Daines on Fox News: “Trump Nominees Batting A Thousand”

• January 15, 2025

Discusses Israel / Hamas Ceasefire Deal, Trump's Nominees, Foreign Policy Under Trump

U.S. SENATE - U.S. Senator Steve Daines today joined Sandra Smith on Fox News Channelto discuss the ceasefire in Gaza, President Trump's nominees and what to expect with President Trump and future Secretary of State Marco Rubio in office.

Watch Daines' interview HERE.

Daines on the Israel / Hamas Ceasefire Deal:

This is no coincidence. Remember what President Trump said in early December: that there will be hell to pay if these hostages aren't released by the time he's inaugurated. We are five days away from President Trump's inauguration. This is another example of peace through strength. I give credit to Prime Minister Netanyahu, his maximum pressure campaign against Hamas, as well as Hezbollah, and then you take President Trump-the footsteps are being heard right now by Hamas. There's one thing the Middle East understands, and that's force. That's strength. This is not a coincidence. They are seeing that President Trump will be in the Oval Office and it can't come soon enough. And it can't come soon enough-on January 20. And that is why you're seeing Hamas come to the table and actually acting on a proposal that's been there since last May.

Daines on Trump's Nominee Hearings:

Stepping back here with Pete Hegseth yesterday and the nominees today, Trump's nominees are batting a thousand. And as I told President Trump two years ago, when I went down to Mar-a-Lago as chairman of the Republican Senatorial Committee to make sure we got the majority back, you're seeing this playing out. Great nominees from President Trump combined with a Republican majority in the U.S. Senate, it's this team ball that's working out. They're batting a thousand. And, today, on the Foreign Relations Committee, we have Senator Marco Rubio. There's not a better pick for Secretary of State. He had 12 years on the Foreign Relations Committee, and understands foreign policy as well as anybody in the U.S. Senate. He has just done a great job today. Very proud to support Marco Rubio. Pam Bondi has done a great job in front of the Judiciary, Chris Wright a great job today in front of the Energy Natural Resources Committee. Again, President Trump picking these all-star candidates to be in his Cabinet, it ought to be lifting the spirits of the American people. They are going to be confirmed and we will be off the races here in late January.

Daines on the Incoming Trump Administration's Foreign Policy:

This is a team that has moral clarity, particularly on the issue of Israel and Iran. We don't have to stutter about our support for Israel, knowing who the good guys are and the bad guys are. There's a lot of parallels here, Sandra, to what happened back in 1980. President Reagan was elected. It was 1981 when those 53 U.S. hostages, American hostages in Iran, were released after President Reagan took office. You kind of see this coming again. In this case, it's an Iranian terror proxy, Hamas, holding both Americans and Israelis hostage. It's just kind of remarkable. History repeats itself. You bring a new leader to the stage, the world stage, the world order is starting to shift and President Trump still has five days before he's sworn into office.

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You remember, when President Trump left office, he had the Abraham Accords, one of the great breakthroughs in the Middle East in terms of restoring peace to the Middle East. We're on the verge of working with the Saudis, normalizing relationships with the Israelis. This happened under President Trump's watch four years ago. And now with President Trump and Marco Rubio's leadership and a Republican Senate, I'm optimistic. And, again, there's one thing that the Middle East understands is strength. And President Trump brings strength. Marco Rubio brings strength in the Middle East with the force of the U.S. military to make sure they know we're not messing around. When President Trump said, there's all "hell to pay" to Hamas if they don't release those hostages, they take that seriously, as they should. That's why you're seeing them taking action as we speak.

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Contact: Matt Lloyd, Rachel Dumke