Virginia Democratic Sen. Tim Kaine praised President Donald Trump’s NATO nominee, saying during a Senate confirmation hearing Thursday that he was ready to get her confirmed as quickly as possible.
Kaine applauded Trump’s decision to nominate former Texas GOP Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison during her Senate Foreign Relations Committee confirmation, expressing his earlier concerns about Trump’s views and comments on NATO. Kaine said that Hutchison’s nomination sends a signal that the NATO relationship is an important one to the Trump administration.
“I was very, very worried in the early days of this administration to hear the president basically suggest that Russia wasn’t doing wrong, but also to say that NATO was obsolete,” Kaine told Hutchison. “I don’t think the administration would have asked somebody of your qualification if they didn’t mean to send a signal that whatever the earlier statements or thoughts about NATO, there is now a commitment.”
“We are beefing up defenses for an aggressive Russia,” Hutchison said, adding that she supports lawmakers considering new sanctions on Russia in response to its cyberattacks on the U.S. and its allies. “I think that Congress is doing the right thing.” (RELATED: Tim Kaine: Russia Investigation ‘Potentially’ Moving Toward ‘Treason’ [VIDEO])
“Russian disinformation campaigns and malign influence activities targeting NATO Allies and Partners seek to undermine Western democratic institutions and principles, and sow disunity in longstanding transatlantic bonds,” Hutchison said. “I hope to represent the integrity of American commitments.”
Hutchinson made it clear that her goal is to serve the U.S. as a reliable ally and respected enemy.
“To be a formidable enemy, we must be a reliable ally,” Hutchinson said. “I want America to be both.”
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