**To watch Senator Capito’s questioning, click here or on the image above.**

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Yesterday, U.S. Senator Shelley Moore Capito (R-W.Va.), a member of the Senate Appropriations Defense Subcommittee (SAC-D), questioned Lloyd J. Austin, U.S. Secretary of Defense, and U.S. Air Force Gen. Charles Q. Brown Jr., Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, during a hearing to review the president’s Fiscal Year (FY) 2025 funding request for the U.S. Department of Defense (DOD).

Senator Capito asked Secretary Austin about Biden administration policies that have weakened American deterrence in the Middle East, amid attacks against American troops, including one that killed three servicemembers in Jordan in January 2024.

Senator Capito also pressed Secretary Austin on the administration’s decision to pause a shipment of security assistance bound for Israel due to disagreements the administration has with Israel’s military strategy.

Finally, Senator Capito asked Gen. Brown about the Department’s progress toward replenishing U.S. munitions stockpiles since the passage of the national security supplemental package last month.

HIGHLIGHTS:

ON THE BIDEN ADMINISTRATION ERODING AMERICAN DETERRENCE IN THE MIDDLE EAST:

SEN. CAPITO: “Secretary Austin, I’m a little concerned- very concerned- about the credibility of the administration’s deterrence policy. When I see President Biden’s messaging to Putin, and to Iran, and to the Houthis, and to other Iran-backed groups, I just see President Biden saying: ‘don’t.’ And we've had, you know, attacks- people obviously not adhering to that. I'm concerned that we are significantly eroding our deterrence by setting these, sort of, ambiguous boundaries, and letting our adversaries kind of walk over us sometimes. So, what steps are you and the President taking to establish a stronger, more credible, credible deterrence against these threats from our adversaries, besides just ‘don't’?”

SEC. AUSTIN: “So, you know, we had a number of goals at the very beginning of- of this crisis, and one of them was to take protect our people, both our troops and civilians in the region. Another was to recover the hostages. Another was to ensure that we're doing everything that we can to support Israel in its efforts to defend itself. And then finally, it's our goal to ensure that we contain this- this conflict in Gaza, and not have a regional conflict break out. So, you saw us early on, deploy some pretty substantial capabilities into theater to discourage people from trying to do that- from trying to blow this into a regional conflict, and I think even though there's been- there's been dustups throughout the region, we don't see a regional conflict at this point, Senator. So, if you take a look at the attacks that were being conducted against our troops, you’ll recall that in January we saw- leading up to January we saw a number of attacks against our troops and our bases. And you saw us in February conduct a pretty major strike that the President authorized in both Iraq and Syria. Since that time, we've seen two incidents and- and we attribute those actions to probably rogue elements. So, in that case, they have been deterred from- from attacking our troops, but in terms of Iran and its and its actions in the region, Iran continues to present a threat to the region, and that's something that we're going to have to remain focused on, for sure.”

ON PRESIDENT BIDEN HALTING MILITARY AID TO ISRAEL:

SEN. CAPITO: “Let me ask both of you a question here about the reports that- of withholding weapons. We all voted- many of us, I certainly did and was pleased to support the [national security supplemental package] by 79-18, to reinvigorate not just our own defense industrial, but also to give aid to several other entities. What is the status of withholding our weaponry that we voted to send to Israel? Are we doing that? Why are we doing that?”

SEC. AUSTIN: “Again, you know, our- our commitment to Israel is ironclad, Senator. And you know, as I said earlier, since October 7, we have flowed in billions of dollars’ worth of security assistance. And as you just mentioned, you just passed the largest supplemental in history that's focused on Israel, and we're going to continue to do what's necessary to support Israel-”

SEN. CAPITO: “Are those reports false, then, that I'm reading?”

SEC. AUSTIN: “No, we're currently reviewing some near-term security assistance shipments in the context of the unfolding events in Rafah.”

SEN. CAPITO: “So, we are withholding our shipments of weapons, predicated on the strategy that Israel is employing going into Rafah? Is that the bottom line here?”

SEC. AUSTIN: “We've not- again, we're assessing. We have not made any final decisions on this yet, but- but to answer your question, yes, we are. There are some things that we're taking a closer look at.”

SEN. CAPITO: “Okay, that- that's an answer that's- well, thank you for clarifying it. I wouldn't say I agree with it, but thank you for clarifying it.”

ON THE STATUS OF MUNITIONS REPLENISHMENT FOLLOWING PASSAGE OF THE NATIONAL SECURITY SUPLEMENTAL:

SEN. CAPITO: “General Brown, let me ask you, this is one of the things that's come up on the- the refortification of our own munitions, how do you see that now that we've passed [the National Security Supplemental] and the President has signed this?”

GEN. BROWN: “Well, it is going to put us on a much better path. It's not only the supplemental, but I’d also say the 24- FY [20]24 National Defense Authorization Act, which allow for multiyear procurement for six systems. I would look to actually expand that in the future on multiyear procurement, because what that will do will provide levels of consistency for our defense industrial base, so they can actually work with the workforce, facilities, supply chains, and allow us to make sure we have a capacity from a munitions standpoint.”

SEN. CAPITO: “So, you're convinced that we're on a glide path to renew our munitions supplies to a satisfactory level, for you?”

GEN. BROWN: “We’re on a good path. One piece I'd also add, though, getting a budget on time is actually really important, to actually provide that level of consistency, so we can write contracts and gives our- our defense industrial base the confidence and the trust that they can invest, and have that workforce and supply chain.”

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