During a Senate Foreign Relations Committee hearing, Sen. Pete Ricketts (R-NE) questioned President Trump's nominee to be Ambassador to Israel, former Gov. Mike Huckabee (R-AR), about his approach to the Middle East, and how to address the ongoing Israel-Hamas fighting.
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NewsTranscript
00:00Thank you, Mr. Chairman, I want to thank all of our nominees for your past public service
00:07and also for your willingness to continue to serve our great nation and for your families
00:12who also have sacrificed and serve along with you, so thank you.
00:16The Popular Resistance Committee is the third largest terrorist organization in Gaza and
00:22also a puppet of Iran.
00:25After decades of attacks, including the October 7th attack, it has both American and Israeli
00:30blood on its hands.
00:33Despite this, the PRC has yet to be properly designated and sanctioned.
00:38Later today, Senator Schiff and I will be introducing the Accountability for Terrorist
00:42Perpetrators of October 7th Act, which, among other things, will cut off the people's resistance
00:51committees from the global financial markets.
00:55Governor Huckabee, do you agree that the U.S. should hold all terrorist groups who played
01:00a role on October 7th accountable for the atrocities?
01:04Senator, a wonderful question because I feel like that this is one that everyone, Democrat,
01:11Republican, and the fact that you have bipartisan support to introduce that bill is very significant.
01:16I cannot imagine under any circumstances that any right-minded person would find it
01:25acceptable to support or to even acknowledge that there was justification in any way for
01:34the massacre of innocent civilians on October 7th.
01:39If I'm confirmed, I will be absolutely clear to carry the President's policies.
01:47They have been clear that Hamas will have no future in Gaza.
01:52It can't.
01:53This was not simply a cold-blooded murder in which people came across the borders and
02:00shot innocent people.
02:02They massacred them.
02:04And they did it in the way that was most physically painful and in the way that was
02:09most personally humiliating.
02:13And worse, they videotaped themselves doing it because they were proud of it.
02:18And they published it with pride.
02:20And they announced repeatedly that they would do it again.
02:24Hamas is not a government.
02:25It's not a standing army.
02:27It is a terrorist organization.
02:28And they acted like it.
02:30And they must be treated as such.
02:33And if confirmed, I would hope that this unfortunate, horrific war that has resulted
02:40in many, many deaths, including Americans, the taking of hostages for a longer period
02:47of time than even the hostages in 1979 were taken during the Iranian takeover, that all
02:54of that could come to an end and there could be accountability for what was done to Jewish
03:00people on October the 7th of 2023.
03:05So I take by your answer, I can have your commitment to work with me on this piece of
03:08legislation that will properly hold the People's Resistance Committees accountable and properly
03:12sanctioned and designated.
03:15Is that fair?
03:18Senator, unflinchingly, I commit to you to do that very thing.
03:22Great.
03:24Let's move on to the head of the snake, Iran.
03:26Right now, the Ayatollah is reeling.
03:29Hamas and Hezbollah have been decimated.
03:33Iran's been kicked out of Syria, at least for the time being, after the fall of Assad.
03:36Tehran's air defenses have been wiped out by the IDF.
03:39And thanks to President Trump reimposing maximum pressure, including sanctioning Communist
03:44China's teapot refineries, its economy is in freefall.
03:48However, it remains to be seen if, out of desperation, Iran will come to the table or
03:52sprint to build a nuclear weapon.
03:57President Trump has reportedly given Tehran two months to deal or risk severe consequences.
04:01Needless to say, Iran, being closer than ever to having a nuclear weapon, isn't just a threat
04:07to Israel, it's a threat to the United States and global security in general.
04:11It cannot be allowed to happen.
04:13Do you agree with President Trump that Iran cannot be allowed to have a nuclear weapon?
04:17Senator, I appreciate the question because it gives me the opportunity to let you know
04:22that I absolutely believe that the president is taking the right course of action.
04:26He did it when his first term.
04:28The maximum pressure bankrupted the Iranians.
04:31It made it impossible for them to fund the Houthis, Hezbollah, Hamas.
04:35They didn't have the money.
04:37When his term ended and President Biden took office, unfortunately, they relaxed some of
04:41those pressures.
04:43And the result was Iran had money again.
04:46They didn't use it to help their people.
04:49They used it to murder people in Israel through the Houthis, through Hezbollah and through
04:54Hamas.
04:56I'm grateful to serve a president who recognizes that Iran cannot have a nuclear weapon and
05:02that it is better to bankrupt them than it is to bomb them.
05:07And Governor Huckabee, you're exactly right.
05:09The Trump administration took Iran's foreign reserves down from one hundred twenty two
05:14and a half billion dollars down to under fourteen billion dollars that prevented them from funding
05:18groups like Hamas, Hezbollah and the Houthis.
05:20So you're exactly right.
05:22And this policy of sanctioning them and trying to bankrupt Iran is exactly the right course.
05:26So thank you very much.
05:27And with that, Mr. Chairman, thank you.
05:29Thank you, sir.