I sent a letter stating that I would not support moving any nominees complicit in the horrific treatment of U.S. diplomats in China during COVID-19.

It is going to be never. You guys are dreaming over there if this is what you are waiting for.

Hope is not a strategy.

We are not going to outcompete China with our personnel sitting behind Embassy walls. They need to get out.

It is ironclad as long as they do what we tell them to do.

We are all full of hope. But unfortunately, the history that we have had with these two countries is very, very discouraging.

you are being too tough on ITAR. ITAR is really, really important when you are trying to withhold secrets from Russia, and China, and others.

I want to ask you about that.

Do we support in their ambition to eliminate Hamas?

Nobody has said anything to me. I turned on TV set. And there it is that somebody has made a decision that countermands the agreement that we made.

For deterrence to be credible, it must be backed up by capability and political will to follow through on the threat.

Can you confirm that the Bureau of Diplomatic Security suspended Mr. Malley's clearance because he improperly transferred classified U.S. Government information?

They admitted they have.

Can you give me just a--I do not want a blah, blah, blah, answer.

It is going to be never. You guys are dreaming over there if this is what you are waiting for.

Our experts on the ground should make these decisions, not folks sitting 5,000 miles away in Washington.

It appears to many of us that the Department under President Biden is more concerned with pursuing its own arbitrary DEI goals than results focused efforts to modernize its operations and work force.

I have never agreed with every decision made by any Administration since I have been in the U.S. Senate on every issue.