Michael Waltz

It's clear that this budget fails to invest in the capabilities required to deter conflict and, if necessary, to win the next war. I refuse to support it.

I don't understand how this administration can conclude that making the size of our fleet even smaller will somehow deter China.

We have a system that's 25 years in the making and still not sustained and ready.

The Chinese Communist Party will believe they have overmatch within the next 5 to 7 years.

The concerns here are bipartisan and the concerns here are longstanding.

I think what we are asking is if this doesn't work, we plow ahead and it doesn't work--as you hope it will particularly with new IT systems being developed as well, we know how government IT goes--what is the backup plan?

The decision to close Red Hill has absolutely forced and I think accelerated the larger conversation about operational requirements for fuel in the region

We have to really start taking meaningful actions so that surge and sustainment sealift is ready to deliver

Our ability to confront future adversaries absolutely and fundamentally depends on sealift, airlift, and ground logistics

Ukrainians don't want to be trained on the weapon systems that we're providing them?

It was a policy decision to vacate the Black Sea?

I mean, saying that our Asian allies are unified after Taipei is leveled, we need to apply these lessons and these failures and lessons learned on what failed up front.

I think we need to recognize, and we need to do so in a very clear-eyed way, that deterrence did fail, the fact that we have cities that are now leveled.

Do you believe further sanctions, such as prohibiting U.S. Government contracts to businesses in the supply chain of Putin's war machine, would further cripple their ability to carry-on offensive operations and air and missile strikes?

I think we're seeing a theme here that we need to be very, very careful of as we move forward and that a fear of escalation could actually invite the escalation from the other side.

I think we owe that to the Ukrainians and we owe that honest assessment to ourselves.

Would you characterize that as over the horizon?

The President of the United States has cited the over-the-horizon strategy.

Are we still reliant on Pakistan for overflight of our ISR assets?

I am in my district saying, 'The administration says we can do this,' even though, as a special operator, I know better.

I just hope those solutions will be in place before we transition a fleet and find ourselves vulnerable.

We produce oil and gas here in the United States. Those supply lines are secure.

I worry that the Chinese control 90 percent of the world's lithium, cobalt, graphite.

I mean, the Germans have gotten religion. We should, too.

What steps are you taking? What steps is the Department taking to eliminate or at least significantly reduce our European bases from our addiction to Russian gas?