Pete Ricketts: “This amendment is very simple. It is less than 150 words long. So I ask that you take some time to consider it. What it…”

“This amendment is very simple. It is less than 150 words long. So I ask that you take some time to consider it. What it does is ask the administration to check in with our allies in the Middle East--Iraq, Saudi Arabia, Israel, UAE--and let them know what we are doing with this amendment. I agree in principle that we ought not let these things hang out there for 20 years, but I am concerned about the timing because, in my trip to the Middle East last month, what I heard from our allies is that it looks like we are withdrawing from the Middle East. And what that does is it emboldens Iran, it emboldens China, and it encourages our allies in the Middle East to start looking to hedge their bets from America and start, maybe, bringing in the Chinese as part of their security arrangements. And I think that is bad for our country, and, certainly, I think we can all agree we do not want China to be leading a world order here; that the United States is the best for providing peace and prosperity. What this amendment does is just ask the administration to check in with our allies, issue a report back to Congress, and, in 30 days after Congress, then the AUMF would expire. So I just ask that everybody please consider that. With that I yield back. The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from Virginia.”