to put assets into Catholic parishes, into choirs.
00:57:37.000This is an unbelievable, unbelievable assault on Americans' First Amendment rights, and we only know of it because of a brave whistleblower who came forward and released it to us.
00:57:46.000And I will tell you, I have never been misled and lied to like I was by the current Attorney General and the now former FBI Director when they sat right where you're sitting now and told this committee, oh, we don't know anything about it.
00:58:00.000Oh, only one field office was involved.
00:58:03.000It was the single work of a single field office and very few individuals.
00:58:13.000Under your leadership, will you put a stop to the use of FBI or Department of Justice resources to try and recruit informants and spies into Christian churches or any church or house of worship in this country on the basis of nothing more than faith?
00:58:57.000One of the worst abuses of Department of Justice and FBI authority in our history.
00:59:02.000Will you conduct an investigation to find out who signed off on this, who approved it, who advocated for it within the Department of Justice?
00:59:13.000On these abuses, so that the American people can have confidence in their DOJ. Senator, and I think what you're talking about is the ultimate weaponization, what we've been discussing all day.
00:59:22.000If I am confirmed as Attorney General, one of the first things I will do, there'll be many, but I will personally read that memo, and if Mr. Patel is confirmed, discuss it with him right away.
00:59:35.000And will you work with this committee?
00:59:37.000And our relevant subcommittees, I'm going to chair a subcommittee called the Crime and Terrorism Committee.
00:59:42.000We're going to do our own investigation into what happened here at the FBI and the DOJ. Will you work with us as you discover?
00:59:51.000Senator, yes, I look forward to working with you and the Democrats.
00:59:58.000I would think this is something that we can all agree on, on both sides, that this should not be happening in the United States of America and work together on it.
01:00:38.000They once infamously, the SPLC, called the Family Research Council a terrorist hate group and an armed gunman came into their lobby and opened fire.
01:00:46.000Will you put a stop to the use of the SPLC as an official source for any Department of Justice memorandum or finding?
01:00:54.000That will be one of the first things we will look at as well, Senator, and report back to you and the committee.
01:04:26.000I'm glad you asked that question, if you'll let me answer what I saw in Pennsylvania.
01:04:29.000No, I asked a simple question about massive fraud.
01:04:32.000I can only tell you what I saw in Pennsylvania.
01:04:34.000I know you want to answer a different question, but my question is, can you tell us whether there was massive fraud affecting the results of the 2020 election?
01:06:17.000Cyber attacks on our power grids, drones in the sky, violent attacks on everyday Americans.
01:06:23.000The ugly truth is no leader, no system can protect you from everything.
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01:07:15.000Let's go more with Pam Bondi and Mr. Schiff.
01:07:21.000...ethical basis to destroy evidence in the January 6th investigation?
01:07:25.000Then why can't you answer the question?
01:07:26.000Why can't you say, I commit to this committee, we will never destroy the evidence in the January 6th investigation.
01:07:32.000Why can't you give this committee and the American people that assurance?
01:07:35.000Are you frightened because evidence was destroyed against President Trump that was false?
01:08:09.000And I appreciate that you told my California colleagues you were willing to work with them.
01:08:20.000Now, one thing I think we need to have everybody understand that is watching this hearing today and everyone sitting in here, what we have witnessed over the last four years with a weaponized DOJ. My colleagues have talked about this.
01:08:47.000What was carried out against President Trump in his administration?
01:08:52.000And in November, they voted to see an end to two tiers of justice, two tiers of treatment, two tiers of access, because they have absolutely had it with the lies, with the accusations.
01:09:13.000And with the attacks that have come against so many people who were just seeking to live their lives, and then all of a sudden found the FBI or another federal agency or the DOJ knocking at their door.
01:09:33.000You know, Ms. Bondi, it would make you believe that my colleagues have learned nothing, nothing, They don't see this as a movie script that someone may have liked to write.
01:12:03.000You're going to have so many things that I have dealt with in the state of Florida, and I am committed to working with California just as much as I am committed to working with you, Senator Kennedy, in the tragedy that just took place in Louisiana, given all the human beings that were murdered in your state.
01:12:21.000And we have the Super Bowl coming up in less than three weeks now, I believe, Senator.
01:13:15.000Let me move on with you to something else that's about law and order.
01:13:20.000And that is Section 1507. Because making certain that our justices are protected is important, and we also, with our judges, Section 1507 makes illegal any protest.
01:13:34.000Outside of a judge's residence, if the intent is to influence the judge's decision-making.
01:13:41.000And we have heard about the protests outside of justices' homes, where they were shouting loud and clear things like, and I'm quoting some of that, if you take away our choices, we will riot, end quote.
01:13:53.000Another one, no privacy for us, no peace for you, end quote.
01:13:58.000In other words, if the justices did not vote to uphold Roe and Casey, the protesters would continue to harass them.
01:14:08.000Despite this clear violation of the law, Merrick Garland did not bring a single charge.
01:15:11.000I brought up the importance of your listening to whistleblowers.
01:15:16.000And about 30 or 35 investigations I've got underway of the executive branch, and not just because of a Democrat president.
01:15:25.000Some of them are probably carryovers from Republican presidents.
01:15:31.000It's very important that the executive branch understand the cooperation that you must have with us.
01:15:39.000To carry out our responsibilities to see that the president faithfully executes the laws.
01:15:47.000And I think that too often, whistleblowers, being patriotic people they are, wanting government to do what government's just supposed to do, and find something wrong, they want to report it, and they want to report it within the agency.
01:16:05.000They don't come to Congress unless they don't get any help.
01:16:08.000In the executive branch, it seems to me that it's very important that you respect whistleblowers, but I've seen them treated like a skunk at a picnic by the agency they're in.
01:16:22.000I've seen them ruin themselves professionally.
01:16:26.000I see themselves, one time an FBI agent came to me, was escorted out of headquarters with his gun and badge taken away from him.
01:16:37.000Just because the laboratory there was not using science to make sure that crime was actually committed.
01:16:48.000So now we have a new $40 million science lab so that people are protected and get their constitutional rights.
01:17:00.000So will you protect whistleblowers from retaliation and promote a culture?
01:17:05.000And I think that last thing, promote a culture, is more important.
01:17:10.000That value is the important contribution of whistleblowers.
01:17:14.000Yes, and Senator, I think so people fully understand the importance of whistleblowers.
01:17:19.000They have to be able to tell the truth and come forward without fear of retaliation.
01:17:25.000And that's the purpose of the whistleblower statute.
01:17:28.000When there's retaliation, the taxpayers' money is paying for that retaliation in most cases.
01:17:35.000The Biden Justice Department issued guidance telling prosecutors to stop charging mandatory minimums and ignore laws setting penalties on drug type.
01:17:46.000It also allowed folks to pay civil and criminal fines to politicize non-government organizations instead of the government treasury.
01:17:59.000I put together a list of their guidance.
01:18:02.000I find it very concerning and unfair to the taxpaying public.
01:18:07.000And I'd like to have you review those policies very soon.
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01:19:27.000That's a pretty amazing achievement in his life.
01:19:30.000But he also has said and done some things which are impossible to understand and justify.
01:19:36.000For example, are you familiar with something called the QAnon conspiracy?
01:19:40.000I have heard of it, but I do not know what it is, but I've heard of it many times, Senator.
01:19:48.000So let me tell you what I've learned about it.
01:19:51.000Its core belief is that a cabal of satanic, cannibalistic child molesters are embedded within our government and are conspiring against President-elect Trump.
01:20:03.000They asked Mr. Patel about it, and he said, quote, I agree with a lot.
01:20:32.000And I'll tell you, until we get answers to those questions, I... Don't know many people on this side of the table will give him an unequivocal endorsement.
01:20:40.000This and his enemies list, what he calls his government gangsters.
01:20:47.000This is what you expect of secret police.
01:20:49.000It is not what you expect of justice in America, as you've even described it at the table today.
01:20:55.000So I would say this unequivocal support of Mr. Patel should at least have some reservation until he explains some of these outrageous positions he has taken.
01:21:05.000I look forward to hearing his testimony about QAnon in front of this committee.
01:21:21.000To think that the United States of America's Capitol building was desecrated by an insurrectionist mob that came in and did horrible things, particularly to our police force.
01:21:33.000It keeps you safe as you sit there and keeps us safe every single day.
01:21:36.000Over a hundred of them were attacked by these demonstrators.
01:21:41.000One, Kenneth Bonowitz, a member of the so-called Proud Boys, another alt-right group, assaulted at least six officers, placed one in a chokehold and lifted him up in the neck.
01:21:52.000Bonowitz injured one officer so severely he had to retire.
01:21:58.000Convicted for five separate assaults against law enforcement, including one that caused a career-ending and life-altering injury to U.S. Capitol Police Sergeant Akilino Gunnell.
01:22:09.000Can you understand why when Donald Trump says, the day I am inaugurated as president, I will issue a blanket pardon to these, quote, political prisoners?
01:22:19.000We view this with an outrage on our side.
01:22:21.000These men and women risked their lives for us every day, and they almost died.
01:22:24.000Some of them did die in the course of this attack.
01:22:28.000Why aren't we treating them as such, and why do you have to reserve judgment?
01:22:32.000Vice President Vance didn't when he was asked this week.
01:22:35.000He said that pardon should not be extended to those who are guilty of violence against policemen.
01:22:41.000And, Senator, I do not agree with violence against anyone.
01:22:50.000And every time I've been walking through these halls meeting with all of you, the men and women of the Capitol Police Department are incredible.
01:23:09.000You weren't able to answer my question affirmatively earlier, but I would hope that if this moves forward in a positive way on your nomination.
01:23:16.000You will speak up at some point on behalf of these police officers who are keeping you safe today and your family safe.
01:23:24.000Before Senator Graham, I want to enter into the record without objection from the members of this committee letters from law enforcement groups who support Ms. Bondi's nomination.
01:23:37.000These groups include the Fraternal Order of Police, the National Sheriff's Association.
01:23:43.000The National Association of Police Organizations.
01:23:46.000They praise her, quote, support for law enforcement, crime prevention, and public safety, end quote, without objection.
01:24:32.000So rather than prejudging what you do, you would look at the application and give him your best advice, and you don't like people who beat up cops?
01:25:28.000Senator Durbin's been great to work with.
01:25:31.000Everybody, Klobuchar, we're all trying to find out how to empower people who may be victims of social media.
01:25:38.000Woody, to empower a parent whose child's been bullied, when you call the social media platform and they blow you off, you go to court.
01:25:46.000And they kick you out of court because of Section 230. Sexual exploitation of children on the Internet, we've heard stories that make us just break our hearts.
01:25:57.000We're united of trying to give people a say.
01:26:00.000If they take your content down, you're appealing to the people who've made the decision to take your content down.
01:26:06.000So what I want to do, along with Senator Holley, everybody, is repeal Section 230 or replace it with a system that empowers consumers who may have been hurt.
01:27:13.000We know we found eight guys from Tajikistan that were at least caught again because we were tied to ISIS. So the point I'm trying to make is January 20th, we own this.
01:27:24.000I just urge you, to the extent you can, to urge the president to secure that border.
01:27:31.000The idea of moving money around from defense is not going to cut it.
01:27:35.000We need a lot of money for bed space to finish the wall, do technology, hire ICE agents to accelerate deportation of people who are criminals and gang members.
01:28:48.000I'm concerned because, you know, under Trump...
01:28:52.000Criminal prosecutions for pollution dropped sharply in his first term.
01:28:57.000And you will be running an Environment and Natural Resources division that has things like, for instance, a methane task force that big polluters who spent big money to get President Trump re-elected don't like.
01:29:12.000And they're going to be coming to you to say, hey...
01:29:16.000We don't want a whole lot of enforcement on this.
01:29:19.000Methane leaks, carbon dioxide leaks, it's a pollutant, polluting our water, polluting our air.
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01:31:39.000Senator Graham called the Deputy Attorney General up into his office to say, will you guys please knock it off and give this guy some information?
01:31:50.000So, you know, I have lived the example of, if you're a Republican on this committee, in a Republican administration, You get everything you ask for and more.
01:32:02.000And if you're a Democrat, you get zero.
01:32:06.000That was not a great moment for me and not a great moment for the department.
01:32:10.000And so I will take the chairman at his word that he wants the department to be responsive to requests from all of us.
01:32:21.000Will you be responsive to all of us, irrespective of our party affiliation, if we are asking legitimate questions that you have the power to answer?
01:32:32.000From the beginning, yes, especially on Freedom of Information Act.
01:32:36.000I will follow the laws that apply to the Freedom of Information Act.
01:33:59.000...on some of your work supporting Taiwan and protecting Hong Kong dissidents as we work together on some legislation.
01:34:07.000Now, in a twist of events, I sit not far from where you once sat, and there's another symbolic 600 feet between us, between the State Department and the Senate.
01:34:18.000And I'm excited to work with you in your new role.
01:34:21.000And I would like to continue to be wind at your back on a lot of issues and none more important to me than China.
01:34:28.000And if you remember really nothing else about our short interchange today, please know that that's very important to me.
01:34:34.000And I hope to work with you on what I do with the aggression of China.
01:34:39.000And in many ways, their global push for military and economic supremacy, I think, is a threat in many ways.
01:34:48.000China is imposing, it's what they call China one principle on the world, which is very different than our China policy.
01:34:58.000Can you kind of describe how we can push back on that and how we need to make sure we're shaping that conversation?
01:35:05.000Yeah, and well, the first is to understand that the one China policy is, and the U.S. policy towards the issue of Taiwan has been consistent.
01:35:14.000and reaffirmed by every administration since 1979 and it is the combination of the Taiwan Relations Act We're the six assurances that make clear that the United States, we're not going to pressure Taiwan in any arrangement.
01:35:25.000We're not going to tell you when we're going to stop, if ever.
01:35:28.000We make no commitment to not helping them in their national defense.
01:35:32.000We're not going to force any outcomes.
01:35:34.000And frankly, we are going to do everything.
01:35:36.000And we reject any effort to coerce, intimidate, and or forcibly drive Taiwan to do whatever China wants them to do.
01:35:46.000That was the position under President Trump's first administration.
01:35:49.000I anticipate it will continue to be in the second administration.
01:35:52.000I think within that context, it's important for us to find every opportunity possible to allow Taiwan to engage in international forums where important issues are discussed.
01:36:11.000They need to have an opportunity in these forums to be made clear.
01:36:14.000But I think stability is critically important.
01:36:16.000Here's the one thing I would point to here with regards to stability.
01:36:20.000If the Chinese are in fact serious about stabilizing U.S.-China relations and finding avenues of which we can cooperate and avoid conflict, then they will not do anything rash or irrational when it comes to Taiwan or the Philippines for that matter.
01:36:35.000The actions they are taking now are deeply destabilizing.
01:36:38.000They are forcing us to take counteractions because we have commitments to the Philippines and we have commitments to Taiwan that we intend to keep.
01:36:46.000And so if they want to destabilize the relationship or they want to at least create some pathway for stabilization of our relationship with them, even as we remain engaged in global competition and in some cases more adversarial than others.
01:37:00.000They really need to stop messing around with Taiwan and with the Philippines because it's forcing us to focus our attention in ways we prefer not to have.
01:37:09.000As a matter of interest, I actually lived in Taiwan in August of 1979, three months after that act that you referred to, and I think you're very accurate.
01:37:18.000I think for a minute about Europe and there's some countries it feels like in Europe because of their presence, Poland, Czech Republic and Baltics that are more in tune with this issue.
01:37:29.000But as a whole, it feels like some European nations are in denial of some of the things you've just said.
01:37:33.000You talk a little bit about how we work with our NATO friends over there and how we get them to appreciate this and actually play a part in this.
01:37:41.000Well, I think in the case of NATO, I think I would expand it to really talk about the European Union and the EU, which I think is increasingly every single day coming to the realization of the threat that China's policies and unfair trade policies.