WASHINGTON—Today, U.S. Senator Jeanne Shaheen, Ranking Member of the U.S. Senate Foreign Relations Committee, pressed Christopher Landau, Michael Rigas and Matthew Whitaker, nominees for Deputy Secretary of State, Deputy Secretary of State for Management and Resources, United States Permanent Representative on the Council of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO), respectively, on the administration’s dismantling of foreign assistance and America’s commitment to NATO and its allies.
During the hearing, Ranking Member Shaheen pressed Mr. Landau on cuts to foreign assistance and highlighted a New Hampshire-based USAID contractor whose work to deliver tuberculosis medication is halted, even as the paid-for medication wastes in a warehouse in Myanmar, and elicited a commitment to continue funding for the National Endowment for Democracy, pursuant to the law. She also secured Mr. Whitaker’s pledge that the U.S. commitment to NATO—including our “Article 5” collective defense commitment —is “ironclad” and confirmed his support for the continued presence of U.S. troops on NATO’s eastern flank, including in Poland and the Baltic states.
You can watch her questioning of Mr. Landau here.
You can watch her questioning of Mr. Whitaker here.
During her questioning of Mr. Landau, Ranking Member Shaheen said: “I want to start with Mr. Landau and Mr. Rigas because I heard from a USAID contractor in New Hampshire who is carrying out a project to combat tuberculosis in Myanmar. That’s been turned off because of the administration's stop work order on foreign aid. The contractor reported to us that a shipment of drugs is now sitting in a warehouse because they can’t be delivered. The U.S. government will owe both the cost of the drugs and storage fees, more than they would have paid without the stop work order. Meanwhile, the drugs are expiring and the people who need them are suffering without the medication. I think this is one of the many examples that we've heard about because of the stop work order. And I think that this is a senseless waste of money, I don’t think this makes us—as I said in my opening statement—stronger, more prosperous, or more secure.”
"Mr. Landau, the National Endowment for Democracy is an organization whose concept was conceived by President Reagan, but it's been starved for funds by this administration. Despite a line item for its appropriation and a statutory mandate that NED […] This is a low overhead cost organization […] created, and conceived, by President Reagan. It works exclusively to advance free elections, the free market and democracy in places where our adversaries rule against their people and against America—countries like Iran and China and North Korea and Cuba. So, if you're confirmed, will you ensure that the Department of State complies with the NED Act and appropriations law that make NED's funds urgently available?”
During her questioning of Mr. Whitaker, Ranking Member Shaheen said: “One of the things that China is watching very closely is what we do in Ukraine. And if we walk away from our allies in Ukraine—our ally Ukraine—it's going to say a lot to President XI about what we might do in terms of supporting or not supporting Taiwan if he invades. So, I would just urge you all to consider that as you're looking at the calculus about how we need to address China. Mr. Whitaker, you alluded to this a little bit, but I just want to be clear. Under your leadership in Brussels, if confirmed, will the United States commitment to NATO be ironclad, including our commitment to Article 5?”
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