Matt Gaetz: “By expanding American energy, expelling diplomats, and ensuring that the United States takes its position in the world…”

“By expanding American energy, expelling diplomats, and ensuring that the United States takes its position in the world, President Trump has been tougher on Russia than any President in a generation. But the fact remains that the Russian military attacked the U.S. election. And so it would seem reasonable that, along with the Department of Homeland Security, the FBI, and the CIA, we would want the United States military offering the full suite of capabilities, both offensive and defensive, to combat Russian election interference. Today, the House Armed Services Committee held a classified briefing on the U.S. military and their participation in this critical mission. I was deeply disappointed in what I learned. The U.S. military is not sufficiently engaged or informed on critical aspects of the Russian election interference campaign. They don't even know which two Florida counties were hacked. And when DOD sent 11 people to go work with the Department of Homeland Security to have the full suite of authorities available to respond to Russia, they were told they weren't needed. Russia has a whole-of-government approach to this problem, and I would urge us to work in a bipartisan way in the Defense Authorization Act to ensure that we are ready with our full authorities to defeat Russia and their efforts to interfere with our election. ____________________”