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Lieutenant General Joshua Rudd Nomination
00:03:47
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| Nominees to head the National Security Agency, U.S. Southern Command, and other agencies testified before the Senate Armed Services Committee as part of their confirmation hearings. | ||
| During the two-hour, 15-minute hearing, nominees spoke about U.S. actions in Venezuela, cybersecurity, and refusing illegal orders. | ||
| The committee will come to order. | ||
| The committee meets today to consider two nominations. | ||
| We will speak with Lieutenant General Joshua Rudd, who's been nominated to be commander of the United States Cyber Command, Director of the National Security Agency, and commander of the Central Security Service. | ||
| We will also consider the nomination of Lieutenant General Frank Donovan to be the commander of the United States Southern Command. | ||
| I welcome our nominees and their families, and I'd like to extend my gratitude for their continued willingness to serve our nation. | ||
| If confirmed, Lieutenant General Rudd will assume command of an organization that's been without a Senate-confirmed leader since April of last year. | ||
| U.S. Cyber Command is our first and last line of defense in the cyber domain. | ||
| It is largely invisible to the American people, but every day, men and women of Cyber Command defend the U.S. from attacks by our adversaries. | ||
| This is not a theoretical threat. | ||
| This is an ongoing fight occurring right now, even as we speak. | ||
| Our adversaries intend to move against us in the cyber domain. | ||
| And they're investing in technology that makes their aggression increasingly difficult to detect, to defend against, and to deter. | ||
| We see this challenge manifesting in the homeland where our critical infrastructure remains vulnerable to sophisticated attacks. | ||
| We see it globally, where there's still a great deal of work to do to posture Cyber Command for a fight in the Indo-Pacific. | ||
| This is vital work, as General Kaine made clear in public following the events in Venezuela. | ||
| Our American cyber operators performed their job excellently and kept their fellow service members safe. | ||
| I look forward to hearing from Lieutenant General Rudd about how his experiences will inform his plans for Cyber Command as he takes the helm during this critical time. | ||
| Lieutenant General Donovan has been nominated to serve as the commander of U.S. Southern Command. | ||
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Adversaries in South America
00:03:35
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| His nomination comes as the region experiences a dramatic increase in operational tempo. | ||
| The threats we face here are significant and close to home. | ||
| South American cartels traffic drugs that kill more than 100,000 Americans annually. | ||
| These networks are not only criminal enterprises, but are sophisticated, well-armed actors that undermine regional stability, fuel violence, and directly harm public safety in American communities. | ||
| Three of our greatest adversaries, Russia, China, and Iran, are coordinating to counter U.S. commercial, political, and security interests in South America. | ||
| They are also They're doing so under our noses. | ||
| Together, they exploit corruption and they partner with authoritarian regimes in the Western Hemisphere, hoping to gain strategic economic success, intelligence footholds, and political leverage close to U.S. territory. | ||
| Across South America, the Chinese influence threatens U.S. interest by controlling critical infrastructure, telecommunication system, and ports. | ||
| China has used large-scale purchases of critical materials such as copper, oil, and lithium, to deepen economic dependence and to limit U.S. access. | ||
| China has also successfully persuaded multiple countries in the region to switch diplomatic recognition from Taiwan to the People's Republic of China. | ||
| This would chip away at Taiwan's international standing. | ||
| Most troubling, China has expanded defense cooperation with arms sales, police training, and space and cyber partnerships, all to the detriment of our country. | ||
| Similarly, Russia has deepened security relations with authoritarian regimes in Venezuela, Nicaragua, and Cuba. | ||
| Putin is selling arms, providing military advisors, and expanding intelligence operation, all in exchange for permission to deploy Russian military aircraft and naval vessels in the region. | ||
| Moscow has exploited local corruption to access the global financial system to evade U.S. sanctions and to sustain its brutal campaign against the Ukrainian people. | ||
| Iran has long used Hezbollah and affiliated networks in parts of South Africa to help with fundraising, with money laundering, and with illicit trafficking. | ||
| These moves help fuel their terrorism operations around the world. | ||
| So we have a lot to talk about today. | ||
| It's clear our adversaries in South America represent a direct threat to our interests. | ||
| It's time we restore U.S. primacy in our own neighborhood. | ||
| I fully support the ongoing efforts of the Trump administration to pursue tougher counter-drug strategies. | ||
| I commend our troops for carrying out an almost perfectly executed operation to capture Venezuelan President Nicolas Madura and Celia Flores and to bring them to the United States to face justice for narco-terrorism and drug trafficking charges. | ||
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Inspiring Leadership in Defense
00:13:58
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| These actions send a clear signal to Russia, China, and Iran and to the authoritarian regimes in South America who give them a foothold in our hemisphere. | ||
| The United States is ready, willing, and capable of protecting our interests, especially those closest to home. | ||
| And so I look forward to hearing from Lieutenant General Donovan about his plans to lead Southern Command in restoring American deterrence and ensuring we have the right blend of military and economic effects across South America and the Caribbean. | ||
| With that, I turn to my colleague, Ranking Member Reid. | ||
| Well, thank you very much, Mr. Chairman, and let me welcome General Donovan and General Rudd. | ||
| Thank you, gentlemen, for your distinguished service to the nation. | ||
| I also want to thank you for stepping forward to assume these very critical jobs at a very, very difficult moment. | ||
| Also, let me extend my appreciation to your families who have been with you every step of the way and will continue to support you in these difficult tasks. | ||
| I think we have to start first, though, with addressing the unusual conditions around your nominations. | ||
| General Donovan, your predecessor, Admiral Alvin Holsey, served as commander of Southcom for less than one year before his unexpected resignation last fall amid the U.S. military buildup in the region. | ||
| General Rudd, your predecessor, General Timothy Hawke, served as commander of Cybercom for less than two years before he was fired by President Trump for no apparent reason other than the reported urgings of a right-wing conspiracy theorist. | ||
| Indeed, in less than one year in office, President Trump and Secretary Hickseth have fired or pushed into early retirement more than a dozen three- and four-star generals and admirals, in addition to hundreds, if not thousands, of military service members who have been pushed out for dubious reasons. | ||
| I'd like to take a moment at this time to salute Admiral Holsey and General Hawke, who each served this nation honorably for three and a half decades and led their fellow sailors, soldiers, airmen, Marines, and guardians with dedication and skill. | ||
| General Donovan, if confirmed as commander of U.S. Southern Command, you will immediately be placed in a challenging situation. | ||
| Over the past six months, the Trump administration has surged massive military force into the Southcom area of responsibility, including the USS Gerald R. Ford Carrier Strike Group, the Iwo Jima Amphibious Radio Group, the 22nd Marine Expeditionary Unit, attack submarines, P-8 Poseidon aircraft, Aegis destroyers, and fleets of fighter aircraft, among many other platforms. | ||
| The administration claimed for months that the force was intended for its NACO trafficking boat strike campaign, which has killed 125 people in the Caribbean and Pacific. | ||
| However, as my colleagues and I warned from the beginning, it appeared that the buildup was intended eventually for some expedition into Venezuela. | ||
| That buildup culminated with the military raid in Caracas two weeks ago. | ||
| The operation itself was perfectly executed and a true testament to American military capability. | ||
| Every American should be proud of our service members and glad that Nicolas Maduro, a brutal dictator who destroyed his country, is gone. | ||
| But military capability is not the same as strategic wisdom. | ||
| The aftermath of this operation is still very uncertain and could have enormous impacts on the region and the United States. | ||
| It is unclear if military attacks on NACO trafficking boats will continue or if the sole focus will now be on interdicting tankers carrying Venezuelan oil. | ||
| There is also no clear answer on how long this enormous buildup of U.S. military assets will remain in the Caribbean. | ||
| Finally, I have seen no credible contingency plans for the possible collapse of the Venezuelan government and the violence and potential American military involvement that would follow such a collapse. | ||
| General Donovan, if confirmed, you will lead American forces in this tenuous environment. | ||
| I am interested in how you plan to approach the immediate issues facing Southcom. | ||
| In addition, Southcom has long faced resource constraints while contending with growing strategic competition from China and Russia, nations that have gained influence through investments in strategic locations throughout South America. | ||
| Southcom now has an enormous set of resources, but they do not seem to be postured for threats from near-peer competitors. | ||
| I'd like to know how you would intend to manage this influx of assets, whether you believe they remain available, and if you believe they should be postured to counter narcotrafficking or the growing influence from China and Russia in the region. | ||
| General Rudd, you are nominated to be Commander of Cyber Command and Director of the National Security Agency. | ||
| I would note that the committee has waited nine months for your nomination and this hearing. | ||
| The men and women of Cybercom and the NSA are the finest in the world at what they do, and I want to commend them for their commitment and performance despite this uncertainty. | ||
| General, you have led a distinguished career as a special forces officer, and I thank you for that. | ||
| However, your background does not include expertise in cyber operations or signals intelligence, areas that are central to this dual command. | ||
| If confirmed, you would lead at a critical moment as we evolve the cyber force under CyberCom 2.0 while entering a window of vulnerability with China. | ||
| I would like to know what exposure you have had to cyber tools or signals intelligence during your time at SOCOM and IndoPaycom that have prepared you to lead the agency. | ||
| Finally, over the last decade, there has been a recurring debate over whether to sustain the dual hat arrangement, whereby the commander of CyberCom also serves as the director of the NSA. | ||
| Independent expert panels and this committee generally have concluded that the dual hat arrangement should be sustained. | ||
| I would welcome your thoughts on this issue. | ||
| Again, gentlemen, thank you for your service, your willingness to step forward. | ||
| Throughout your careers, you have demonstrated the character and the courage that is essential to leading, and I know you'll continue to demonstrate that character and courage. | ||
| Thank you, Mr. Chairman. | ||
| Thank you, Senator Reed. | ||
| Now, Lieutenant General Rudd, your opening statement, sir. | ||
| Chairman Wicker, Ranking Member Reed, and distinguished members of the committee, I am deeply honored and humbled to appear before you today as the nominee for commander, U.S. Cyber Command, Director of the National Security Agency, Chief, Central Security Service. | ||
| I want to thank President Trump, Secretary Hegseth, the Chairman, and the Chief of Staff of the Army for the nomination and their trust in me to lead this critical role in our national security apparatus. | ||
| I'm also honored to be alongside my friend and fellow warrior leader, Lieutenant General Frank Donovan. | ||
| I am the grandson of members of the greatest generation. | ||
| Both my grandfathers served during World War II. | ||
| I was raised by a single mother who I know is watching today from South Carolina. | ||
| My mother instilled the values of faith, family, strength, courage, and hard work. | ||
| And it was her upbringing that planted the seeds which have led to a life of service and the relentless pursuit of excellence in everything that I do. | ||
| I commissioned in the Army through ROTC at Furman University, where I met my lovely bride Annsley. | ||
| She has been with me and supported me in this adventure since the beginning. | ||
| Annsley, I'm eternally grateful for your love, strength, and support over the last three and a half decades. | ||
| You are, and always have been, the rock upon which our family finds stability and resilience. | ||
| Our two daughters, Hayden and Hollis, are also here with us today. | ||
| Hayden is a Congressional Fellow with the Senate Committee for Commerce, Science, and Transportation. | ||
| And Hollis is here from Texas, where she is a business professional working for a company that provides support to our service members, families, and veterans. | ||
| Thank you both for all the sacrifices you have made over the course of your upbringing. | ||
| You both inspire me to continue to serve and defend our American way of life. | ||
| I'd also like to recognize the selfless men and women I've served with throughout my career, both uniformed and civilian, and of course, an incredible non-commissioned officer corps. | ||
| Most importantly, I'd like to remember the many who have made the ultimate sacrifice for our great nation. | ||
| My journey as an Army officer started as a logistician, and as a captain, I transitioned to Special Forces. | ||
| When people learn of this, many remark, What an unlikely beginning to a career such as yours. | ||
| Unconventional. | ||
| Yes, unconventional in many ways. | ||
| However, it is this non-traditional path that has led to a rich experience as a joint warfighter at the forefront of our nation's most challenging problems. | ||
| This includes command of joint, combined, and interagency teams at various echelons in peacetime and in conflict, preventing attacks against our homeland, and delivering effects against our nation's adversaries in all domains. | ||
| For decades, I have had the opportunity to be a leader, consumer, enabler, generator, and integrator of the intelligence and operational capabilities of NSA and Cyber Command. | ||
| For the past six years, I have served in a variety of positions in the Indo-Pacific, where we are focused on the defense of the homeland, deterring adversaries, and strengthening alliances and partnerships in the region. | ||
| We do this through delivering combat-credible capabilities in all domains, and this certainly includes the cyber domain. | ||
| If confirmed, I'm prepared to lead these organizations as an integrated and essential team to rapidly deliver options and solutions to our nation's toughest security challenges at this critical time in our history. | ||
| Thank you for the privilege of appearing before you today. | ||
| If confirmed, I look forward to working with you, and I look forward to your questions today. | ||
| Thank you very much, Lieutenant General. | ||
| Now, Lieutenant General Donovan, you are recognized for your opening statement. | ||
| Good morning, Chairman Wicker, Ranking Member Reed, and distinguished members of this committee. | ||
| It's a true honor to appear before you today as a nominee to be the next commander of U.S. Southern Command. | ||
| I'm grateful to the President, Secretary, the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, and the Commandant of the Marine Corps for their trust and confidence in me for this nomination. | ||
| Privileged to be alongside Lieutenant General Josh Rudd, a friend and teammate for many years. | ||
| I'll start by recognizing Admiral Alvin Halsey and his wife, Dr. Stephanie Halsey, their 37 years of selfless service. | ||
| I also want to recognize Lieutenant General Evan Pettis, who is currently leading U.S. Southern Command. | ||
| Joining me today is Kim, my wife and best friend for over 32 years. | ||
| We met in the island of Crete in 1992, where we were both assigned to a small naval installation. | ||
| Service to our nation is in Kim's blood. | ||
| She was raised in a Navy family, or her father, a career Navy chaplain, served across the globe, including tours in Korea and Vietnam, during which he is awarded a Purple Heart. | ||
| A former Naval Officer, Kim's path of service makes her a passionate advocate for our military service members and their families. | ||
| Also with us today is our daughter, Sergeant Margaret Donovan, serving the Marine Corps Special Operations Command. | ||
| Our son, First Lieutenant Brennan Donovan, is an infantry officer serving in the West Coast. | ||
| He couldn't be here today. | ||
| He's attending a training course to become a reconnaissance Marine. | ||
| Also not with us today is our daughter-in-law, First Lieutenant Holly Beske, who's in her final weeks of flight school. | ||
| Kim and I are incredibly proud of Maggie, Brendan, and Holly, as they have not sought the ease your way, but the path less traveled by the few and the proud. | ||
| I'll take this opportunity to thank my parents, Frank and Martha Donovan, for the example of faith, family, and service. | ||
| Enlisting at 17, my father served 40 years in the Navy, retiring as Vice Admiral. | ||
| He and my mother raised eight children and 29 grandchildren. | ||
| Their legacy of service lives on today, with 23 of our family members having served or currently serving in the U.S. military. | ||
| In addition to my parents' example, I've been profoundly impacted by the dedication, professionalism, courage, and grit of the joint service members I've served with in every clime and place in peace and at war. | ||
| Their selfless example, and more specifically the actions and examples of the non-commissioned officers and the senior enlisted leaders I have served alongside, has shaped my approach to leadership, duty, and responsibility. | ||
| Over the past 37 years, I've operated in every geographic combatant command and had the honor to lead Marine Corps, Navy, Joint, and Special Operations forces across a spectrum of armed conflict from clandestine operations to high-intensity combat on land, air, and sea. | ||
| Most of these operations were conducted shoulder to shoulder with allies and partners. | ||
| Serving as the Vice Commander of U.S. Special Operations Command, I've developed budgeting, resourcing, audit skills, challenged and accelerated my vision of autonomous warfare, and developed close interagency and diplomatic relationships. | ||
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Commitment To Quick Decisive Actions
00:03:50
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| It is with this foundation that I approach U.S. Southern Command. | ||
| If confirmed, I'm fully committed to leading a warfighting headquarters capable of joint operations at range, speed, and scale. | ||
| I'll collaborate closely with regional allies and partners, fellow combatant commanders, and the joint staff to protect America's vital national interests, deter war, and if necessary, win them quickly and decisively. | ||
| If confirmed, I'll provide the Secretary and President candid and clear military advice, and I commit to remaining fully transparent with this committee. | ||
| I look forward to your questions today. | ||
| Thank you. | ||
| And thank you, General. | ||
| I appreciate your testimony on the part of both of you. | ||
| I will now ask you both a series of standard questions this committee poses to all military nominees. | ||
| And we found it's best if we just have a simple yes or no as your response. | ||
| To exercise its legislative and oversight responsibilities, it's important that this committee and other appropriate committees of the Congress be able to receive testimony, briefings, and other communications of information. | ||
| Have you adhered to applicable laws and regulations governing conflicts of interest? | ||
| Yes. | ||
| Do you agree when asked to give your personal views, even if those views differ from the administration in power? | ||
| Yes. | ||
| Have you assumed any duties or undertaken any actions which would appear to presume the outcome of the nomination process? | ||
| No. | ||
| No. | ||
| Will you ensure your staff compliance with deadlines established for requested communications, including questions for the record in hearings? | ||
| Yes. | ||
| Yes. | ||
| Will you cooperate in providing witnesses and briefers in response to congressional requests? | ||
| Yes. | ||
| Yes. | ||
| Will those witnesses be protected from reprisal for their testimony or briefings? | ||
| Yes. | ||
| Yes. | ||
| Do you agree, if confirmed, to appear and testify upon request before this committee? | ||
| Yes. | ||
| Yes. | ||
| Do you agree to provide documents, including copies of electronic forms of communication, in a timely manner when requested by a duly constituted committee, or to consult with the committee regarding the basis for any good faith delay or denial in providing such documents? | ||
| Yes. | ||
| Yes. | ||
| Thank you very much. | ||
| And now we will recognize each member of the committee who chooses to question you for some five minutes. | ||
| Let me begin by a quick yes or no question that we've been asking for some time now of nominees. | ||
| And I ask this because we are having some problems with implementation of last year's reconciliation bill. | ||
| Do you commit, General Donovan, to follow the Congress's spending recommendations and defense reconciliation unequivocally? | ||
| Yes. | ||
| And General Rudd? | ||
| Yes, Senator. | ||
| All right. | ||
| And then let me turn to you first, General Donovan. | ||
| We know what's happened in Venezuela. | ||
|
AI and Strategic Balance
00:15:41
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| We referred to that in our opening statements from the dais. | ||
| We know the Maduro regime was corrupt. | ||
| It was an illegitimate narco government dictatorship. | ||
| He's been removed now. | ||
| So where does that leave you and Southcom? | ||
| Should you be confirmed to limit the adversarial powers so close to home and to reduce the supply of drugs? | ||
| And what strategic options are now open to you since we have a Venezuela government that is cooperating with us to an extent? | ||
| Senator, in my current role as Vice Commander of U.S. Special Operations Command, I'm not connected to any current planning operations or future planning in Southern Command. | ||
| If confirmed, however, I will be fully involved in that process. | ||
| And my responsibility would be to provide the planning and staff process at that Southcom headquarters to create the best military options to present to the Secretary. | ||
| Well, okay. | ||
| But do you have any ideas about to what extent or in what way you'll be involved? | ||
| Senator, again, if confirmed, my responsibility is that everything that happens in Southern Command is my responsibility inside the AOR. | ||
| So with that, I would be responsible for developing the planning process that includes not only the core staff at the headquarters, but all the subordinate commands, the interagency, and other players, including allies and partners, again, to create those best plans, best military advice to provide to the Chairman and the Secretary. | ||
| Well, perhaps you could expound on this on the record as to what strategic options you'll have. | ||
| I appreciate that. | ||
| General Rudd, let's talk dual hat. | ||
| We spoke about that in our opening statements up here. | ||
| What are your views? | ||
| You'll inherit this dual hat responsibility at a critical time. | ||
| What are your views about the unique advantages and what national security impact would you expect to see if somehow changes were made to this dual hat arrangement? | ||
| Chairman, I think what I've seen from the perspective of U.S. Indo-PACOM and really throughout my career since that arrangement's been in place is The effects of unity of command and unity of effort across two different organizations that I believe and understand, | ||
| and what I've seen from a, again, a consumer of those capabilities is an effectiveness that fosters integration and speed. | ||
| And I think that the current strategic environment that we're in definitely requires speed, agility, integration of all of our capabilities, not just of those two organizations, but across the joint force and across all domains. | ||
| And I know there's recently an independent study that looked at that, continues to look at that. | ||
| I think if confirmed, my responsibility is to remain objective about that relationship, assess continuously if that is the most effective way to lead those two organizations. | ||
| I think you'll find there's a great deal of support up here on this committee for that dual hat responsibility. | ||
| Let me see if I can get one more question. | ||
| Last year's Working Families tax relief bill provided $1 billion for offensive cyber operations, reflecting recognition of the strategic importance of these capabilities. | ||
| Based on what you've seen, you haven't taken office in this position yet, but do you think Cyber Command, based on legislation that has been passed and money that's been allocated, is optimized to support the commander of Indo-PACOM? | ||
| Chairman, U.S. Indo-PAYCOM has an incredible relationship with U.S. Cyber Command, and we work tirelessly to ensure that those capabilities of U.S. Cyber Command are fully integrated into all domains, both kinetic, non-kinetic, integration of capabilities. | ||
| And that's something that we exercise every day, and we certainly look at ways to improve in every one of our exercises. | ||
| Thank you very much. | ||
| Senator Reed. | ||
| Well, thanks very much, Mr. Chairman. | ||
| And gentlemen, let me thank you for your extraordinary service. | ||
| You've both been at the tip of the sphere for three decades or more. | ||
| Thank you very, very much. | ||
| General Donovan, the 2025 NSS, the security strategy, calls on the military to readjust its global military presence to address urgent threats in our hemisphere. | ||
| Is Southcom, in your view, resourced for such a significant shift of foreign policy? | ||
| Ranking Member Reid, my view of that, how I think about that, again, not confirmed, but if confirmed, if I was in Southern Command, I'd look at the assets that are currently deployed in theater for the current task at hand. | ||
| Lay that on top of the great work that Southern Command is known for, which is security cooperation. | ||
| And that is that enough to address what we believe in the NSS with the Western Hemisphere as a priority region now. | ||
| Is that enough to achieve the objectives in the NSS? | ||
| I can't speak on that until I'm in position, if confirmed, Senator, to understand the challenges and opportunities of maintaining a current posture, but also being very aware that there's global requirements for the joint force. | ||
| And I pledge, if confirmed, to continue to work with the joint staff to ensure that Southcom would have the assets, resources it needs to achieve the objectives as envisioned in the NSS Center. | ||
| Can I interject? | ||
| It's okay for you two gentlemen to tell us how you feel. | ||
| We realize that you haven't been confirmed yet. | ||
| But so far we really haven't received any answers about how you feel about the responsibilities you're about to take on. | ||
| It's okay to tell us. | ||
| And actually, it would be helpful. | ||
| Thank you, Mr. Chairman, very much. | ||
| Please go ahead, General Donovan. | ||
| Ranking Member Reed, I will tell you that understanding the layout of resources now, not in theater, not understanding what is on hand and what was going to remain in theater is how I answered that question. | ||
| So you do not have any indication of how long these forces will spend in the Caribbean region. | ||
| You have no indication from the chairman? | ||
| No, Senator, I do not. | ||
| Thank you. | ||
| You just said in response to Chairman Wooker that everything that happens in my AO is my responsibility. | ||
| There is likely, at least it seems this way, that there will be continued boat strikes by military personnel against these high-speed boats, small boats. | ||
| They are quite controversial from a legal standpoint and also from an operational standpoint. | ||
| Will you review every one of these strikes? | ||
| In fact, look back at the previous strikes with the advice of counsel, your JAG, to ensure that they have all been conducted legally. | ||
| Ranking Member Reid, my responsibility will be to execute a planning process that brings the whole of the staff together at each one of these operations, to include legal advisors, to understand the mission in hand, organize the force appropriately, and then execute the mission as required. | ||
| So, yes, I have that responsibility and will continue to lead the staff to ensure that all those operations are executed within the laws of armed conflict. | ||
| Thank you. | ||
| General Rudd, in your advanced policy questions, you indicated, quote, the command and control model must balance tactical agility with strategic oversight, which I can agree with. | ||
| But we have a problem sometimes of paralysis by analysis. | ||
| I think that's what you were referring to. | ||
| But we also have problems sometimes with sacrificing due diligence and scientific inquiry for speed. | ||
| It's a great balance. | ||
| Can you indicate how you propose to make that balance? | ||
| Ranking Member, the word that really jumps out at me in your question is speed. | ||
| And again, I think if we think about the strategic environment that we currently face, the element of speed is absolutely essential. | ||
| And making sure that this organization, both those organizations, are able to deliver options and effects quickly in support of the combatant commanders and or decision makers. | ||
| So certainly there has to be due diligence and responsibility in the execution of duties at a rapid pace. | ||
| Always something that a commander assesses in terms of risk, deep analysis, consultation with the experts, especially in this regard, CyberCom and NSA both have unbelievably talented and deeply technical expertise in their capabilities and responsibilities. | ||
| And I think that's a constant balance, certainly a responsibility for every combatant commander. | ||
| And Ranking Member, if confirmed, I pledge to continue to do that due diligence and ensure that we move. | ||
| If I just make one more comment, one way to accelerate is to anticipate, and that requires getting together with all of your staff and looking ahead, the latest intelligence, as you now well know, and what the threat will be not next week or the following week, but into the future. | ||
| But thank you very much, sir. | ||
| Thank you. | ||
| Thank you, Senator Reed. | ||
| Senator Fisher. | ||
| Thank you, Mr. Chairman, and thank both of you today for the service that you have already given to this country and your willingness to step forward in these new positions. | ||
| My thanks also to your families for their service and sacrifice that they have done for many, many years as well to this country. | ||
| General Rudd, how has your experience as a consumer of intelligence and operational capabilities of NSA and CyberCom informs your understanding of the value of cyber effects to help shape that battle space? | ||
| Senator, the reliance upon both signals intelligence and cyber capabilities are absolutely indispensable to our warfighters. | ||
| My role at IndoPaycom, we look at it every day. | ||
| We operationalize it, we integrate it, and we factor it into every one of our decisions. | ||
| And it enhances the way that we're able to collectively across the joint force and in all domain generate the options that continue to deliver deterrence. | ||
| And if you go further back in my background, certainly that holds true. | ||
| Different theaters, different problem sets, but that's been a continuous theme throughout my career. | ||
| And when you talk about the joint force, how would you prioritize deepening CyberCom's relationships with the other combatant commands? | ||
| And from what you understand now in the position you're nominated for, do you believe that it has the resources that you would need in order to accomplish that? | ||
| Senator, the relationships across the combatant commands are indispensable. | ||
| And again, we foster it every day through our operations. | ||
| We enhance it through our exercises and experimentation. | ||
| And there's constant communication. | ||
| And I think it's certainly the underpinning of how we deliver the unbelievable capability that we have to bring to bear on these problem sets most effectively. | ||
| And certainly, if confirmed, that's something that I would prioritize is continuing to build and enhance those relationships, Senator. | ||
| General Redd, when we look at the tools with AI and how they're continuing to evolve, I expect we're going to see it more integrated in both CyberCom as well as our adversaries are going to be integrating AI into their weapons and the tools that they use. | ||
| And although we won't be able to go into much detail in this setting we're in now, we've already seen some public reports about adversaries using AI to target U.S. companies. | ||
| You're an Indo-PACOM, and Indo-PACOM has been an early adopter of AI technologies. | ||
| So what have been the impacts of that adoption and what lessons from that experience do you expect to carry forward to CyberCom if you're confirmed to that position? | ||
| Yes, Senator, as you highlight, we really have put a concentrated effort at U.S. Indo-PACOM, and I know CyberCom is as well. | ||
| I also, what I understand is this committee has been very supportive, making sure that both CyberCom and the other, the rest of the joint force has resourcing and prioritization of that critical capability. | ||
| As you have seen the adoption of those capabilities in PACOM, has it been easy? | ||
| Has it been seamless? | ||
| Are there bumps in the road? | ||
| Tell me about the adoption of them and what you anticipate to see in CyberCom. | ||
| Yes, Senator, I think the adoption of technology and capabilities varies based on the individual user, but really it's about leadership. | ||
| and prioritization. | ||
| And in the case of AI, I think it's a capability that has to be understood, has to be broadly transmitted across the workforce. | ||
| Leaders have to prioritize it, and certainly we are. | ||
| Again, I'm confident that CyberCom is doing it the same way that Indo-PACOM is. | ||
| We're learning a lot. | ||
| We're learning fast, and we'll continue to do that. | ||
|
Building on Southern Command Success
00:12:23
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| Thank you. | ||
| And if confirmed, Senator, that's what I'd bring that up. | ||
|
unidentified
|
Thank you. | |
| And a quick question to General Donovan. | ||
| We talked about the mill-to-mill relationships and the strength of those relationships that are in Southcom right now. | ||
| Can you give me a quick example on what you would do to try to deepen those relationships? | ||
| Senator, I would build on, if confirmed, build on the great work the Southern Command has always been known for and look for ways to expand those to increase regional security and partners that can help carry the burden. | ||
| Senator. | ||
| Thank you. | ||
| Thank you, Mr. Chairman. | ||
| Thank you, Senator Fisher. | ||
| Senator Shaheen. | ||
| Good morning. | ||
| Congratulations to both of you on your nominations and thank you to you and your families for your willingness to continue to serve. | ||
| Lieutenant General Donovan, historically, U.S. aid programs and State Department-funded support have been critical in Southcom because, as we know on this committee, we've most often in the past have had a low force presence in the region. | ||
| And we've used soft power to combat Chinese and Russian and other adversarial influences there. | ||
| In fiscal year 2024, USAID provided $1.3 billion in humanitarian assistance in Southcom's area of responsibility. | ||
| In fiscal year 2025, that number dropped to only $127.5 million. | ||
| So as you think about this challenge, how do you address the need for soft power in the region without having the previous available support to do that? | ||
| Senator, thank you for that. | ||
| And I have been thinking quite a bit about that because throughout my 37 years of service, I always have been ashore in many locations, aligned with, supporting at times, but always working closely with the Chief of Mission, the elements of the Department of State. | ||
| So it's ingrained in what we do both as Marines and as a soft leader. | ||
| I am concerned about any drops in any of the tools that would be available to a combatant commander to address a range of issues. | ||
| And the idea of soft power to ensuring that if confirmed on the ground, I can take a look at the requirements. | ||
| Specifically, if made a priority effort in the NSS, it needs to be matched by our priority effort and all the resources available, specifically with those allies and partners to be used in ways we've used so successfully in the past. | ||
| So I pledge to look into any decrements, Senator, and find ways to cover gaps and ask for more resources. | ||
| Well, thank you. | ||
| As you're thinking down the road, what does success look like in Southcom in the next, say, three to five years? | ||
| Success looks at a safe and secure homeland and Southcom's connection to NORTHCOM to provide that buffer to protects our homeland. | ||
| But at the same time, regional partners built so they can handle regional problems and share those burdens. | ||
| Senator. | ||
| Thank you. | ||
| Lieutenant General Rudd, CyberCom, as we discussed when you came to see me, plays a critical role in disrupting foreign adversarial cyber threats to the United States. | ||
| Traditionally, CyberCom, the CyberCom commander, sits on the Interagency Elections Security Group in coordination with the Department of Homeland Security and other interagency partners. | ||
| Now, the Office of the Director of National Intelligence annual threat assessments from 2023, 2024, and 2025 all said that Russia and China both view election interference as opportunities to advance their malign influence operations and to sow domestic discord. | ||
| So with elections coming up this year, as you can imagine, election security is critical in America. | ||
| So if confirmed, how will you prioritize CyberCom's work with the Interagency Election Security Group? | ||
| Senator, any foreign attempt to undermine the American process of democracy, and at the center of that is our electoral process, as you all know far better than I do, has got to be safeguarded. | ||
| It's absolutely a fundamental priority for the nation. | ||
| And as you described, there's an interagency process and members that do that. | ||
| And I would hope that if confirmed, my experience with interagency collaboration and integration will play a useful role in that. | ||
| And certainly, again, I don't know what role CyberCom is currently planned to do in the future elections. | ||
| I know it's had a critical role in the past. | ||
| And if confirmed, I'd continue to prioritize that as directed. | ||
| Thank you. | ||
| Lieutenant General Donovan, when we visited in my office, one of the things we talked about is the challenge of the expanded operations in Southcom and what that means for the mission requirements, for personnel, for the foundation to support that expanded mission. | ||
| Can you talk a little bit about how you view that and what you think we need to do in order to ensure that we have the support that's needed for the buildup there? | ||
| Senator, thank you and thank you for that conversation in the office. | ||
| You're going to hear from a Marine and a special operations leader that it's all about logistics and the logistics foundation is to maintain the capabilities you have so you can offer additional mission sets in the future. | ||
| Thank you. | ||
| Thank you, Mr. Chairman. | ||
| Thank you, Senator Scott. | ||
| Well, first off, congratulations on your nominations. | ||
| Thank you for your service. | ||
| Thank you for your families that have supported you through all of this. | ||
| I'm from Florida. | ||
| In Florida, we have a big Cuban population, Venezuelan population, Nicaraguan. | ||
| What happened with Maduro is unbelievably energized our state. | ||
| For the first time, they are optimistic that they're going to see democracy and freedom throughout Latin America, not just in Venezuela, but in Cuba and Nicaragua, and hopefully they'll get a new president in Colombia. | ||
| So I want to thank the President Trump for the decisive action he took, but I really want to thank the military because it was flawless. | ||
| What you guys accomplished and we were able to get a classified briefing and what Raising Kane did and how he explained what the action was unbelievable. | ||
| So congratulations to all of you and hopefully any servicemen or women you talk to, just tell them I think on behalf of everybody up here, thank you for what they did. | ||
| Joan Donovan, as nominee lead Southcom, what do you think our enemies learned from the President's decisive action and our military success in Venezuela? | ||
| What do you think dictators like Putin and Xi thought when they saw the flawless execution by our military? | ||
| Senator, thank you for the time in your office. | ||
| Obviously, I have not seen any of the details or intel analysis of what they're thinking from an intel perspective. | ||
| But, Senator, I have to believe they would be very wary of the U.S. military. | ||
| The precision execution at range, speed and scale was phenomenal. | ||
| It's what we bring to the fight across the globe. | ||
| So I hope they're paying attention, Senator. | ||
| Joe Donovan, what do you believe the Communist regime in Cuba, do you believe they are a threat to the United States national security? | ||
| Senator, I think that that regime has always been a threat to U.S. national security. | ||
| And again, if confirmed, I intend to get to Southcom headquarters to determine the status of that threat and provide military options if asked. | ||
| When we met, we talked about Homestead. | ||
| Can you talk about the importance of Homestead from a position standpoint and from a power projection standpoint and what you think we should be doing with Homestead going forward? | ||
| Senator, first of all, Homestead is a key location for us in U.S. SOCOM for a number of reasons. | ||
| But as I look at GNIF confirmed and the opportunity to lead Southcom, you need as many options on the table as possible. | ||
| And if you look at Homestead where it's located, could that be a location for high-wing, long-endurance U.S. platforms? | ||
| Could it be additional ISR platforms, autonomous systems that could really increase our domain awareness across the whole theater? | ||
| I think Homestead is in a key location. | ||
| We want as many options on the table, Senator. | ||
| Well, again, congratulations to both of you. | ||
| You're well qualified to do this, and I'm sure you're going to both do a great job. | ||
| Senator Scott, you publicly gave President Maduro some advice several days before the action of the United States. | ||
| And I'm just guessing that he wishes at this point that he had listened more carefully. | ||
| Senator Hirono. | ||
| Thank you, Mr. Chairman. | ||
| Thank you both for you and your families for your service. | ||
| I want to make clear about what's happening right now from my perspective. | ||
| The Trump regime is executing a diversion campaign from the real challenges that face the people of our country. | ||
| The military operation in Venezuela is yet another example of how the U.S. military can successfully execute a complicated, complex operations. | ||
| That is not an issue. | ||
| That is not the subject of debate. | ||
| What is up for debate are the decisions surrounding this operation, its legality, whether it was worth risking American lives, and if there is a plan for what happens next. | ||
| Recent polling shows that the majority of Americans are concerned that the U.S. will become too involved in Venezuela. | ||
| We need to be focusing on hard questions about the future of Venezuela and the scope of the U.S. engagement moving forward. | ||
| But while the Trump administration, Trump regime pats itself on the back that And they are refusing to tell the American people and Congress about what comes next. | ||
| Instead, President Trump boasts that the U.S. will be running Venezuela for years, but it is not clear who will do that running. | ||
| This regime is writing the script as they go along, but this is not a Saturday Night Live skip. | ||
| This is real life. | ||
| In the midst of an affordability crisis in our own country, this regime is focused on running Venezuela and debating which country to take over next. | ||
| We're being asked to celebrate a foreign intervention that lacks a legal underpinning, as far as I'm concerned, or a clear exit strategy. | ||
| Congress, the American people, and our allies and partners are left with more questions than answers. | ||
| We need a president who respects the Constitution rather than relying on politicized legal opinions and his morality, as he puts it. | ||
| Without accountability, a long-term strategy and transparency, the Trump regime is failing the American people. | ||
| Let me get to my questions. | ||
| I ask initial two questions of all nominees before any of the committees on which I sit, so I will ask the two initial questions that go to fitness to serve. | ||
| We'll start with General Donovan. | ||
|
International Coordination Challenges
00:15:48
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| Since you became a legal adult, have you ever made unwanted requests for sexual favors or committed any verbal or physical harassment or assault of a sexual nature? | ||
| No, Senator. | ||
| General Rudd? | ||
| No, Senator. | ||
| Have you ever faced discipline or entered into a settlement relating to this kind of conduct? | ||
| No, Senator. | ||
| No, Senator. | ||
| For General Donovan, Southcom has traditionally focused on security cooperation, counter-drug and disaster response, not high-intensity combat. | ||
| I am concerned that the nomination of a general with your background signals the intention to expand high-intensity or special operations in the region without the right resources and institutional experience. | ||
| For example, watchdog reports say that Southcom civilian harm mitigation staff has been reduced from four personnel to a single contractor. | ||
| General Donovan, if confirmed, will you commit to fully implementing civilian harm mitigation policies, which is a very important, I would say, part of your assessment before you engage in any operations? | ||
| Would you agree? | ||
| Yes, Senator. | ||
| I commit to that. | ||
| So will you request the resources that you need in order to do the assessment that I just referred to? | ||
| And this is just one example of the resources that I have concerns about regarding Southcom. | ||
| Yes, Senator. | ||
| For General Rudd, you have unique insight into the threats posed by China from your position at IndoPaycom, and I thank you for your service in IndoPaycom. | ||
| But countering China's cyber threats demands strong technical leadership at the top. | ||
| CyberCom's advantage has also been intelligence sharing with allies. | ||
| It is very concerning that President Trump has withdrawn the U.S. from many international organizations focused on cyber coordination and deterrence. | ||
| The cyber domain remains a vulnerable area that demands deep technical expertise and international coordination. | ||
| Without this access to the kind of international coordination that Trump has taken us out of, without the kind of expertise that I would expect someone who will be taking over Cyber Command, how will you address these challenges? | ||
| Senator, I would, as you know very well, at EndoPaycom allies and partners are absolutely critical to our approach. | ||
| That will continue, and that is a critical part of all of our combatant commands. | ||
| Senator, if confirmed, I would continue to thicken and deepen those relationships. | ||
| And to the point about the technical aspects of the job, I'm confident that the incredible talent at CyberCom and NSA will provide great advice. | ||
| And I'm confident that if confirmed, I can continue to lead and enable those two organizations to provide the best support to our combatant commanders and the joint force writ large. | ||
| Thank you, Senator Harona. | ||
| Senator Tuberville. | ||
| Thank you, Mr. Chairman. | ||
| Good morning. | ||
| Thanks for your service, guys. | ||
| Thanks for having your families here and some of their, obviously, service. | ||
| Lieutenant Donovan, General, I appreciate you may not have the opportunity to spend a significant amount of time at your new headquarters, but I've been there several times. | ||
| It strikes me that while the current facility is not good for Southern Command's previous focus, theater security cooperation, I think the next commander will need to evolve the facilities and staffing to operate as a more traditional command, especially given President Trump's stated desire to focus more on our own hemisphere. | ||
| What's your thoughts on that statement, and will you agree that to evaluate your situation in terms of your headquarters once you get to Miami? | ||
| Senator, thank you for that. | ||
| I have been thinking a lot about that. | ||
| I want to have to credit the Southcom team that have done great work, as you mentioned, Senator, on the security cooperation. | ||
| They're known for that, allies and partners, building that partnership capacity and capability. | ||
| The NSS directs us to enhance that now into kind of full spectrum capabilities to offer the best military solutions or advice to the Secretary and the President. | ||
| And so the assessment will include all those things you mentioned, Senator, and we'll do that very quickly. | ||
| Thank you. | ||
| Being a football coach for 30 years, I dealt with a lot of young people, and I saw the influx of drugs in our country really increase the last 10 or 15 years. | ||
| But now that we are taking forcible action in your command in our state of Alabama, I've seen and heard from our law enforcement officers that we have seen a decline in drugs. | ||
| And I just want to make that statement because if we don't do something, if we don't take a serious response to what they're doing and coming through the Caribbean, we're going to lose this generation because our streets are filled with drugs. | ||
| And if we're closing our eyes to that, then shame on us. | ||
| But I would hope that what you understand, you've got a family, you've seen your family grow up and you've seen the streets. | ||
| But I think moving to Miami and moving to Southern Command is going to be an eye-opening experience for you in terms of kind of a different world from what a lot of us are in. | ||
| General Rudd, the NSA is likely our most powerful intelligence agency. | ||
| CyberCom's importance has become increasingly more important as it has become part of almost every operation we undertake. | ||
| It's time to reevaluate that dual hat. | ||
| You know, I've heard some good arguments on both sides. | ||
| What's your thoughts? | ||
| And I know our chairman has brought that up. | ||
| What's your thoughts on the dual role? | ||
| Yes, Senator, again, from my experience of where I see that applied throughout my career, I think there's demonstration of effectiveness as well as efficiency. | ||
| I would characterize effectiveness should always trump efficiency. | ||
| But again, the principles of unity of command and then the ability for that individual to continue to harness and integrate the incredible capabilities of both those organizations, I think is a component that enables that organization, both those, to provide great support to our warfighters. | ||
| And again, Senator, if I'm confirmed for this, I think my role is to be objective about that. | ||
| As that comes up or if it continues to come up as a topic, I'll be objective. | ||
| I'll seek great insight from not only the two organizations, but the customer as well, if you will. | ||
| How does it work best and provide my best advice? | ||
| Yeah, there's more than one way to skin a cat, you know, and we've got a lot of people doing dual roles, but this is going to be a very important position, both of these, obviously. | ||
| My son's in cyber and in the Defense Department, and just the things I hear about what's coming up and the possibilities over the years in front of us with this generation. | ||
| I've got full confidence in you. | ||
| But when we get you possibly back after you're confirmed, we'd love to get a good evaluation of what you think for the future of both of these commands. | ||
| Thank you. | ||
| Thank you, Mr. Chairman. | ||
| Thank you, Senator Tubberville. | ||
| And General Rudd, if you could move the microphone a little closer. | ||
| Thank you so much. | ||
| Senator Blumenthal is next. | ||
| Thanks, Mr. Chairman. | ||
| Thank you both for being here, and thank you for your very lengthy and distinguished records of service. | ||
| And thank you to your families, not only for their support, but to your children, General Donovan, for their service in the Marine Corps. | ||
| General Donovan, the United States continues to have a massive military presence in the Caribbean after the rendition of Nicholas Maduro. | ||
| The purpose of having that presence there was supposedly to extricate him so as to bring him to justice. | ||
| Now that it has been accomplished, what is the purpose of maintaining that continuing massive presence in the Caribbean? | ||
| Senator, thank you for the time in your office and also sharing the stories of your children that have served honorably in this nation. | ||
| So thank you for that. | ||
| Senator, from my perspective, how I think about that problem set is, or the opportunities of the buildup in the Caribbean or South America right now with those assets, I put the hat on if confirmed, responsibly sustaining those assets over time. | ||
| So I know there'll be a global demand as they are for those very high priority assets like a carrier strike group or an amphibious ready group and a Marine Expeditionary Unit. | ||
| They're needed all around the globe and there's not enough of them. | ||
| So my number one thought, Senator, is to understand, again, can we sustain and maintain if they stay and if they are moved out for other reasons, how do we actually replace the capability or move in different directions with that both hard and soft power approach to achieve the objectives outlined in the NSS. | ||
| Senator. | ||
| It is no secret, General, that Americans are concerned that there may be the use of those assets either to once again put troops on the ground in Venezuela, albeit they were only briefly in the last time or in Cuba or another country in Southcom. | ||
| Are you aware of any plans to begin any strike using those assets or others? | ||
| Senator, I am not in my current position in the Pentagon working for a U.S. Special Operations Unit. | ||
| I am not privy to those plans, but I commit to you, if confirmed, I will be fully involved in any future planning, Senator. | ||
| I am very concerned about the legal basis for both the strikes on boats that have killed more than 100 people, more than 20 of those boats that allegedly were carrying narcotics. | ||
| I have reviewed both of the Office of Legal Counsel opinions. | ||
| I find them totally lacking, in fact, almost a sham. | ||
| One has been made public in redacted form, the other not at all. | ||
| Would you support making those Office of Legal opinions public, as I believe the American people have a right and deserve to see them? | ||
| Senator, I understand the seriousness of that question, but I have to defer to both policy and legal advisors at the Secretary's level to answer that question, Senator. | ||
| You and I talked a bit in my office about the energetic attempts by Russia and China to exploit the turmoil and confusion ongoing in Southcom. | ||
| Can you share with this committee a bit about your perspective on Russia and China as threats to the United States in that area? | ||
| Senator, again, if confirmed, I intend to dive very deep into that, that topic set. | ||
| But how I think about it in my current position is that I believe both of those actors would be wary of military competition because they would be extended from their source of strength and power. | ||
| I think what we look at as the future potentially is more on how do we align those soft aspects of power to be complemented by, when required, those harder aspects of military power to counter those threats, because they are right now currently, both those threats are well ingrained throughout the Southcom AOR, and we have to find ways to counter them even more successfully, but use the advantage of the assets and capabilities in place now. | ||
| But I do believe that most of the response or counter will come from the economic side and using other levers to counter those intrusions, I should say, Senator. | ||
| Thank you very much. | ||
| Thank you to both of you. | ||
| Thanks, Mr. Trump. | ||
| Thank you very much. | ||
| Senator Rounds. | ||
| Thank you, Mr. Chairman. | ||
| Let me begin just by saying to both General Rudd and to General Dunovan, thank you for your service to our nation. | ||
| You have both spent much of your career operating at the tip of the spear in combat and in the gray space between peace and conflict. | ||
| As you are considered for new roles with additional authority and responsibility, I appreciate your continued willingness to serve our nation in this exceptionally complex threat environment. | ||
| And I want to extend that same thank you to your families for their service and their sacrifice as well. | ||
| As I discussed with both of you in my office, I've heard from 56 senior DOD officials in hearings over the past three years, including the Secretary of Defense, the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs, every service chief, and nine combatant commanders that vacating or sharing the 3.1 to 3.45 gigahertz band of the electromagnetic spectrum would have an extremely detrimental impact on our warfighting capabilities, | ||
| including homeland defense missions, force protection for our troops overseas, and strategic communications. | ||
| General Rudd and General Donovan, if confirmed, will you advocate for and defend the department's equities that operate on or use those bands of the spectrum, including the radars that will make President Trump's Golden Dome function appropriately? | ||
| A yes or a no would be appropriate. | ||
| Yes, Senator. | ||
| Yes, Senator. | ||
| Thank you. | ||
| Let me go to General Rudd specifically. | ||
| Senator Wicker asked you about the importance of the dual hat leadership arrangement, but I wanted to kind of follow up on that a little bit with you. | ||
| As you understand it, how important would the dual hat be during a conflict with a near-peer adversary during which time CyberCom would be providing cyber fires to other commands such as Indo-Paycom? | ||
| Yes, Senator, as we discussed in your office and then as I alluded to earlier and spoken about, the unity of effort that comes out of that current construct I think is really important to enabling the support of both those organizations to the warfighter to continue at speed and provide agility. | ||
|
Senator Kane's Strategic Insights
00:14:27
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| Increasingly, we are looking at how we effectively integrate those capabilities across the other joint capabilities in both kinetic and non-kinetic scenarios and look at that. | ||
| We do it on a daily basis, not kinetically, but we certainly employ those on a daily basis. | ||
| So I think what we see at U.S. Indo-PACOM, it's a very effective construct. | ||
| But again, Senator, I think my role, if confirmed, is to continue to be objective about that. | ||
| As it comes up for review and evaluation, it's to continuously assess that. | ||
| Yeah, and I think it's proven to be very, very productive in terms of both the speed and efficiency of making those deliveries of services back to that combatant command when you're sharing what might be an asset from one side of the coin to the other side of the coin between these two entities. | ||
| And so I appreciate your recognition of that in your current position as well. | ||
| General Donovan, Section 1505 of the FY24 NDAA authorized cyber activity against Mexican transnational criminal organizations. | ||
| In your professional military opinion, would providing similar authorities to the commander of Southcom provide more options to the commander and ultimately enhance U.S. security in the region? | ||
| I think this is one that kind of goes unnoticed once in a while, but those authorizations to allow us to get in and to actually follow up and follow these transnational criminal organizations is going to be extremely effective in allowing our opportunities to limit their ability to bring drugs and so forth into our country. | ||
| But we've never really talked about it in the rest of Southcom. | ||
| I'd like your thoughts. | ||
| Senator, when we discussed this in your office, it really hit home that the fact that that authority applied to the Mexican potential target sets, the belief is that that should be extended across the entire AOR, and that connects both NORTHCOM and Southcom, where we have that unity of effort and then unity of approach, but also unity of sharing, unity of the collaboration that's going to be required to protect the homeland. | ||
| Thank you. | ||
| Thank you, Mr. Chairman. | ||
| Thank you, Senator. | ||
| And Senator Kane. | ||
| Thank you, Mr. Chair, and thanks to the witnesses. | ||
| Congratulations for your nominations. | ||
| I enjoyed our visits. | ||
| General Donovan, as a former missionary in Honduras and the lead Democrat on the America's subcommittee of the Foreign Relations Committee, I'm going to focus my questions to you. | ||
| Based on our office discussion the other day, and I appreciated both of our discussions, I understand that you were not involved and have not been involved in any of the planning around either Operation Southern Spear, the boat strike operation, or Operation Absolute Resolve, the Maduro extraction. | ||
| Am I correct in that? | ||
| Senator, that is correct. | ||
| And would it also be the case since we have officials from Greenland and Denmark visiting us today, you've not been involved in any planning about any military operations with regard to Greenland. | ||
| Is that correct? | ||
| That is correct, Senator. | ||
| Thank you. | ||
| This is the first public hearing that we've had since the operations began on September 2, where we can talk in public in the Armed Services Committee rather than a classified setting about this set of operations. | ||
| And so I'm going to put some comments on the record that really are not directed at you since you just clarified you've not been involved in planning. | ||
| First, a factual matter. | ||
| Some of my colleagues have talked about the boat strikes as strikes against narco-traffickers or narcotics boats. | ||
| We used to say when I was trying cases, Your Honor, that assumes a fact not in evidence that the boats had narcotics on them. | ||
| I know more than I'm allowed to say at this hearing, but I would encourage all of my colleagues to get the briefing that I got about these strikes and ask the question in each instance, was there any narcotics on this boat? | ||
| Was there any evidence of narcotics? | ||
| Also ask the question, is the presence of narcotics even a criteria that's used in the targeting of these boats? | ||
| And I would encourage all of my colleagues to get the briefing that I got because I think it might surprise you. | ||
| The second thing from a matter of law, General Donovan, this operation, Southern Spear and Absolute Resolve, in my 13 years in the Senate has been the operation that has raised the most questions about its legality. | ||
| Again, what I know from reading legal opinions, I only know unclassified, and I'm not allowed to really discuss them. | ||
| But many of us have questions about legality, but it's not just us. | ||
| The news widely reported the premature retirement of your predecessor as being partly motivated by his concerns about the legality of these operations. | ||
| And he is not the only one. | ||
| I'm going to read the title of a news article that came out a while ago in NBC News on November 19th, top military lawyer raised legal concerns about boat strikes, and it talks about senior military lawyer for Southcom objecting to the legality of the boat strikes. | ||
| The concerns about legality have also been raised by allies, and that should be important to us. | ||
| It's been widely reported that the United Kingdom and other allies are not sharing full intel with the United States in the AOR because they're concerned that the U.S. is using that intel to carry out unlawful operations. | ||
| And other nations in the region or in NATO that have been allies of ours have also raised questions about the legality of these operations. | ||
| The questions will not go away, and they cause us grave concern. | ||
| And second, there's some deep concern about the mission itself. | ||
| The national security strategy released by the Trump administration on the first Thursday in December had something I liked. | ||
| They put the Western Hemisphere as a high priority, and I think that means more budgetary resources coming to Southcom. | ||
| And you've done a lot of budget work in Special Forces. | ||
| That's great. | ||
| But the document talks about a new Monroe doctrine. | ||
| As somebody who lived in Latin America, you do not know how badly that lands in the Americas. | ||
| For our allies in the Americas, the Monroe Doctrine was about American dominance, not American partnership. | ||
| It was about the right of America to intervene in the politics of any nation, including invasions, often the deposing of governments. | ||
| Often, that's what the Monroe Doctrine was, and that's what the Monroe Doctrine means to people in that region. | ||
| And as I explained to you when we were together, and I really appreciated our discussion, no self-respecting nation is going to allow itself to be dominated. | ||
| The Chinese come into the region offering partnership, and I think we all know how hollow that offer is. | ||
| It's often got all kinds of razor blades in the apple. | ||
| But an offer of partnership will always be chosen over an acceptance of dominance. | ||
| And I just hope, in your role, as you get there and get the lay of the land and then carry forward, you've done a lot of work with allies in your previous work, of course, and in the interagency. | ||
| You know how important allies are. | ||
| Let's not turn a face of a bully to allies, because if we do, we will chase them even faster into the hands of adversaries who are willing to invest an awful lot more than we are. | ||
| And so those would be free advice worth what you've paid for it. | ||
| But I look forward to working together should you be confirmed, and I believe you will be on a most important part of the world where the United States has such upside opportunity if we don't blow it. | ||
| I yield back. | ||
| Senator Kane, you have been to the same briefings I have. | ||
| Let me just say, in response to one statement that you made, that there's absolutely no doubt in my mind that these boats that have been interdicted have been drug smuggling boats. | ||
| Senator Sheehy, you're recognized. | ||
| Good morning, generals. | ||
| Congratulations on the appointment. | ||
| Thanks for your families for their continued service. | ||
| General Donovan, I'll start with you. | ||
| As General Kate alluded to, we've had a complex history with our southern region going back 200-plus years, but I think what's most poignant for what the issues say you're going to be addressing as you enter this new position is we've had roughly a 50-year war on drugs that has had various degrees of effectiveness, whether it was Colombia in the 80s, Central America later, or of course Venezuela now. | ||
| I'd be curious to hear your thoughts. | ||
| The new tools we have, many of which General Rudd will be bringing to the table and integrating, and tactics we've learned the last 20 years, as well as whole of government policies we can implement. | ||
| Although you're not in the seat yet, as you take this seat, and one of the core priorities of your job will be to help enhance our ability to counter the flow of drugs into our country that's killing tens to hundreds of thousands of Americans. | ||
| How do you see bringing your resources to bear and Southern Command and cooperation with the Interagency Network to make our counter-drug efforts more effective? | ||
| Senator, thank you, and thanks for the time in the office call. | ||
| Senator, you know, how I look at that, again, it's confirmed in place in Southern Command, working directly. | ||
| We talk a lot about Southern Command, but really linking Southern Command and North Command to make sure that we are aligned and synchronized much better because any flow of drugs and other nefarious activities originating in Southern Command generally flows north, right? | ||
| So the two commands align to use all those capabilities like cyber in a very synchronized fashion. | ||
| I believe it's what's going to provide, and I'll be responsible to provide those best military options alongside the other close combatant commanders, North Command, I'd even say Indo PACOM, because of the western side of the continent, working with the joint staff for a collaborated effort for the best solutions, which would then in turn end up being that best military advice to provide the Secretary. | ||
| And one particular issue that I think is becoming more increasingly important, I think, to Senator Kane's point, you know, our partnership with our South American allies. | ||
| I myself did a deployment down there in my days back in our organizations, countering narcotics. | ||
| And I think those partnerships, everything we did was with the partnership integrated together with the special operations teams of our host nations, but particularly predatory Chinese fishing activities. | ||
| It sounds obscure up here, but it's incredibly important to the economies and the subsistence of those countries. | ||
| China's global ghost fishing fleet is literally strip fishing entire fisheries all over the world, but especially in South America, where they're incredibly important, those economies. | ||
| So I want to get to General Rudd, but I'd ask if you wouldn't mind giving me a written answer on that at some point, just how you think you can address, as Southern Command Commander, the issue of illegal Chinese fishing. | ||
| And General Rudd, it sounds like you're about to be our country's chief nerd. | ||
| Normally, NSA and CyberCom, we find very technically experienced cyber intel pros, and now we're taking a knuckle-dragger like me and putting him in charge of all that. | ||
| So I'd love for you to explain to the panel why your background as an operator and door kicker and consumer of that information makes you uniquely qualified to, I think, help transform our cyber NSA paradigm to be more operationalized. | ||
| Senator, I think the question starts with the current strategic environment that we're in that is very complex, a host of threats from a number of actors, and that the requirement to be able to integrate capabilities across the joint force and move fast, be able to scale these capabilities, be able to increase relationships not only within the department but across our allies partners, | ||
| and then increasingly with the commercial industry. | ||
| As we talk about the technologies needed for this, I think it's really important. | ||
| So speed is a component in everything that we do. | ||
| And as we talk, Senator, where I sit right now, I bring a deep, mission-driven understanding of the challenges that I just described briefly, integrating the capabilities across the joint force in all domains. | ||
| And so that understanding, that perspective from the joint warfighter, principally in Indo-PACOM in the recent history, but throughout my career in a number of other theaters. | ||
| And then as most people are familiar with today, there's an increasing relationship in what we call the SOF space cyber triad, those interdependence between those commands, those capabilities to deliver what our nation needs. | ||
| But if you go back before we were really in tune to and focused on space as a domain and SpaceCom Space Force and what they bring to this nation, SOF and cyber have been inextricably linked at the hip throughout their operations. | ||
| And I've been, again, the beneficiary of it. | ||
| I've had the privilege to lead and command those types of organizations at the other end than what, if confirmed, I would bring in this one at the organization level. | ||
| Thanks, General. | ||
| Yield back. | ||
| General Rudd, I think Senator Sheehy made his question as a compliment, don't you? | ||
|
Senator's Concerns About Cyber Policy
00:05:44
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| You don't have to answer. | ||
| Senator King. | ||
| Thank you very much, Mr. Chairman. | ||
| General Donovan, I wanted to follow up on Senator Blumenthal's question because I didn't really discern a clear answer. | ||
| Yesterday, several votes changed on the war powers resolution with regard to Venezuela based upon explicit assurances in writing from the administration there would be no troops on the ground in Venezuela. | ||
| So that raises the question: what is the mission? | ||
| What is the purpose of this gigantic armada that is now in the Caribbean adjacent to Venezuela? | ||
| It seems like we are hearing a very famous New Englander said once: your actions speak so loudly that I can't hear your words. | ||
| We are getting words about no intention of further action in Venezuela, but the actions are six destroyers, a nuclear submarine, an aircraft carrier, thousands of troops. | ||
| What's the mission of that group in the Caribbean? | ||
| Senator, from my current position, again, I'm not part of any of the planning, but I would pledge to you, Senator, that if confirmed and in the Southcom headquarters, working with the sporting commanders, understand the tasks that come down and are given to the command, we will execute a very precise planning process that will provide. | ||
| You don't know what the plan is now. | ||
| You don't know why all those ships and aircraft and soldiers are in there. | ||
| Senator, I do not. | ||
| Another question about what's going on. | ||
| Have you seen the video of the second strike on the boat on September 2nd? | ||
| Senator, I have not. | ||
| Well, I would commend it to you because it raises serious issues. | ||
| I would commend to you Section 18.3.2.1 of the War Manual of the United States government, which says as an example of an illegal order, orders to fire upon the shipwrecked would be clearly illegal. | ||
| I would urge you to look at that video in light of that admonition and the clear rules in the Manual of War that it is not legal to fire upon shipwrecked individuals. | ||
| Mr. General Rudd, one of the problems I believe in our cyber policy over the years is a lack of a deterrent capability. | ||
| Our adversaries continue to attack us in cyberspace, going back to the Sony hack and up to SALT Typhoon, Volt Typhoon, and there's never a response. | ||
| Do you believe as a matter of policy that CyberCom and NSA should develop an offensive cyber declaratory deterrent policy? | ||
| Senator, I don't know if it's my role, if confirmed, to declare policy. | ||
| I think what I can pledge to you, if confirmed, we would develop the capability. | ||
| I don't believe it is your role to declare policy, but it's your role to provide the best advice to the President on policy. | ||
| And my question is: do you believe that we should develop and have a publicly declared deterrent policy in cyberspace? | ||
| Senator, I don't know that that's my role to have that opinion. | ||
| I think my role is to develop the options that would deliver deterrence that, if decided to be declared or not, would be the most credible, capable I am confused because you are nominated to be the top cyber officer in the United States government, and you don't have any opinion on cyber policy or what's important. | ||
| Are you simply a lever puller? | ||
| I mean, I really don't understand because this is a critical area of defense. | ||
| It is a vector of attack on this country that is going on as we sit here today. | ||
| And you don't have any opinion about how we should structure our response to these attacks? | ||
| Senator, I think it would be most appropriate if once confirmed, if confirmed, I take time to make an assessment, get the inputs of those organizations, and provide the best military advice through the Department and work with this committee. | ||
| Well, I'm sorry, General. | ||
| I find that a very disappointing response. | ||
| You have been nominated to this position for some time now. | ||
| You are aware of the responsibilities, and this is one of the most fundamental questions in cyber and your unwillingness to even discuss it. | ||
| Remember, at the very beginning of this hearing, you responded to the chairman's question that you would give us your personal views, even though they may be inconsistent with those of the administration. | ||
| And either I'm disturbed either way, either you're not responding as you committed to the chairman, or you don't know. | ||
| And either one of those bothers me because someone appointed to this position should have some familiarity and analysis and thinking about the position of this country in cyber, which is really probably the most direct threat that we face today. | ||
|
Gentlemen's Service Acknowledged
00:03:24
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| So I'm disappointed in that response. | ||
| Thank you, Mr. Chairman. | ||
| Thank you very much, Senator Cotton. | ||
| Gentlemen, thank you for your lifetime of service to our nation, and thanks to your family for putting up with your lifetime of service and to some members of your family who are also wearing the uniform. | ||
| We appreciate what you have done for our country. | ||
| Congratulations on your nominations as well. | ||
| I apologize. | ||
| I had to step out for a few other commitments. | ||
| And I can't get back and be here for fewer than two minutes without hearing the Democrats talk about illegal orders, which has been much in the news as of late. | ||
| So I asked General Guill, Geo, Northcom Commander. | ||
| I'm not quite sure how it's pronounced, but that's the Arkansas pronunciation, whatever it is, if in his vast and storied career he had ever received an illegal order. | ||
| And he said no. | ||
| So, General Donovan, I would like to ask you, have you ever received an illegal order? | ||
| No, senor. | ||
| And you are a pretty high-speed Marine, as I understand it. | ||
| You have been out on the front a lot in your lifetime. | ||
| So from the time you were Lieutenant Donovan to the time now, where you have got three stars and you are about to add a fourth, no one has ever given you an illegal order. | ||
| No, sir. | ||
| General Rudd, you are a pretty high-speed soldier. | ||
| I see a lot of impressive badges on your uniform. | ||
| I think it's Jump Master, Military Freefall Jump Master, More commonly known as Halo. | ||
| I think I even see scuba, very rare in the Army, a Ranger tab, a combat infantryman badge. | ||
| In all of your vast military experience, have you ever received an illegal order? | ||
| No, Senator. | ||
| Not even from Lieutenant Rudd as quartermaster all the way up to three-star general and now about to be four-star general. | ||
| No one's ever given you an illegal order. | ||
| No, Senator. | ||
| Well, it seems to me that our military does a very good job of training our troops from the time they enlist as privates or the time they commission as lieutenants all the way up to your level and to the Commander-in-Chief not to issue illegal orders or, | ||
| especially at your level, when you have lawyers hanging around you all the time, to seek their counsel, as anyone would. | ||
| I bet as some of the politicians on this dais understandably seek legal counsel in affairs related to their job. | ||
| So I'm glad to hear from so many of our military's senior leaders that our military has done such a good job of ensuring that our troops don't receive an illegal order. | ||
|
Whether Orders Are Legal
00:15:28
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| General Donovan, I'd like to return to a topic that I also know has been addressed, and this is the presence of such a large number of forces in the Southcom area of responsibility and whether that drains forces from other regions like PACOM and CENTCOM. | ||
| Although I have to say, I think the people asking those questions wouldn't like those forces to be employed in PACOM or CENTCOM either. | ||
| It's more of a gotcha question. | ||
| But understanding, General Donovan, that any combatant commander in any combatant command's answer for how many forces he needs is always going to be more, please, could you explain a little bit about how, | ||
| if confirmed, you'll manage the needs of maintaining security with the proper force posture in your area of responsibility along with those others around the world, especially in the old world at UCOM, CENTCOM, and PACOM. | ||
| Senator, I'm very aware after three years of the Pentagon of the push-pull between each of the geographic commands and spreading out our very, in many ways, our very high-demand, low-density assets, a carry strike group, nuclear submarine, marine amphibious unit, extradition unit. | ||
| So very aware of that natural tensions that's there, but I pledge, if confirmed, to work with the joint staff to ensure that Southcom's needs are registered and met. | ||
| And if we do lose assets, what are the other capabilities we could bring to bear from other hard-powered type assets, physical assets to increase resourcing for some of the softer power to counter the PRC malignant influence in the region? | ||
| Thank you again, gentlemen, for your lifetime of service. | ||
| Thank you, Senator Cotton. | ||
| Senator Warren. | ||
| Thank you, Mr. Chairman. | ||
| So Nicholas Maduro was a terrible leader. | ||
| There's no question about that. | ||
| It does not change the fact that President Trump's military action to attack another country and seize Maduro was unconstitutional and threatens to drag Americans into a war they never voted for. | ||
| What does the President mean when he says the United States will, quote, run Venezuela for years? | ||
| When he says, quote, Venezuela now has the United States of America, the most powerful military in the world by far. | ||
| To protect them and protect them, we will. | ||
| It sounds like another forever war. | ||
| Lieutenant General Donovan, you are nominated to lead Southern Command, which would make you the commander responsible for any future military actions in Venezuela. | ||
| You won't make policy decisions, but service members will count on you to ensure that they are not asked to engage in military operations that are not legal. | ||
| Now, according to press reports, your predecessor had serious concerns about illegal orders. | ||
| That was not the case with these strikes. | ||
| General Donovan, is it sedition for someone in the military to question whether an order is legal? | ||
| Senator, in my 37 years of experience, I've received many orders over time. | ||
| And when I ever have faced a situation where I need to seek clarity, I ask higher headquarters to clarify the task. | ||
| Then I come back and work on that with legal advisors, the core staff, the subordinate commanders, senior enlisted leaders, and then present my thoughts to higher headquarters for their consideration. | ||
| So I think what you're telling me is you have questioned whether an order is legal. | ||
| Is that right? | ||
| Senator, I did not, what I believe I'm focused on here is that the legality of the order, we face orders, we carry out missions. | ||
| And so in that planning process, we look at all aspects of each mission, each task, each order to ensure that we're structuring the command, the force, the unit to achieve that. | ||
| I appreciate that, General, but that's the question I'm trying to ask is, is it sedition for someone in the military to question whether an order is legal? | ||
| And I thought I just heard you say that you had actually questioned orders and whether they were legal, and you sought advice. | ||
| So I will ask it one more time. | ||
| Is it sedition to question whether an order is legal? | ||
| Senator, I would not use the term sedition. | ||
| I use the term basically our God-or in discipline, how we approach any situation where we have to accomplish a mission and provide the best capability for the task at hand. | ||
| I'm sorry, I still can't understand your answer here. | ||
| I'm just asking a very straightforward question. | ||
| You tell me you have questioned orders in the past about their legality. | ||
| Is that right? | ||
| Senator, I have questioned orders when either one, I didn't understand, I wasn't equipped to carry them out, and I needed clarity before I can actually execute those orders. | ||
| But you've never questioned whether an order was legal. | ||
| You've never wondered whether or not an order is legal and sought additional counsel on that? | ||
| Senator, in our planning processes, I always have a legal advisor at my side. | ||
| It's part of the planning process, so I always have leveraged those legal advisors to give me the best answer. | ||
| In the end, I'm responsible for the final decision to carry out or not carry out the order. | ||
| We'll stop playing dodgeball here. | ||
| You know, I thought that was going to be the easy question leading to harder questions. | ||
| Back in 2016, Secretary Hegset was very clear that service members have a duty not to follow illegal orders. | ||
| Since then, he has repeatedly made clear his contempt for legal review, including by sidelining military legal advisors, the people who are supposed to help you stay on the right side of the law. | ||
| And what I wanted to know is how you look at those issues. | ||
| So let me try a different version of the question. | ||
| General Donovan, if your legal advisor tells you that an order is illegal, will you refuse to carry out that order? | ||
| Senator, the legal advisor is one of many staff members that would provide their advice as we look at the scenario of the situation at hand. | ||
| I will take that very seriously if my legal advisor says that is an illegal order, and I will seek clarification from higher headquarters. | ||
| Okay. | ||
| And if somebody higher says no, what are you going to do at that point? | ||
| Senator, then I make a decision using 37 years' experience to carry out that order or not. | ||
| Okay. | ||
| But your intention is not to carry out an illegal order. | ||
| I will never carry a legal order, Senator. | ||
| I appreciate that. | ||
| That's what I want to hear. | ||
| Thank you, Mr. Speaker. | ||
| Thank you, Senator. | ||
| Senator Sullivan. | ||
| Thank you, Mr. Chairman. | ||
| And I just want to comment, you know, my friend and colleague, Senator Warner, or Warren, sorry, who I have a lot of respect for, but I can't help but think these charges of an unconstitutional operation against Maduro are kind of partisan simply because President Trump as commander-in-chief ordered it. | ||
| I can't remember any Democrat saying that the Obama ordering of killing bin Laden is kind of an analogous raid, right? | ||
| In and out, special ops, dangerous, successful. | ||
| I didn't hear any Democrats screaming unconstitutional on that one. | ||
| Actually, that was a great op by President Obama. | ||
| Took a lot of guts to make the call, just like it took a lot of guts with President Trump to make this call on Maduro. | ||
| Similarly, with George H.W. Bush in the invasion of Panama to take down another drug kingpin. | ||
| Not a lot of Democrats saying that was unconstitutional. | ||
| That was an invasion. | ||
| Forces on the ground. | ||
| OLC, Department of Justice, said it was legal. | ||
| So this unconstitutional Maduro thing, I think it's just partisan, to be perfectly honest. | ||
| I mean, we all know it's partisan. | ||
| But I'm digressing here. | ||
| Gentlemen, thank you for your years of service, decades of service. | ||
| I really appreciated our meetings in my office last week. | ||
| I think both of you are highly qualified. | ||
| I think you need to get confirmed soon. | ||
| I hope it becomes a very strong bipartisan endeavor from the U.S. Senate to confirm both of you. | ||
| So let me follow up on a couple questions that we talked about in my office. | ||
| General Donovan, very quickly, the national security strategy, and I think we're going to be getting the national defense strategy here from the Trump administration soon, is going to have an emphasis, like the national security strategy, on the Western Hemisphere. | ||
| I think that makes a lot of sense. | ||
| I think the President and his team are reviving what many of us thought was obvious, but we need to do that. | ||
| You and I talked about the issue of Southcom as a combatant command that let's just say is not as built up as the traditional combatant commands where there's been a lot of activity over the course of decades. | ||
| And in particular, I'm talking about CENTCOM, IndoPaycom. | ||
| So if confirmed, and you should be soon, what are you going to do in terms of, hey, we have a new national security strategy that's very focused on ops in the Western Hemisphere with Southcom as a critical component of that. | ||
| But let's face it, Southcom has kind of been an under-resourced, understaffed combatant commander. | ||
| How do you address that? | ||
| Because it's a big difference between what we're asking and what you're going to be needing to do. | ||
| Senator, again, thank you for that conversation. | ||
| Again, if confirmed, the first step is to do an analysis of the capabilities of the Southcom headquarters and really build on the strength that over the years, the decades, it's been known for that security cooperation approach. | ||
| Not very well funded, and at times for all the right reasons. | ||
| The concern is now as we have additional physical assets in place, is the headquarters staffed and structured to maintain, sustain logistics and supply and all the basics, underpinnings of military capability. | ||
| But as we look forward into operations, as we build those military options to provide to the Secretary based on what we believe the National Security Strategy highlights, are we headquarters capable of bringing those capabilities together? | ||
| And I believe we are going to get there. | ||
| Senator, if confirmed, that will be my drive to. | ||
| Well, let this committee know what you need, because I think that's going to be important. | ||
| If you're seeing a lack of resources or staff positions and you need legislative authority on that, that will be important to come back to this committee. | ||
| We want to be supportive, and I think that's in a bipartisan way. | ||
| General Rudd, I want to compliment you on your decades of service as well. | ||
| You know, NSA has a big Alaska hub now, so I want to get both of you to commit to coming to Alaska once you're confirmed. | ||
| Can I get that? | ||
| The most strategic place in the world, according to General Billy Mitchell, father of the U.S. Air Force? | ||
| General? | ||
| Senator, if confirmed, I look forward to coming to Alaska and seeing NSA Alaska. | ||
| Senator, if confirmed. | ||
| Yes. | ||
| Great. | ||
| Next question. | ||
| You know, we talked about this idea of offense a little bit. | ||
| Actually, Senator Warren and I, you and I talked about this, General Rudd, had legislation after we were briefed last year on the aggressiveness with which our adversaries undertook cyber operations against us. | ||
| And there was a sense that, especially during our elections, Chinese, Russians, Iranians trying to undermine American elections. | ||
| These dictators would never stand for election. | ||
| Let me ask my question very quickly. | ||
| For dictators that try to undermine U.S. elections through cyber ops, don't you think it's important not just to be on defense, not allow them to do it, but let's go on a little bit of offense, right? | ||
| The Russians and the Chinese people might want to know that their leaders are some of the richest people in the world. | ||
| They're corrupt. | ||
| They're billionaires. | ||
| How did they get all that money? | ||
| They stole it from their people. | ||
| Can't we let them know that? | ||
| Can't we go on offense? | ||
| Isn't offense a good defense to have them not conduct cyber ops against us? | ||
| Senator, I think we need to have the capability to do both. | ||
| So is that a yes? | ||
| Senator, again, the decision to employ those offensively is not necessarily that of U.S. Cyber Command. | ||
| It's under the direction, but certainly we have to bring the fight to the enemy. | ||
| Great. | ||
| Well, if you need those authorities, come back to this committee because I think that's another big bipartisan issue on the Armed Services Committee. | ||
|
unidentified
|
Thank you, senator. | |
| Thank you. | ||
| Thank you, Mr. Chairman. | ||
|
unidentified
|
Senator Kelly. | |
| Honey, a couple of the topics that Senator Sullivan was speaking about. | ||
| I want to associate myself with his remarks specifically for General Rudd here. | ||
| And we spoke about this in my office. | ||
| The offensive cyber, the using messaging bots and Russians, Chinese, North Koreans, Iranians attacking us, attacking our specifically before elections, and the amount of incoming without a response from the U.S. government, I find rather disturbing. | ||
| And we've talked about this a little bit on this committee, but also on the Intelligence Committee. | ||
| And we do need to have a better plan. | ||
| And there needs to be some form of deterrence. | ||
| Like, we just can't sit here and take it, which is what I've seen after being here for five years in the United States Senate. | ||
| So I'd like to see another plan as well. | ||
| If you need authorities, please come to us. | ||
| And then on the other front, I will get to a second, which is the national security strategy. | ||
| But for General Donovan and for both of you, thank you for your service. | ||
| Thank you for being here. | ||
| This is an important hearing. | ||
| General Donovan, Senator King brought up the September 2 strike. | ||
| I just want to encourage you to get as much information you can about that. | ||
| Take a look at the video. | ||
| Think about the decision-making process that went into all of those operations. | ||
| Think about who was in the room and then make your own evaluation. | ||
| Is that how you would have expected that day to go? | ||
| Or do you think you need to make some changes as the future commander of Southcom? | ||
| I just want to encourage you to do that because we have a lot of concerns. | ||
| I think there are some concerns on the other side of the aisle as well, but we have got a lot of concerns. | ||
| I do personally about these kind of operations which I have been involved in before. | ||
|
Assuring American Citizens' Safety
00:15:28
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| So please do that. | ||
| On the national security strategy front, do you think as the next commander of Southcom, do you think we need a battle group in the Caribbean permanently, full-time? | ||
| Senator, if confirmed, look at the task at hand to determine whether we need that capability in place, a carry strike group, or even in ARGMU, full-time. | ||
| So until I get on the ground there and look at the tasks that I'm not aware of right now, I couldn't determine whether we need one or not. | ||
| Need one, Senator, but that's my intention once confirmed and in the planning process to address the tasks that are in place and we envision through the NSA. | ||
| But do you expect because of this pivot to the Western Hemisphere that Southcom this year is going to have to be much different than Southcom last year? | ||
| Senator, yes, I do. | ||
| So you expect to need more staff, and obviously with your experience at IndoPaycom, you imagine, actually, that was Lieutenant Rudd or General Rudd. | ||
| But you certainly understand the push and pull here. | ||
| We are going to have to take resources from somewhere else, which needs to be a consideration. | ||
| But your job is Southcom, and I get that. | ||
| And if we are going to be consistent with the national security strategy, which, by the way, I do not agree with, there will need to be some changes on Southcom. | ||
| I want you to be thoughtful about that. | ||
| And then finally, I just want to ask you a question. | ||
| We talked a little bit in my office about. | ||
| It was reported that your predecessor reported in the press. | ||
| I was not able to verify that this actually happened, but where General Halsey or Admiral Halsey was told that he should carry out orders and not ask any questions. | ||
| You have got a lot of experience, decades. | ||
| I can't imagine that's the posture you would take if anybody in senior leadership above you told you not to ask any questions. | ||
| I would just like, I think it's important for people to understand as our leadership, we put people in these senior roles that they are going to have a collaborative approach with their leadership. | ||
| I don't know if you want to comment on that. | ||
| Senator, that's how I have led my life from second lieutenant to lieutenant general, asking the hard questions because the soldier, sailor, the joint force members that we lead, we owe that to them to ask the hard questions. | ||
| I will not stop doing it, Senator. | ||
| So you are not going to put up with somebody above you telling you not to ask any questions. | ||
| Senator, I'll continue to perform and lead like I have for 37 years. | ||
| All right. | ||
| Thank you, General. | ||
| Thank you very much. | ||
| Senator Schmidt. | ||
| Thank you, Mr. Chairman. | ||
| General Donovan, General Rudd, congratulations on your nominations and for your service to our great country. | ||
| For most of our nation's history, America's strategy recognized the simple truth. | ||
| The security of the United States begins in the Western Hemisphere. | ||
| When we neglect our own neighborhood, we have much, as we have for much of the last three decades, threats do not remain abstract or distant. | ||
| They arrive at our border, in our communities, and in the lives of the people that we represent. | ||
| We're now living with those consequences. | ||
| Transnational criminal organizations move people, narcotics, weapons, and money across the hemisphere with increasing sophistication and close collaboration with state actors. | ||
| Fentanyl and cocaine kill tens of thousands of Americans each year. | ||
| Violent networks like Tran Diagua now operate openly inside U.S. cities. | ||
| This is not a theoretical problem. | ||
| It is a direct assault on the safety and sovereignty of the American people. | ||
| At the same time, hostile state actors are expanding their footprint in our hemisphere, partnering with criminal regimes, exploiting corruption, and operating with a sense of impunity that would have been unthinkable a generation ago. | ||
| This is a strategic failure that we can no longer afford to abide by. | ||
| The United States cannot accept insecurity at home because we were unwilling to assert leadership abroad, especially in our own hemisphere. | ||
| President Trump has made clear that protecting the American people comes first and that securing the homeland requires securing our own hemisphere. | ||
| And I would point out that this is actually a throwback to something that has served the United States very well that I think many people have forgotten and they seem shocked that we're talking about it all again, whether it's the Monroe Doctrine or just understanding that we have important interests in our own hemisphere. | ||
| So, General Donovan, we talked about this in my office. | ||
| You're going to have a very, very important job. | ||
| And I think the national security strategy that's been laid out is spot on. | ||
| We need our European allies to step up in a much more meaningful way for the defense of their own continent. | ||
| We have very important interests here at home and in our hemisphere and in the Indo-Pacific. | ||
| And so I want to ask you: as the next commander of Southcom, you'll sit at the very center of that mission. | ||
| And I want to explore how you assess the threats that we pose. | ||
| The first one, and this limited time that we have, on narco-terrorism, how do you, I guess let me ask you this: where in Latin America do transnational criminal organizations pose the greatest strategic threat to the U.S. right now? | ||
| What would be your assessment of that? | ||
| Senator, again, thanks for the time in your office. | ||
| If confirmed, once confirmed, if confirmed, end up in the Southcom headquarters, really have to do a deep dive to fully give a better answer than I can right now. | ||
| My thought is there's a number of different pathways that these nefarious actors, these criminal organizations, can reach the shores of the United States of America. | ||
| And what I pledge, Senator, is to obviously look deeply in this, but also work collaboratively with the other geographic commands in question here or tied to NORTHCOM and Into PACOM to ensure that we're actually providing the chairman and the secretary not only best military advice of one COCOM, but how do we address those synchronized threats in a more holistic way? | ||
| You mentioned NORTHCOM. | ||
| I wanted to ask you about that because, of course, Mexico currently is outside of the statutory AOR. | ||
| But there is this, obviously, this interconnectedness of what's happening in South America into Mexico into the United States. | ||
| And in recognition of this interconnectedness, the Department of War has proposed changes to the unified command plan that would consolidate North Command and South Command under a single America's focused command. | ||
| Given that strategic shift, and I know that's early, and I'm not trying to box you anything, and you should take the time to do your own assessment. | ||
| But currently, how do you assess the alignment of missions between NORTHCOM and Southcom currently? | ||
| Senator, knowing that U.S. NORTHCOM is doing incredible work on the border and also Jewel Hatch's NORAD, a lot on their plate at this point, my focus has been, and I've supported them over the years through both SOF and the Marine Corps mission sets. | ||
| My focus, obviously, if confirmed, is Southcom. | ||
| And how is Southcom a better partner to NORTCOM to, in whatever decisions are made? | ||
| I hope to be part of that decision-making process or at least give advice in that or counsel guidance once I understand the capabilities of Southcom. | ||
| But until that point, my responsibility is to link very tightly with NORTHCOM so we have that unity of effort. | ||
| And I think 30 seconds, so I just know that you're going to have many conversations about this moving forward, but I'm very concerned about the CCP's footprint in our hemisphere. | ||
| Certainly, that was the case in Venezuela. | ||
| You wouldn't have to go too far a year ago. | ||
| We were talking about the concern of the CCP effectively controlling both ends of the Panama Canal with those ports. | ||
| And that leads right into this Greenland discussion. | ||
| I'm not going to get into that now, but I would say that I'm fully supportive of you, but let's continue the conversation about where China's at. | ||
| This is a real threat. | ||
| We simply cannot have our greatest competition adversary setting up shop in our own hemisphere. | ||
| It's unacceptable. | ||
| So thank you. | ||
| Thanks for your service. | ||
| Thank you, Senator Schmidt. | ||
| Senator Slotkin. | ||
| Yes. | ||
| Thank you for being here. | ||
| Thank you to both of you for the time yesterday or a couple days ago in my little hideaway. | ||
| General Rudd, we talked about this, but as a former CIA officer who worked alongside NSA my whole career and proudly participated in operations targeting foreign terrorist organizations, | ||
| foreign adversaries, I think one of the things I'm concerned about, especially in the last couple of weeks, is any possibility that NSA might be used inappropriately against American citizens. | ||
| And you know that NSA is governed by the National Security Act of 1947, an executive order 12333, and even by FISA law that this body passed in as recently as 2024. | ||
| And I think this is pretty relevant. | ||
| We have the Secretary of Homeland Security, Stephen Miller, the Vice President of the United States, labeling people in Minneapolis as domestic terrorists and talking about American citizens as if they are the enemy. | ||
| So, you know, you're going to be in charge of this incredibly important organization, necessary organization, but you're also going to be the guy in the room. | ||
| Should there ever be a suggestion that we target American citizens with NSA capabilities? | ||
| So can you answer for me if the Secretary of Defense or the President of the United States asks you to put NSA or military intel personnel people or tools or assets targeted at American citizens who don't have a link to a foreign terrorist organization? | ||
| Will you reject that? | ||
| Senator, thanks again for the time the other day, and I appreciate the opportunity to discuss this very important issue. | ||
| Senator, if confirmed, I will execute my responsibilities in accordance with the Constitution and all applicable laws. | ||
| So you know, I mean, we talked about this, there is just a ton of law saying that we cannot wiretap, using the layman's term, American citizens' communications just for expressing their freedom of speech, right? | ||
| That they have to have a foreign nexus with a terrorist organization or a foreign power. | ||
| We couldn't be more clear. | ||
| And as a CIA officer, after came in coming in years and years after Watergate, like that was drilled into us, that we never turned the intelligence community against the American people. | ||
| So thank you for answering that clearly because you're going to be the guy in the room, right? | ||
| We talked about how tough these positions are. | ||
| Separate from Minneapolis, the President signed an executive order in September asking the Attorney General to come up with a new list of domestic terrorist organizations and said, once you come up with the list, I want you to use the full weight of the federal government to go after those domestic terrorist groups. | ||
| And he defined domestic terrorist groups in a very broad way, including groups that are anti-Christian, have anti-American views. | ||
| I mean, not just violent, which of course we all understand violence is not legal, but in these very broad terms. | ||
| She has now started that process. | ||
| The Attorney General in November made some announcements about that. | ||
| Can you just help me understand, will NSA be a part or should they be a part of that interagency team targeting domestic terrorist organizations, so-called domestic terrorist organizations? | ||
| Senator, I don't know if NSA is or isn't part of that interagency currently. | ||
| But again, consistent with the last question you just asked, it is our highest duty to uphold our oath to the Constitution and ensure that if confirmed in these roles, we execute those consistent with that oath. | ||
| Well, since the organization you're about to take over, if confirmed, has been without a leader since the previous leader was fired, I just ask that you do that looking under the rug and making sure that we are never making American citizens question whether their intelligence community is targeting them. | ||
| Let me just ask, lastly, General Donovan, I've asked, I think, 14 different military nominees. | ||
| Again, we hope you will not be asked to do something that's illegal. | ||
| But given that your predecessor was removed or left very early and allegedly for questions about concerns over the legality of operations, if you're asked to do something illegal or unconstitutional, will you reject that order? | ||
| Push back. | ||
| You don't have to do it publicly, but push back and protect those who serve under you. | ||
| Senator, yes, I will. | ||
| That's my constitutional responsibility. | ||
| Thank you. | ||
| Yield back. | ||
| Thank you very much. | ||
| Senator Banks, you are recognized. | ||
| Thank you, Mr. Chairman, and congratulations to both of you on your nominations to very important posts in our United States military. | ||
| General Donovan, Communist China was a main supporter of the Maduro regime and has a growing presence throughout Latin America. | ||
| How is China at large supporting threats to the United States, specifically in our hemisphere? | ||
| Senator, again, how I look at that question, again, obviously not in position yet, and if confirmed, this is a priority, but just normal study in life. | ||
| You look where China is infusing themselves into key locations in South America, specifically lines of communication, ports, airfields, roads, tunnels, Panama Canal, everywhere that they can gain influence. | ||
| They can gain access and placement to not only increase their capabilities or their desires, but to counter ours specifically in a time of conflict. | ||
| Can you talk more about how the Maduro regime specifically worked with Communist China to expand their influence in the Western Hemisphere? | ||
| Senator, I do not have any additional details on that, but I pledge that if confirmed, I need to dig in deep into that because I believe we will see similar patterns throughout the region. | ||
| Going forward, though, what actions would you like to see from the new government in Venezuela that would tell us that they are decisively rejecting malign Chinese influence in our hemisphere? | ||
|
Questionable Legal Justifications
00:08:54
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| Senator, not privy or involved in any decisions right now and discussions. | ||
| I believe most of those you are referencing would be policy or diplomatic. | ||
| If confirmed, my task is to create military options and solutions to backstop any of the options picked or selected by the President. | ||
| Okay, I get that. | ||
| How does countering Chinese activity in our hemisphere support Indo-PACOM's mission to deter China and the Pacific, as laid out in the National Security Strategy? | ||
| Senator, just geographically, if you look at the links between Indo-PACOM or the Pacific and South America, specifically South and Central America, it's clear there are direct links. | ||
| And if you hear Admiral Paparo talk about the Indo-Pacific, yes, there is a line between two geographic combatant commands, but our threats, our enemies, don't care about our lines. | ||
| And it highlights the importance that we work in a more global perspective, in this case, specifically NORTHCOM, Southcom, and Indo-PACOM, and leveraging the other functional combatant commands like CyberCom to ensure that we are providing truly best synchronized military options. | ||
| So, specific to the role that you've been nominated to, how can we, the members of this committee, support Southcom as you try to keep our hemisphere free of control of communist China? | ||
| Senator, how I look at that question and how I've been considering my mind, what levers of action or power or influence we could take, building on what Southcom is, again, very good at, which is building partnership capacities, but through a new look in the NSS, what other tools do we have to bring to bear? | ||
| I think of the officers, if you think of the Economic Defense Unit, the Office of Strategic Capital, are there other elements of American, you know, I would say power, but American influence we could apply on top of military, on top of diplomatic, to really come up with creative and more innovative solutions to help counter even more aggressively, Senator? | ||
| Look, I fully support President Trump. | ||
| I believe he is absolutely right to go after illegal oil tankers from Venezuela, Iran, and elsewhere. | ||
| General, can you talk about what more you all are doing to track and seize oil tankers or what you will when you are confirmed to this important role? | ||
| Senator, in my current role as a SOCOM Vice Commander, I am not tied to any of those planning processes. | ||
| If confirmed, obviously we will be fully not only tied to them, but leading the military options for the planning process. | ||
| Very proud of the U.S. military that can project power anywhere in the globe to address those capabilities, those threats that PRC has. | ||
| Man, many of these tankers were already sanctioned by the United States for their illegal activity. | ||
| What is the impact on the Venezuelan, Cuban, and Iranian regimes when our forces in Southcom prevent these tankers from getting oil to their market, wherever it's going? | ||
| Senator, at this time, I've not dug into that topic. | ||
| I pledge you that I will, but I don't know the Intel assessments at this stage. | ||
| It will become a priority if confirmed. | ||
|
unidentified
|
Okay. | |
| Thank you. | ||
| I yield back. | ||
| Thank you very much, Senator Duckworth. | ||
| Thank you, Mr. Chairman. | ||
| I do echo my colleagues' concern that President Trump is marching us towards another forever war in Venezuela and throwing around threats to do the same elsewhere from Greenland to Colombia to Iran. | ||
| After 23 years of service in the Army myself, the lessons that I learned as a young lieutenant about the professionalism and code of conduct and ethics of military officers remain with me to this day. | ||
| I know firsthand the costs in blood that service members and their families suffer when an administration like this one uses military force based on a flimsy pretext. | ||
| This administration has come up with very questionable legal justifications what they're doing. | ||
| They've untethered to any real national security threat with no realistic planning about what comes next. | ||
| The administration says that it's all about warfighters, but we all know that it is fast to betray our warfighters. | ||
| As we saw with the hearing on domestic deployments that I secured in December, President Trump is comfortable thrusting service members into legally unprecedented situations and leaving them out there to dry without legal protection. | ||
| In Southcom, this administration's leaders have created questionable legal justifications for the use of military force. | ||
| They've thrown military commanders under the bus instead of admitting that they likely ordered a war crime and sidelined critical legal advisors. | ||
| In fact, the very real reason that we're here today is because the former commander of Southcom, Admiral Holsey, was asked by Sec Death Hegseth to step down after he expressed concerns over the, and I quote, murky legality of the boat strike campaign, end quote, according to the Wall Street Journal. | ||
| General Donovan, I'm concerned about how this administration might ask you to do what they might ask you to do in this role, given what they asked your predecessor to do. | ||
| And I want to understand how you would navigate that in a way that would safeguard your oath to the American people and to uphold the Constitution by protecting responsible American use of force and protecting the service members under your command. | ||
| If ordered by the Secretary to shoot unarmed civilians with no observable weapons who were not presenting any hostile acts of hostile intent, would you relay that order down to your chain of command? | ||
| No, Senator. | ||
| Thank you. | ||
| Let's do another example. | ||
| If ordered by the Secretary of Defense to shoot harassing fire into a city or a village indiscriminately where we are not actively engaged in hostilities, would you issue that order to your subordinates? | ||
| Senator, I believe the hypothetical aspect of that question, I have to identify that that is a very significant, serious question that I take to heart. | ||
| For the fact that the detail in the planning process to get to a point where one of those very hard decisions has to be made, that's a significant effort, a commander-led process in planning to ensure that all aspects of the operation take consideration to include the legal advice of the legal counsel on that planning staff. | ||
| My responsibility is to lead that planning staff. | ||
| I don't believe that that situation you described, Senator, would be something that would happen out of the blue. | ||
| The conditions had been set. | ||
| The leaders had been given the authority, the rules of engagement, to understand their rules. | ||
| And I can't commit or comment on a situation that I did not plan to participate in to get to that point of the point of decision that you're referencing, Senator. | ||
| I think this is a pretty straightforward answer. | ||
| Let me try a more straightforward answer. | ||
| Do you agree that it would be a crime in international law under the Geneva Conventions for the United States military to conduct violence toward persons who are taking no active part in hostilities or have laid down their arms? | ||
| Senator, again, I would like to really better understand the situation that is being laid out here in the staff planning process that got there to that position before we'd have to make that very hard decision. | ||
| Okay. | ||
| Well, I'm really troubled by that answer because the specific amples I cited are not hypothetical. | ||
| President Trump pardoned a former Army officer, Clint Lawrence, who was convicted of murder by a jury of his peers for taking these very actions against noncombatants. | ||
| In 2012, Lawrence ordered his soldiers to fire upon three unarmed Afghan men, killing two and wounding a third. | ||
| Lawrence was known to act with impunity. | ||
| He pointed his weapon at a young child, ordered soldiers to fire from a tower in the general direction of villagers and lied about receiving hostile fire, and even instructed one of his soldiers to falsify a report after the murders. | ||
| And this is a man that Sec Deaf Hegseth calls a good guy. | ||
| These are the types of disturbing, lawless actions that the SEC, Deaf, and the President regularly glorify. | ||
| Trump has bandied the term hero to describe the likes of Eddie Gallagher, who posed with the body of a deceased teenager and who his fellow veterans said was, quote, okay with killing anything that moved, end quote. | ||
| Let's be clear. | ||
| President Trump is creating a climate in our military where lawlessness is rewarded, not punished. | ||
| A climate where it is even realistic for me to ask you, what would you do if the President's Secretary ordered actions that amount to war crimes? | ||
| And it disturbs me that you could not answer those last two questions. | ||
|
Evolving Cyber Workforce Challenges
00:05:25
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| Thank you. | ||
| Thank you, Senator Dogworth. | ||
| Senator Rosen, you're our final questioner. | ||
| Well, thank you, Senator Wicker. | ||
| No pressure there for the final questioner. | ||
| But thank you, Chairman Wicker, Ranking Member Reid. | ||
| Thank you to both of you for your willingness to serve, for your service through all of these years, to your families who serve along with you and for taking the time to speak with me. | ||
| I'm going to there's so many serious, important things to talk about. | ||
| I'm going to switch over a little bit to cyber workforce for a bit, because if we're not prepared with our workforce and with our assets in this cyberspace, then we will not be able to meet the challenges of the future. | ||
| So one of the most important aspects of maintaining a robust cyber defense posture is ensuring that our workforce is prepared, capable of adapting to an ever-evolving and quickly evolving cyber threat landscape. | ||
| And so, General Rudd, as you know, cyber domain is incredibly dynamic. | ||
| Developing a workforce with the necessary skills and expertise to achieve mastery is critical. | ||
| We are not there yet. | ||
| In your responses to the advanced policy questions, you mentioned investing in people as one of your lines of effort if you're confirmed. | ||
| Can you elaborate more on what you think CyberCom could or should be doing in workforce development, talent management space for cyber, especially when you consider the needs across uniform, civilian, and contract workforces? | ||
| I'm especially interested in your thoughts on the long-term shaping of the workforce and what more you think you might need to do to develop this, because too often we allow the near-term pressures, and they are great, to drive out our longer-term objectives and views. | ||
| Senator, I couldn't agree more with you in terms of how you describe the strategic environment in which we need to develop and build and continue to enhance the cyber workforce. | ||
| So, you know, as we talked, it's about the people first. | ||
| We've got to attract, retain, train, train, retain the most talented and the best. | ||
| And I appreciate what I understand of this committee in particular providing the resources and the direction to help enable to do that. | ||
| I think we also talked a little bit about the department's plan and CyberCom's efforts under CyberCom 2.0 and how that will put us on a trajectory and has to build and enhancing really the supreme workforce that's already there. | ||
| We've got to expand it. | ||
| We've got to do it quickly. | ||
| We've got to do it at scale. | ||
| And we've got to think about creative ways to do this beyond just the agreements with the services. | ||
| I think this is one area where, if confirmed, I would want to take a very quick, deep assessment into it and then come back with any other further recommendations, Senator. | ||
| Well, thank you. | ||
| Because General Brudd, in FY25 NDAA, it included a provision that I helped champion to have the department establish a cyber intelligence capability to provide foundational scientific and technical intelligence to CyberCom and the rest of the joint force. | ||
| And so, what is your understanding of the department's current approach to standing this up, including the lessons learned from recently completed cyber intelligence pilot with the Defense Intelligence Agency? | ||
| How will you prioritize this? | ||
| And really, what are your thoughts on the evolution of the threats in cyberspace? | ||
| How quickly they evolve? | ||
| Yes, Senator, several of the committee members have alluded to or outright said that cyber is the domain that we're active right now. | ||
| Some could say we're at war right now in that domain. | ||
| I don't think that's an unfair characterization. | ||
| So I think everything that we can do to move as quickly as possible to enhance our posture, our capabilities, and our workforce in there, give them the best tools that they can, deepen and thicken the relationships with not only within the department but across industry, academia, that enables us to maintain the advantage of the world-class cyber force that we have. | ||
| Yeah, I think it's critically important. | ||
| I'm going to ask my last question quickly on the Maduro capture to General Donovan. | ||
| The President ordered Operation Absolute Resolve in Venezuela on January 3rd to capture President Nicholas Maduro and his wife, but intentionally did not notify Congress. | ||
| In fact, in the briefings to Congress in the months prior where the administration officials were asked if there was a plan to remove Maduro, the answer was repeatedly no. | ||
| So how would you define the rules of engagement for counter-narcotic operations in Southcom, and what entity do you think has the final authority to approve these rules? | ||
| Senator, I asked to come back and meet with you again after, if confirmed, and have time in Southcom to understand the structure of the headquarters, the missions at hand, the missions envisioned in the future tied the NSS and Curtis operations and come back and discuss with you. | ||
|
Coming Out Friday
00:01:26
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| Thank you. | ||
| I'll look forward to that briefing. | ||
| Thank you, Mr. Chairman. | ||
| Thank you very much, gentlemen, for your testimony today. | ||
| This concludes today's hearing. | ||
| For the information of members, questions for the record will be due to the committee within two business days of the conclusion of the hearing. | ||
| are now adjourned. | ||
|
unidentified
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