Chris Murphy

We have a major advantage in dealing with Venezuela, that there is a broad multilateral coalition working to promote democracy in Venezuela.

The United States put in less money this year than we did last year, which is not exactly helping the situation.

By no metric can anyone suggest that President Trump's policy in Venezuela was a success.

This is Maduro's game is to sort of entertain hopes of reform, stringing the international community and the United States along with, you know, nothing to be found at the end of the rainbow.

I have believed for a while that the United States should be engaged in this policy as a way to relieve humanitarian suffering inside the country.

I hope that when you are confirmed you will see the value of the GEC and fund it properly...

I feel that the disinformation efforts led by China, Russia, and Iran are a very dangerous threat...

If confirmed, I will pursue tight interagency coordination to support Ukraine's chosen Euro-Atlantic path...

It is still incredibly important for us to view this as a multi-systemic effort that... we also have to be equally focused on supporting their economy, supporting their political reform agenda.

I believe we can be working on Iran's malign influence at the same time that we are having these conversations about the nuclear problem.

I look forward to building a working relationship with you.

I do think that there is some argument to sequence here, and I will continue to make that argument on this committee.

Let me just quickly associate myself with a few comments and lines of questioning from other members on the committee.

First, let me join with Senator Young in recommending that you play a forceful role at the DFC with respect to increasing their capability to be able to finance projects abroad.

I hope there will be sane voices and I hope you will be one of those.

The European Union never recognized Guaido. Individual member states of the European Union recognized Guaido.

I think we should pursue some congressional reforms to the Accountability Review Board process to make people less fearful of punitive action and more willing to learn from mistakes.

The risk tolerance in State is fundamentally different than the risk tolerance we have in the Department of Defense, and I think that is a mistake.

It has been going on forever. There is nothing good that is going to come out of our involvement.

I think there is an argument to be made that in this case the sanctions may have, ultimately, accrued to the benefit of Maduro to the detriment of Venezuelan citizens.

Maduro is still in power. Russia, China, and Cuba are more deeply involved in Venezuela.

The President of the National Assembly, in the absence of the President or a legitimate president, ultimately is recognized as the interim president of Venezuela.

I think the Maximum Pressure campaign was built on a fantasy, this idea that we could have a comprehensive negotiation where the Iranians would come to the table on everything all at once.

How do we get the State Department out of its bunker?

We are not a perfect nation. We have been flawed from the beginning. We are always seeking perfection.