Senator Schmitt Defends Trump Administration’s American Realism Foreign Policy Approach in Senate Armed Services Committee

Schmitt Allows Nominee for Deputy Under Secretary of War for Policy to Address Claims Pertaining to DOW's Policy Office

WASHINGTON - Today, during a Senate Armed Services Committee hearing, U.S. Senator Eric Schmitt (R-MO) reiterated his strong support for the Office of the Under Secretary of War for Policy and praised its work in advancing President Trump's America First agenda:

Watch Senator Schmitt's full line of questioning HERE

"Mr. Chairman, let me just say, from the outset, […] I've watched the evolution of some of the criticism [against] this administration and particular actors, and I think much of the criticism - which is cloaked in terms of transparency and communication - really is just an effort to undermine a shift in our foreign policy orientation, which I support, to realism, as opposed to some of the failed points of view that have dominated permanent Washington over the last thirty years. That's how I see it. Now people can disagree. That's how I see it," Senator Schmitt said during his opening remarks.

Senator Schmitt on President Trump's America First Foreign Policy Agenda:

Senator Schmitt: "So, the point of my questions, Mr. Velez-Green, that I want to ask you - in recent months, there has been speculation and criticism aimed at Under Secretary of War [Elbridge] Colby and his team - much of it anonymous, misleading, and divorced from reality. Some have suggested that the policy office [at the Department of War] is freelancing or undermining the President's agenda. Nothing could be further from the truth. These attacks don't reflect a policy dispute as much as a resistance from those invested in maintaining a foreign policy status quo that has repeatedly failed the American people. I think it's important to set the record straight. The job of the policy arm of the Pentagon is to provide informed recommendations to the decision makers in the chain of command - President Trump and Secretary Hegseth. In no way are they undermining the President, the Secretary or the administration's defense policy objectives. On the contrary, these are professionals who translate the President's directives into cohesive strategies and generate the forces to achieve them. You've been in this business for a while; I want to give you an opportunity to speak for yourself. But there's been much about these tired tropes about isolationism, which is a joke […] What [the administration is doing] is refocusing on the homeland and the Indo Pacific. Do you think we should abandon NATO? What about the rest of Europe? Do you think we should abandon Europe?"

Mr. Alexander Velez-Green, Nominee to be Deputy Under Secretary of War for Policy: "No, Senator. In the strongest possible terms."

Senator Schmitt: "Okay. I think part of the discussion is - instead of just flowery rhetorical verses that have been spun for a while - Europe does need to step up more for their own defense. This conversation about burden sharing - people laughed at President Trump about this [in his first term] - but it's actually happening. This is good for us. It's good for Europe. But I think some people revel in the dependency that we have, essentially, subsidized [Europe's] socially liberal policy and their governments for far too long. Now, they are stepping up in a much more meaningful way. That is a positive development, again, for everybody. Mr. Velez-Green, I want to ask - you and Under Secretary Colby are working tirelessly to get this right. You're not making grand foreign policy pronouncements. You're certainly not disrupting the President's agenda. On the contrary, you're working hard to ask the tough questions that are necessary to lead this [American realist] strategy moving forward. Of course, the media is constantly coming after President Trump and his team for this policy shift. It's no surprise they're coming after you and your boss on aid to Ukraine or the relationship with Japan or the AUKUS review. We've even they've even claimed that you oppose sending a carrier to the Middle East for Operation Midnight Hammer. Would you like to say anything about these particular accusations?"

Mr. Velez-Green: "Senator, I would just offer that the reporting on each of those episodes was inaccurate, and I believe, in at least a couple of them the complete opposite. For instance, the article with respect to the Under Secretary's alleged position about forces to support Operation Midnight Hammer was the opposite of reality. I categorically - a few moments ago - stated that reporting that policy ordered or even recommended a pause in shipments of weapons to Ukraine was inaccurate, without any caveats. That remains my position […] There's paper trails for most of this. This is not conjecture."

Senator Schmitt: "The last question in the time they have remaining - I've heard consternation from someone on the other side of the dais that focusing on the homeland is sort of a taboo topic and unimaginable. Somehow our focus on the homeland precludes us from focusing on the Indo-Pacific. Would you like to address this false claim?"

Mr. Velez Green: "Senator, we've been directed to do both, and that is exactly what we are doing from a force management perspective, as we think about developing forces to support the strategy handed down by the Secretary in line with the President's intent. I would also offer that - and I think very sensitive to a question earlier - there is not a belief that to do these things, we have to abandon the rest of the world. I think actually doing that, would be counterproductive because we do have interest in the rest of the world, in the simultaneity problem that Senator Rounds and others have spoken about, that is real. So, we do need to stay engaged, I think, in very important and critical ways in Europe and in the Middle East, alongside allies and partners who are stepping up. That is, I believe, how we can achieve enduring peace through strength."

Senator Schmitt: "Thank you. Thank you, Mr. Chairman."

###