Chris Van Hollen Presses Nom On Trump Admin's Decision To Remove Russia As Aggressor At G7 Meeting

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During a Senate Foreign Relations Committee hearing on Thursday, Sen. Chris Van Hollen (D-MD) questioned President Trump's nominee for Ambassador to Japan, George Glass, on the decision to remove language that described Russia as the aggressor in its invasion of Ukraine.  Fuel your success with Forbes. Gain unlimited access to premium journalism, including breaking news, groundbreaking in-depth reported stories, daily digests and more. Plus, members get a front-row seat at members-only events with leading thinkers and doers, access to premium video that can help you get ahead, an ad-light experience, early access to select products including NFT drops and more:  https://account.forbes.com/membership/?utm_source=youtube&utm_medium=display&utm_campaign=growth_non-sub_paid_subscribe_ytdescript   Stay Connected Forbes on Facebook: http://fb.com/forbes Forbes Video on Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/forbes Forbes Video on Instagram: http://instagram.com/forbes More From Forbes:  http://forbes.com

Transcript

00:00Thank you, Mr. Chairman.

00:03Thank all of you for your testimony.

00:06Mr. Glass, let me start with you.

00:08One of the things the previous administration focused on was trying to strengthen the relationship

00:14between South Korea and Japan, two very important partners.

00:18Simple question.

00:19Do you agree that that was a worthwhile endeavor, and will you work to build on it?

00:27Not only worthwhile, but essential.

00:29And absolutely, we were talking earlier a little bit about the priorities of the multilateral

00:35relationships that Japan has with other countries in the region, and it's critical that we continue

00:41to build on that.

00:42I think you recognize that when our colleagues from partner countries like Japan and South

00:51Korea have come to the United States over the last couple of years, they weigh in on

00:56the importance of the U.S. supporting the Ukrainian people in their fight against Putin's

01:02aggression, because they recognize that our commitment to Ukraine can have implications

01:10for all of them.

01:12As many of us say, President Xi keeps one eye on Ukraine while he keeps one eye on Taiwan.

01:18Do you agree that if there's a perception among our allies that we're throwing Ukrainian

01:24people under the bus, that that damages our relationship with Japan?

01:30The Japanese have supported the Ukrainians not only with economic support, material support,

01:41and conscious support.

01:46But at this point in time, the question that apparently is very simple is very delicate.

01:54We have a president that's got both sides of the Ukrainian-Russian conflict sitting

02:01at a table across from each other.

02:03And at this point in time, I think the delicacy of what he is working as our negotiator-in-chief

02:12is something that I don't want to make any comment that might possibly disrupt that process.

02:18My time's limited.

02:19I will just say, at the most recent G7 meeting, and as you're well aware, Japan's a part of

02:26the G7, right?

02:27Correct.

02:28At the most recent G7 meeting, our allies all supported continuing to keep the language

02:34from previous G7 resolutions, which named Russia and Putin as the aggressor.

02:40Did they not?

02:41They did.

02:42They did.

02:43And it was the United States that said we should remove that, wasn't it?

02:46It was.

02:47Yeah.

02:48In my view, that sends a terrible signal, a terrible signal not just to the people of

02:52Ukraine but to people in Japan and South Korea and our partners around the world.

02:57And cutting off intelligence even temporarily and throttling weapons to Ukraine when you

03:04have a massive arsenal on the Russian side, in my view, is so contrary to American national

03:13security interests.

03:15And I hear the same thing from our colleagues in Japan and elsewhere.

03:23Mr. Hoekstra, it's good to see you.

03:24We chaired the Dutch caucus back in the House.

03:28Let me just say, I was at a hearing yesterday in the Banking and Housing Committee where

03:33the testimony from the economist there, who, by the way, was invited by our Republican

03:38colleagues, was unambiguous, that when you increase tariffs across the board on products

03:46from Canada, including Canadian lumber, you will drive up the cost of housing in the United

03:51States.

03:52And the fact of the matter is the National Association of Home Builders chief economist

03:57predicts that it will be as much as $7,500 to $10,000 additional on a home for the average

04:06American if the proposed tariffs go through.

04:09I mean, you can do some simple math.

04:11You don't have to be an economist, neither do I, to recognize that will increase the

04:16costs and make homes less affordable in the United States, right?

04:22If the tariffs put that in place, yes, it's not brain surgery.

04:29I appreciate the reality touch.

04:30And I also appreciate your response to Ms. Rosen's question, Senator Rosen's question

04:34on the Five Eyes.

04:35I mean, you have a lot of experience there.

04:38You agree that Canada's contribution to the Five Eyes is valuable, right?

04:42We have a great alliance with Canada on national security issues.

04:47It would help if Canada met its NATO commitment.

04:52You know, they're one of eight or nine countries that falls short, significantly short, with

04:58no real plan to get there anytime soon.

05:01Their statement is that we'll get there in 2032.

05:03I agree.

05:04But within five, relating to Five Eyes, were they an important partner as part of that?

05:09Five Eyes is an important relationship, and all the countries have strengths that they

05:13contribute to.

05:14I appreciate that.

05:15And Mr. Johnson, finally, in closing, Senator Rosen raised the point about the funding for

05:20our efforts to interdict narcotics.

05:23Are you aware of the fact that one of the programs that was terminated by the Trump

05:28administration's freeze was an anti-narcotics program aimed at stopping imported fentanyl?

05:35Are you aware of that?

05:36Have you seen that reporting?

05:38Thank you, Senator.

05:39I've been out of the government for a little over four years now.

05:42I have not seen it.

05:43I look forward to seeing it.

05:45I am confident that throughout this process that anything that helps stem the flow of

05:49fentanyl will survive.

05:51Well, I hope you're right about that, because we had a meeting with Pete Morocco, and I

05:58did not get any sense of confidence in that.

06:01That was my takeaway, anyway.

06:02Thank you, Mr. Chairman.

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