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Mazie Hirono Questions Trump Nominees If They've Ever Committed Sexual Harassment
Forbes Breaking News
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4/29/2025
At today's Senate Armed Services Committee hearing, Sen. Mazie Hirono (D-HI) questioned pending Trump Administration nominees.
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00:00
Thank you very much, Senator Budd. Senator Hirono.
00:04
Thank you, Mr. Chairman. Welcome to both of you and your families.
00:08
Going to the fitness to serve question, I ask the following two initial
00:12
questions of all nominees before any of the committees
00:16
on which I sit. So I will ask you to start with
00:20
Mr. Cadenazi. Since you became a legal
00:24
adult, have you ever made unwanted requests for sexual favors
00:28
or committed any verbal or physical harassment or
00:32
assault of a sexual nature? No. Mr.
00:36
Rapano? No. Have you ever faced discipline
00:40
or entered into a settlement relating to this kind of conduct?
00:44
No. No. For Mr. Cadenazi.
00:48
I championed a provision in last year's NDAA that
00:52
created a program focused on advanced manufacturing
00:56
capabilities in the Indo-Pacific to more quickly
01:00
construct unmanned systems and
01:02
parts for ships and
01:04
submarine repairs. And this
01:06
program is essential to bolstering
01:08
deterrence in the
01:10
region. DOD and the services
01:12
have always struggled to coordinate
01:14
industrial-based modernization
01:16
efforts. How do you plan to
01:18
foster greater integration
01:20
across the services
01:22
for this important program?
01:26
Senator, I appreciate the question. This is a critical
01:28
issue. Hawaii represents a
01:30
significant portion of the organic industrial
01:32
base and our broader defense industrial
01:34
base. There are many tools
01:36
we have to bring
01:38
alignment across the industrial
01:40
base initiatives that are there and the groups that are
01:42
responsible for it. The first thing
01:44
is leadership. That is
01:46
the wherewithal to go ahead and get
01:48
into the weeds. The macro issues, I think
01:50
thankfully there's a substantial number of
01:52
authorities and resources available that are
01:54
made available by the Congress over time
01:56
to the DOD to take action on these issues.
01:58
At the micro level we need to get into
02:00
the details to understand where
02:02
individual organizations
02:04
may not be getting it with regards
02:06
to the opportunities here. In particular
02:08
the new, I think
02:10
acquisition and industrial base executive
02:12
order does a good job to highlight
02:14
the acquisition personnel to
02:16
workforce training initiatives and things
02:18
that we can do to go ahead and drive more understanding
02:20
into the leaders at the tactical level
02:22
who need to make decisions to invest
02:24
in the integration of the industrial base.
02:26
I hope that you will focus
02:28
on this aspect
02:30
of what we need to do because I know you
02:32
are aware that Indo-Pacific is the
02:34
largest AORR
02:36
and we need to provide flexibilities when the
02:38
ships are out to sea
02:40
and they need to have flexibility
02:42
and repair and doing all the things that
02:44
will keep them going. So
02:46
I hope that you visit Hawaii
02:48
and see for yourself the capabilities
02:50
that we need to strengthen.
02:52
Again, for you,
02:54
I have met with small businesses
02:56
in the past as they struggle
02:58
to comply
03:00
with the requirements
03:02
to meet the cybersecurity
03:04
maturity model
03:06
certification
03:08
requirements and it's pretty complicated
03:10
and they have a hard time
03:12
complying as I said. So
03:14
I am prioritizing a provision in this
03:16
year's NDAA that would require
03:18
the DoD to provide additional
03:20
support and
03:22
innovative tools for small businesses
03:24
to ensure that they are aligned
03:26
with DoD's
03:28
CM&C requirements.
03:30
Allowing them to save money
03:32
and
03:34
continue to contribute to diversifying
03:36
the defense industrial base
03:38
that you are very focused on
03:40
strengthening. What are your
03:42
thoughts on the provision
03:44
that would require DoD to provide more
03:46
assistance to small businesses to
03:48
enable them to work with you all?
03:50
Senator, this is a critical topic
03:52
and it has been a bit of a roadblock
03:54
for small businesses over time.
03:56
It's great that you're bringing this issue up.
03:58
Within the small business office,
04:00
within the industrial-based policy office,
04:02
there's a program called Project Spectrum
04:04
to go out to small businesses
04:06
that are operating the defense sector
04:08
to help them go ahead and get the
04:10
resources and understanding and analysis
04:12
they need to accelerate and reduce the
04:14
cost of their compliance with CMMC.
04:16
If confirmed, I'm eager to work with you
04:18
on this provision, your proposals going
04:20
forward. I think anything we can do to
04:22
streamline the requirements while also
04:24
ensuring a more robust and resilient
04:26
security base for our cyber infrastructure
04:28
is a critical opportunity for the department
04:30
and we should look at that.
04:32
should you be confirmed as I believe
04:34
you will be that I would like
04:36
to work with you on how we can better
04:40
strengthen this part of our supply chain
04:42
because without our small businesses,
04:44
many of whom are dropping out of working
04:46
with the DoD for a number of reasons
04:48
including complying with the security requirements.
04:52
So this is something that I would want to be
04:54
very specific in following up with you.
04:56
One more question for you. The COVID-19
05:00
pandemic and geopolitical competition
05:04
with China has exposed the deep fragilities
05:08
in the U.S. defense supply chain as we
05:10
mentioned. So for example, we remain heavily
05:13
reliant on foreign sources for critical
05:16
earth elements. So what steps do you plan to take to
05:20
address this significant issue?
05:24
Senator, I appreciate the question.
05:26
The issue of access to raw materials,
05:28
rare earths in particular, is one that is
05:30
particularly challenging.
05:32
The industrial price policy office has invested
05:34
over $540 million in the past on these topics.
05:38
I think we need to accelerate and invigorate those investments
05:40
but also align them to the most critical
05:42
and impactful opportunities that will have
05:44
the most impact on our most critical
05:46
and near-term needs.
05:48
Whether that's munitions, lethality,
05:50
or readiness.
05:52
We should make those decisions and those investments
05:54
promptly and get them moving so we can see
05:56
the impact as soon as possible.
05:58
If confirmed, I look forward to looking at you on that issue.
06:00
Thank you. Thank you, Mr. Chairman.
06:02
Thank you, Senator.
Recommended
2:35
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