WASHINGTON – U.S. Senator Jim Risch (R-Idaho), chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, today gave the following opening remarks at a full committee nominations hearing. Witnesses included Mr. Joel Rayburn to be assistant secretary of State for near Eastern affairs, and Mr. Chris Pratt to be assistant secretary of State for political-military affairs, and The Honorable Michael DeSombre to be assistant secretary of State for East Asian and Pacific affairs.
Chairman Risch gave the following remarks:
“I want to thank our nominees and their families for being here today and particularly for your willingness to serve. Your efforts are sorely needed as America faces threats from around the world every single day.
“In the Middle East, tensions are high. Hezbollah remains a disruptive presence to the real possibility for reform in Lebanon. Lebanon has moved forward substantially but there is still Hezbollah presence and they’re working on it. Baghdad must disarm Iranian-backed militias. We are all hoping to see change out of Al Sharaa’s government in Syria, and there is an opportunity to isolate Iran, reinforce our Gulf and Israeli partners, and permanently roll back Iranian influence.
“Mr. Rayburn, as Assistant Secretary for Near East Asia, you’ll be integral in helping President Trump and Secretary Rubio as they work to secure a more stable Middle East for a safer America. President Trump has committed to isolating Iran, the root of all problems in the region. His maximum pressure is working. As Assistant Secretary, I hope you’ll work to ensure that, above all else, Iran never possesses a nuclear weapon and that you’ll work with our allies to continue supporting our friend, Israel.
“America also faces challenges in Europe. Over the last decade and particularly the last 3 years, Putin’s aggression has created the largest security crisis in Europe since the Second World War.
President Trump is working diligently to help bring an end to this conflict, and we need to continue to work with our European allies to confront the security challenges facing Europe.
“Mr. Pratt, when you take the helm as assistant secretary for Political-Military Affairs, you’ll need to work with our allies in Europe, Asia, Latin America, and beyond to counter our shared adversaries. It’s no secret that hostile powers have formed an authoritarian axis bent on weakening the United States. Arms sales help us collaborate with partners as we confront these authoritarian actors. This administration has prioritized addressing the bureaucratic delays and burdensome regulations plaguing our foreign military sales process. I hope you will work to reform the PM Bureau so we can provide our closest allies with the weapons they need faster than what we have been doing.
“China will present a particular challenge to you. Its military is rapidly modernizing, its shipbuilding capacity makes us look weak, and its development of dual-use artificial intelligence is growing more advanced by the day. In this dangerous security environment, we and our allies need to help ourselves by improving burden sharing, increasing defense spending, and building joint capabilities.
“The Chinese government also aggressively encroaches on its neighbors’ territory and wields its large economy—backed by state subsidies and IP theft—to gain unfair advantages. China’s united front actors undertake malign influence operations that seek to bend countries around the world to the CCP’s will.
“Mr. Desombre, as assistant secretary for East Asian and Pacific Affairs, I look forward to hearing how you will oversee changes in the EAP Bureau to position it to counter China’s aggression. If we don’t, China’s malign influence will only continue to spread.
“I’d like to thank you all again for being here with us today, for your willingness to serve and your families willingness to help you serve. We have moved a number of nominees through our committee this year, and I look forward to the three of you joining their ranks.”
These remarks have been lightly edited for clarity. Witness testimony is available on foreign.senate.gov.
###