Brian Mast Counters Dems Who Say China Will Fill Some Programs Cancelled By The US: 'Didn't Save Lives'

Forbes Breaking News

At a House Foreign Affairs Committee hearing on Wednesday, Rep. Brian Mast (R-FL) spoke to Sec. Marco Rubio about his time at the State Department.

Transcript

00:00I'm now going to recognize myself for a brief opening statement.

00:04Secretary Rubio, I want to start by thanking you for your attendance today.

00:08Since day one, President Trump and yourself, you've taken bold action to clean house,

00:14to restore accountability, to slash waste, and to put America and Americans first.

00:19And I would say that this was desperately needed.

00:22In the past two decades alone, the State Department's budget grew from about $9.5 billion

00:29to over $55 billion.

00:32And I think we could all easily say for what.

00:34In any way, shape, or form, did our foreign policy feel like it was five times more effective

00:40under Joe Biden?

00:41I think everybody would say no.

00:43Instead, we had a State Department that was literally a slush fund for many far-left bureaucrats,

00:50grifting non-government organizations and foreign adversaries like the Taliban.

00:54We had our tax dollars going to things like vouchers for migrants at our southern border,

01:00mobilizing elderly lesbians to vote in Costa Rica, as well as drag shows and LGBT comic books,

01:07musicals, plays, and operas.

01:09That stuff was not PEPFAR, to say the least.

01:13It didn't make America safer.

01:15It didn't make America stronger.

01:17It didn't bring other countries closer to us.

01:19And it didn't save lives.

01:20Now, many of my colleagues might think that canceling these programs creates an inroad

01:26for China.

01:27And I would say that we could only hope that China is stupid enough to spend money in that

01:33way.

01:34I want to thank this administration for bringing charges against those who, it appears, were

01:39stealing from the State Department and USAID, and in turn, the American people.

01:43And I want to thank you, Secretary Rubio, for reorganizing the State Department into a lean

01:49and effective diplomatic operation.

01:52Let's give proof of that.

01:53Just this past week alone, President Trump secured more than $2 trillion of investment

02:00from the Middle East.

02:02That is more than 10 times what Joe Biden secured from the Middle East during his entire four years

02:08in the White House, which is not entirely surprising, considering under the Biden State Department,

02:14there was millions spent on programs like trans inclusion in Tunisia.

02:18That was the focus in the Middle East.

02:20Now, as you know, Secretary Rubio, the job is not done up until now.

02:24Over 80% of the State Department has been unauthorized.

02:29We have bureaus and offices that have grown from thousands of dollars to billions of dollars.

02:34And that changes in law when we pass the first comprehensive and standalone State Department

02:40reauthorization that has occurred since 2002.

02:44I look forward to working with the members of this committee.

02:47I look forward to working with you, Secretary Rubio.

02:49And I look forward to working with Senator Risch moving forward to make sure that one thing

02:54and one thing alone takes place.

02:56Every single dollar and diplomat that we authorize and send into the field puts America first.

03:04In that, I would now like to recognize Ranking Member Meeks for any opening statement that he may have.

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