Nominations of Kavoukjian, Steel, Dahl, Brat and Wendt to State Dept

United States Senate Foreign Relations Committee will come to order. Uh today we have a uh nominations hearing with uh five nominees uh here before us. We have um ordinarily uh I what I would do is make an opening statement and then yield to the ranking member, but we have two introductions and I know Senator Lummis has other things to do so We'll let you do the introductions, then we'll move to uh a statement from uh th- myself and the ranking member and then we'll hear from the nominees but uh Senator Lummis, let's start with you.

Well, thank you very much, Mister Chairman. It's an honor to be uh with this distinguished panel of senators, and it's also an honor to be at the table with this distinguished uh man and gentle women who are willing to serve our country in the capacity of ad- uh ambassadors and so thanks so much for um uh allowing me to introduce uh my friend, the Honorable Doctor David Bratt, President Trump's nominee to serve as US Ambassador to the Commonwealth of Australia. Doctor Bratt served Virginia's seventh district in the US House of Representatives for two terms from twenty fourteen to twenty eighteen. That's where we got to know each other when we served together in the house. Uh it was uh uh a wonderful experience and I can tell you firsthand that he's a man of extraordinary intellect deep conviction and unshakable integrity. So David's path to public service is one that few could replicate. He has a foundation in theology, you have a master's degree from in theology from Princeton,

Seminary seminary, yep.

correct? Princeton seminary, uh a PHD in economics, you know you could probably be ambassador to somewhere who spoke Hebrew or Greek or Latin and you're going to an American speaking, I'm in an English speaking country, but that's uh beside the point. Um he has a PHD in economics and years spent in the classroom as a professor teaching economics and ethics, not as separate disciplines, but as deeply connected ones. Dave brings a rare depth of experience to everything he does, his background academia, finance, and public service has shaped his belief that economic questions are fundamentally moral questions, and that principled faith-grounded thinking leads to better outcomes for people and nations alike. He brought that same conviction to Congress. Dave entered public service because he believed our country needs voices, willing to speak hard truths, about fiscal responsibility, the foundations that made America great, and the importance of ethics in government, he was never one to shy away from a difficult vote. And those who served with him will tell you that when Dave makes a promise, he keeps it. That is a rare quality in any arena, and it is exactly the quality you want representing the United States abroad. Today Dave serves in senior leadership at Liberty University, where he continues to champion the idea of good economics and good values are inseparable. In his current role, he oversees business relations on a global scale, traveling internationally, cultivating relationships with current and former world leaders, and bringing top executives and national and international figures together for meaningful dialogue. That will serve both of our countries well. uh when you uh take up residence in Australia. Dave lives by example and believes that a clear conception of ethical living, grounded in faith, produces better leaders, better citizens and a better world. He has carried that world view through every chapter of his career, and I have no doubt he will carry it with the same passion and integrity to Canberra. His rare combination of economic expertise, global relationship building and principal leadership will serve America well. Australia is one of our trusted and enduring allies. The relationship between our two nations is built on shared values, shared sacrifice, of which they are very proud, by the way, and a shared vision for a free and prosperous Indo-Pacific. De Brat, Economist, Educator, Man of Faith, and my former colleague is precisely the kind of ambassador who will strengthen that bond. I am very proud to introduce him to this committee and honored to call him my friend. Thank you, Mister Chairman, I yield back.

Thank you, Senator Lummis. We appreciate that and we know you have another commitment, so you're welcome to stay or uh uh go about your business as you're required to do here. So thank you so much. We appreciate that.

Thank you.

Senator Curtis, I understand you have uh some reports.

I do. Yeah, thank you uh, Mr. Chairman. Uh, Madam Ranking Member, so pleased today. Uh, and I can't tell you how pleased I was when on April thirteenth President Trump nominated Michelle Steele to serve as Ambassador to the to uh Republic of Korea. Michelle and I had the pleasure of serving together in the House. And I'll share a little bit of her bio with you, but before I do that, I will just tell you If character matters to you, if hard work matters to you, if competency matters to you, if uh dedication matters to you, this is the right person uh for that position in in South Korea. Uh Miss Michelle Park Steel is one of the first Korean American women elected to the US House of Representatives where she served two terms representing Calif- California's forty-eighth and forty-fifth district. While in Congress, Miss Steel fought for California families and small businesses, served on the influential House Ways and Means Committee, and worked on the Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure, Education and Labor, focusing on issues ranging from tax reform to US-China policy. After fleeing North Korea during the Korean War, Ms. Steele's parents met and built a life in South Korea before moving to Japan where Michelle studied at the Japan Women's University. Her father encouraged her at a young age to move to the United States. Motivated by the challenges her mother faced as a small business owner, navigated tax laws and state regulations, Miss Still ran for and won a seat on the State Board of Equalization, the nation's only elected tax board, where she represented over nine million constituents. She later served as supervisor and chairwoman of the Orange County Board of Supervisors. Miss Still's long record of achievement in elected positions and extensive service as a public service leader at a local and national levels is coupled with her overseas experience and that I'll make sure well qualified to serve as Ambassador to the Republic of Korea. Miss still earned a Bachelor of Science Business Administration from Pepperdine University and an Executive Master of Business Administration from the University of Southern California. Now all that said, uh although uh she is trilingual, including fluency in Korean and Japanese, I did discover one small imperfection during our trip to Taiwan. She does not speak Mandarin. People there naturally assumed that if they wanted to talk to me, the Caucasian guy, they first needed to go through Michelle. They would begin speaking to her in Mandarin only to look surprised when the white guy turned out to be the translator. I am so proud to introduce and support Miss Still, and I hope uh you find her equally as qualified as I do. Thank you.

Well, uh thank you uh so much uh Senator Curtis. We uh we sincerely appreciate that. Um I have a few remarks to make and then I'm gonna turn it over to the ranking member, and then we'll hear from each of you. So uh first of all I wanna thank all of you uh for being here and for being willing to serve, and especially we'd like to thank your families. Uh we know that on these kind of uh things uh the families are as much a part of the service as you are, uh they sacrifice as much as you do, and um in many instances even more than you do, so we really appreciate uh uh the families. Uh so let's start uh a missed deal. In many ways uh South Korea has been a model ally for the United States. Uh as you know better than most, our economic and security relationship with Korea is incredibly important. President Lee has made commitments up uh to up Korea's uh defense spending and to deepen relations with the United States and with Japan. But we also need to up our cooperation in shipbuilding, semiconductors, artificial intelligence and nuclear energy, all critical sectors to ensure uh the US and our partners uh remain at the forefront of tech competition. Today I'd like to hear from you on your priorities for implementing our trade and investment framework with Korea, if confirmed in your and if confirmed, and your views on how we can address the regional threats uh from China and North Korea. Uh, Mister Kabukjan, As you know, Norway uh is a key US ally in Europe uh and the High North. It's uh bordered with Russia as well as its sovereignty over uh Svalbard and the long Arctic coast make it a key partner in countering Russian and Chinese malign activities in the North Atlantic. Norway is also key to building a European energy mix that is independent and secure from Russian interference. We need to work together to advance this goal and protect critical infrastructure. I look forward to hearing how you would uh work with Norway to advance these key priorities. Mister Wendt, the United States uh partnership uh with Albania has benefited from significant growth in recent years and now more than ever. Albania is an important NATO ally, helping provide stability in the Western Balkans and standing up to Russian influence. It is very important for the US to continue its support of Albania's implementation of government and economic reforms they have undertaken. which will in turn increase opportunities for greater cooperation. I look forward to hearing your thoughts on these issues. Mister Dahl, I do not envy the task before you. The legal advisor is integral to the planning and execution of our most complex and consequential foreign policy decisions. Whether it is the military, economic, or gray zone threats posed by Rus- China and Russia, complex international uh treaty negotiations, or protecting our most precious resource, American citizens abroad, you will be uniquely poised to inform the President and the Secretary on extremely consequential issues. This job will certainly keep your hands full, but if confirmed, I trust you will work uh with this committee to ensure our national security is protected. And finally, Mister Brat, Australia is one of our most important partners in countering China's influence in the Indo-Pacific. If confirmed, you will oversee a historic transformation of our alliance with Australia as we step up our diplomatic, economic and security cooperation through AUKUS and other initiatives. In this role, I hope you will also push our friends to fully implement their new investment screening and foreign influence laws, to counter malign Chinese influence and assist them as they seek to counter the rise of anti-semitism that we've seen in Australia and for that matter, around the world. Thank you again to the nominees and to the families, and with that turn uh the podium over to the ranking member, Senator Shaheen.

Thank you, Mister Chairman, and welcome to all of our nominees today. Um thank you for your willingness to think about continuing to serve this country, and welcome to all of your family and supporters who are here this morning. Last year at our nomination hearing for the legal advisor to the State Department, Mister Dahl, I asked him whether he would commit to following the law. And he actually struggled to answer. It was an yes or no question, but he couldn't give me a yes answer. Over the last year, that attitude toward the law, including refusing to spend funds that Congress has appropriated, has had real consequences. We've seen the termination of global health programs, and now we're seeing an Ebola outbreak in Africa that has real implications for countries around the world. We've seen family planning commodities that have been left to expire in warehouses instead of reaching women and families who need them. Foreign assistance cuts have weakened our ability to stand with Ukraine against Russia. And none of that makes us safer or more secure. Mister Dolle, if confirmed as the State Department's next Legal Advisor, I hope you will ensure that the administration follows the law. Because, as we know, the law is not optional. Mister Brat, you've been nominated to be the US Ambassador to Australia. Um, like the Chairman, I think Australia is a vital ally, particularly on AUKUS. It's gonna be um critical to US Ambassador to help encourage that AUKUS continues to move forward. It's also important for critical minerals, for countering Chinese coercion in the Indo-Pacific. And the administration's prolonged review of AUKUS has created uncertainty that I think has really been unnecessary at a critical time in the region. It took more than a year for the administration to nominate someone to this post, and I'm glad that they finally have. I'm delighted because it's delays like that that weaken American credibility with our allies. Mister, is it Kvookian?

Kvook John.

Kvook John.

But I'm not fussy, Senator.

Not when you're at this can be here.

Now, are you of Armenian descent, because in New Hampshire we have a lot of Armenians whose last name ends in the same way.

Yes, uh, you'll hear about this in my opening statement, I'm Armenian on my father's side and Norwegian on my mother's side.

Hmm.

Well, we're delighted that you're gonna have a chance to go back and uh See Norway firsthand. Um, when our embassy in Oslo was targeted in a terrorist attack in March, we had no US ambassador on the ground. And just as key posts across the Middle East remained vacant following Iran's recent retaliatory attacks, it's critical that we have ambassadors in US posts around the world. Norway is on the front lines of growing Russian activity and sabotage efforts in the Baltics and the North Sea and in the Arctic. If confirmed, I hope you will work closely with our Norwegian allies to strengthen NATO's presence in the Arctic and to counter Russian aggression. The United States needs to show up and lead in moments like these. Mister Wendt, you've been nominated to serve as ambassador to Albania. And again, as the chairman said, Albania is one of our closest partners in the Western Balkans and a NATO ally, and it has really stood with us in so many ways. It's also stood with Ukraine and supported sanctions on Russia. If confirmed, you will be the first U. S. Ambassador to Albania in three years. At a consequential moment for the region, diplomatic leadership matters. Miss Steele, you've been nominated to serve as Ambassador to South Korea. Um, Senator Curtis talked about your trip with him to Taiwan, but um, he and I And Senator Rosen from this committee recently traveled there with a bipartisan delegation. And across Asia we heard the same message repeatedly. They want to see the United States stand by its allies. That's why I was troubled when I heard the President suggest that arms sales to Taiwan might actually be an open item to negotiate with with China. I think Taiwan's security is not a bargaining chip it's central to deterrence in the Indo-Pacific. and allies like South Korea are watching closely to see whether American commitments remain firm. That matters not only for our security alliances, but for our economic partnerships as well. If confirmed, I hope you will work to strengthen our alliance with Seoul and reinforce deterrence in the region. Let me conclude by highlighting that last week, more than two hundred and fifty foreign service officers were separated from the Department of State. These are professionals with deep expertise in whom the United States has invested time and resources. I am very distressed that we are hollowing out America's diplomatic core and at the time when America's leadership needs to remain strong in the world, when growing threats around the world could move us in the wrong direction. So, again, I appreciate all of you being here this morning, your willingness to be nominated and considered for these critical posts. Thank you, Mister Chairman.

Thank you, Senator Shaheen. Uh, we'll now hear from the nominees. Um, we'd like you to keep it to about five minutes. Uh, if you have uh, more lengthy remarks than that, we're more than happy to have those included in the record. So, uh, give us all you want. Just keep your remarks to about five minutes if you would. We appreciate it. So, um, Mister Brat, we'll start with you. Thank you very much. Uh, Chairman Risch, Ranking Member,

Um, you wanna turn on your

what a day.

mike.

It's been a while.

Thank you very much. Uh, Chairman Risch, uh, Ranking Member Shaheen, and distinguished members of the committee, thank you for the opportunity to appear before you today. It is an honor to be nominated as United States Ambassador to the Commonwealth of Australia. President Trump and Secretary Rubio have called upon diplomats to be champions for the American people above all else. If confirmed as ambassador, I will ensure American interests and American citizens always come first. First, I want to thank President Trump for the incredible honor of representing him and the United States in Australia. Second, I want to thank Secretary Rubio for the incredible team sitting all around us that has shaped uh at the h- that he has shaped at the state, and for the crucial support I have received all the way through this process. It's been remarkable. Finally, I want to thank my loving wife Laura behind me for her strength and courage as we face another great journey together. I also want to say a personal hello to Australia on this big day, if confirmed. I love everything about your country. I'm a tennis fanatic. I follow your pros, the Open, and of course, the game of Prime Minister Albanese. I'm looking forward to sports diplomacy across the board. I love the Australian people I have met in life and I appreciate their decency, their wit, their sense of humor above all. As Aristotle said, true friends must pursue similar ends and similar goals, and we do. We all share the same values of life, liberty and happiness. The US, United States lost a hundred and sixty thousand of our best who gave the ultimate sacrifice in the Great Pacific Wars of World War Two. to gain a maritime foothold and ensure free navigation for the next generations. Australia has been with us every step of the way, with loyal friendship and with courage. If confirmed, I'm excited to build great friendships with you in person. Few countries are as integral to US interests as Australia as evidenced by the broad, bipartisan support for the alliance, a long-standing treaty ally, five eyes partner, AUKUS and Quad member, our partnership with Australia makes America safer, stronger and more prosperous, in the words of Secretary Rubio. Few uh our relationship with Australia under this administration is deepening. During the President's meeting last October with Prime Minister Albanese, our leaders charted a course to take the alliance to new highs. Building on that historic summit, I see opportunities to advance our priorities in three key areas. uh which the committee's already suggested this morning, critical minerals and commercial diplomacy, number two, defense cooperation and number three, partnership in the Indo-Pacific region. Uh the first priority, the critical minerals framework signed by President Trump and Prime Minister Albanese lays a solid foundation for securing these important supply chains. If confirmed, I would focus our team on fully executing this foundational agreement. Australia remains a promising market for US companies. Building on the administration's recent success in securing access for beef, US beef, I would work to ensure a level playing field for all US companies. I'd also be a steadfast champion of Australian investment into the United States, partnering with Australia's superannuation funds, uh which will go over a trillion dollars in the next ten years, to execute on plans to in- invest uh in the US. If confirmed, I would also continue to strengthen defense cooperation, including uh working with Congress to further streamline defense trade controls. Amidst China's unprecedented military build-up, the US-Australia alliance is an essential pillar of regional stability and deterrence. As the President has instructed, I would ensure the mission moves full steam ahead, including AUKUS, on AUKUS and other alliance priorities. Finally, if confirmed as Ambassador, I would expand our partnership with Australia across the Indo-Pacific, and especially in the Pacific Islands. Working with Australia to build out critical infrastructure, support private

Thank you, Mr. Brat. We'll turn to Mr. Wendt.

Thank you.

The floor is yours.

Chairman Risch, Ranking Member Shahin and members of the committee, I'm honored and grateful uh to President Trump for the trust placed in me with this nomination for the position of US Ambassador to Albania. For over thirty-four years, I served the United States of America as an active duty soldier. I'd spent uh four and a half years in the infantry and thirty years uh as a green beret. That tenure included being assigned to the US State Department for two years while leading an eight country coalition as the US security coordinator for Israel and the Palestinian Authority. In that position, I operated daily as a part of the US embassy in Jerusalem, while reporting directly to the US secretary of state. Since retiring from uniformed service, I've been blessed to teach command and leadership at my graduate school alma mater, the Naval Postgraduate School in Monterey, California. So today, my wife is overseas in Okinawa, Japan, with our US Air Force Captain, son-in-law, and with our daughter and our granddaughter to help care for another newly arrived granddaughter. Our son, a US Army first lieutenant, serving as a paratrooper in the eighty-second airborne division, is sitting behind me. He and his wife are serving the country while Fort Bragg, North Carolina. We are a family that loves the United States of America, and we are thankful for the opportunity to serve such a remarkable country. As the commander for NATO's special operations forces, Albanian special operations troopers were a part of my command, and I worked with them on the ground in Albania. In Afghanistan, I served as the deputy commander of a regional command that included Albanian troopers. I found that the Albanian Special Forces troopers exemplify the warrior spirit of the Albanian hero, Skanderbeg. And the Albanian people themselves are a proud, hard-working, and hospitable people. If confirmed, my top priorities will be to protect US citizens and advance American interests. If confirmed, at post we will utilize four lines of operation as we assess our way forward to further develop the embassy's country plan. The first line will explore ways to make America safer. Supporting Albania as they continue their fight against corruption, as well as transnational organized crime and drug trafficking linked with Latin American drug cartels will help make America and Albania safer. Second. We'll work to make Al- America more secure. These actions will also benefit Albanian security. I will work diligently to support Albania's progress towards the Hague twenty twenty five NATO summit agreement to thoughtfully increase defense spending to five percent of GDP by twenty thirty five while supporting increased US and Albanian cyber security capabilities and investigating mutually beneficial initiatives. across multiple military domains. Third will be our focus on making America more prosperous. These efforts will simultaneously benefit Albanian prosperity. As Albanians' AI, energy, infrastructure, mining, and other economic sectors grow, US businesses and investors should face level contractual and legal playing fields. Fourth will be our focus on the post itself. including a key line of effort that I call human factors, which will seek to utilize both standard and creative ways to care for the most valuable part of the post, its people, both publicly and in their professional careers, and with information they're willing to offer privately and and personally. In conclusion, if confirmed, I look forward to collaborating with the members of this committee and our partners in Albania to achieve these important goals. And I welcome any questions you may have.

Thank you very much. Uh, Mr. we'll now turn to uh Miss Thiel.

Chairman, Ranking Members, and Honorable Members of the Committee. Thank you for the opportunity to appear before you today. It is honor of a lifetime to be present Trump's nominee for US Ambassador to Republic of Korea. I'm deeply grateful to President Trump and Secretary Rubio for their trust in me to serve the American people. I want to thank my family, my husband of forty-five years, Sean, my daughters, Cheyenne and Siobhan, and their husbands, Wolf, who's been deployed since March. This is second deployment. He's a Navy Lieutenant Commander. Johnny still stays in London with my fourth grandchild. My sister, Joey, and my brother-in-law, Sh- Sherman, and my actually three adorable grandchildren, Declan, Rosemary, Charlie are sitting in the back. Today, I reminded of a Korean saying. After hardship comes joy. Like so many Korean Americans, our story began in hardship. My parents fled North Korea during the Korean War. They started a family in South Korea, a place made safe and free because more than thirty-six thousand Americans gave their lives in defense of freedom. While we were living in Japan, my father encouraged me to study in the United States, which he saw as beacon of hope, freedom, and prosperity. He was right. English is my third language. And only in a country like ours could someone like me serve their community in Congress. During my two terms in Congress, I worked to strengthen our national security, preserve economic prosperity, protect American workers and businesses, and advance human rights, including on the Ways and Means Committee. If confirmed, I continued that commitment by strengthening our alliance with the Republic of Korea. For more than seven decades, the alliance between United States and the Republic of Korea has served

Oh my goodness.

as the linchpin of peace, security, and prosperity in Northeast Asia. Our combined defense posture, anchored by the twenty-eight thousand five hundred members of US forces, Korea, and reinforced by America's extended nuclear deterrent remains ironclad, it is the bedrock of our alliance. President Trump opened the historic new chapter in our alliance with his twenty twenty five state visit to Gyeongju. The twenty twenty five UK ROK joint fact sheet outlined the once in a generation upgrade to our security cooperation. As part of this modernization, Seoul has pledged to expand its defense spending and to bolster our shared deterrence posture. Our governments cooperate closely to respond to the DPRK's unlawful weapons programs. It's expanding cybercrime operations and it deepening military cooperation with Russia. We are strengthening a vital trilateral partnership alongside Japan to defend the free and open in the Pacific. South Korea is one of the America's most important trading partner and a critical investor in rebuilding American industry. In twenty twenty five, we welcomed the US ROK's strategic trade investment deal, in which South Korea commits to invest three hundred fifty billion dollars in US strategic industries and reduce barriers to US exports. American companies operating in Korea deserve the same market access that Korean companies enjoy in the United States. The United States and Republic of Korea share one of the world's strongest alliances and I look forward to supporting the next phase our our great alliance. I look forward to your questions. Thank you.

Thank you, mi- uh, Miss Steele. Uh, let's go to uh, Mr. Kavookjan.

Chairman Rish, Ranking Member Shaheen and members of the committee. I am honored to appear before you at the nominee for United States Ambassador to the Kingdom of Norway. I am deeply grateful to President Trump for the trust he has placed in me with this nomination. If confirmed, I pledge to serve the American people with diligence, fortitude and integrity in this important post. I also want to thank my family, my former colleagues in the CIA, my partners at White and Case, which has been my professional home for the last forty years, the nominations team at the State Department, some of whom are here today, and Senator Tom Cotton. I appreciate all of their support throughout this process. Thanks as well to my late parents, who made patriotism a core value in our home. And finally, special thanks to my wife, Jana. I would not be in this position without her. She will be our best asset in Oslo if I am confirmed. This nomination is especially meaningful to me as my mother was born in Norway, near the Lofoten Islands, in a house my great grandfather built that still stands. My Norwegian-born uncle served in the OSS during World War Two working with the Norwegian resistance. I was raised in Minnesota, home to more Americans of Norwegian ancestry than any other state and a center of Norwegian American culture. I was, believe it or not, a competitive ski jumper in my youth. I am hopeful that this background will help me build strong relationships with our Norwegian allies. It also means that if confirmed, our family will have gone from a rustic island farmhouse in a fjord north of the Arctic Circle to the ambassador's residence in Oslo in one generation. That is a quintessential American story with some Nordic nuance. If confirmed as ambassador, my top priorities will be to one, aid and protect US citizens in Norway, including our embassy staff. Two, advance American security interests by building on our long tradition of military and intelligence cooperation with Norway. Three, further strengthen our economic ties with Norway, especially in the area of critical minerals and energy. to diversify the global supply chain. And four, build closer cultural connections between the American and Norwegian people, so that the bond of trust we have forged over the last two hundred years continues into the next generation. As a founding member of NATO and the eyes and ears of the alliance in the Arctic, Norway understands its commitment to our shared security. It is meeting NATO's enhanced defense spending targets. Indeed, it is now the first country in the history of the alliance to spend more per capita on defense than the United States. Many of its upgraded systems are purchased from the United States. Norway's strategic location, its military capabilities and its experience operating in extreme cold weather make it an indispensable security partner. If confirmed, I will work to further strengthen cooperation with Norway on defense issues with special attention to Russian and Chinese activities in the Arctic that are opposed to our interests. National security is inextricably linked to economic strength. I will therefore have confirmed work to increase business ties and trade between our two countries, especially in critical areas like rare earth elements. Norway's recent joining of the PAK silica initiative is an important step in ensuring US access to these resources. Norway also has a thriving energy sector that plays a vital role in global energy security supplying thirty percent of Europe's oil and natural gas and reducing reliance on more problematic producers. Norway has the world's largest sovereign wealth fund valued at two trillion dollars, roughly half of which is invested in the US.

Mm.

I would welcome the opportunity to encourage more direct investment by Norwegian companies in the United States to create American jobs and to reduce trade barriers so American firms can compete fairly in the Norwegian market. Finally, if confirmed, I will work tirelessly to promote cross- to promote cross-cultural initiatives that bring the Norwegian and American people closer together. Norwegian immigrants have made enormous contributions to the United States, especially in the upper Midwest. Roughly five million Americans have Norwegian ancestry. But as new generations grow more distant from their immigrant past, we must work to ensure the bond between our two great peoples remains strong. For example, if confirmed, I will seek to arrange for a Minnesota Vikings football game to be played in Oslo. Nothing could be more effective in inspiring Norwegian Americans to visit their ancestral homeland. and form new ties with their American, with their Norwegian cousins. I want to conclude with a quote from our former Secretary of State, George Shultz, on the most important lesson he learned from his many years on the world stage. Quote, " Trust is the coin of the realm. When trust was in the room, good things happened. Everything else is details." Unquote. Our relationship with Norway is built on a foundation of trust. That trust comes from a long history of working together, shared values, shared interests and candor. If confirmed, I will continue that tradition of trust. With that foundation, I am confident that, as Secretary Shultz said, good things will happen. Thank you for your consideration. I welcome any questions you may have.

Thank you, Mr. Kovach, and we're gonna move now to Mr. Dahl.

Chairman Rish, Ranking Member Shahin, and distinguished members of the committee. It's the privilege of a lifetime to appear today as the President's nominee to be the Legal Advisor to the Department of State. I want to thank President Trump and Secretary Rubio for their confidence in me. I also want to thank my wife, who has been so supportive over my career and who is here today, my wife Jessica, along with our children, Elias, uh Vivienne and London, my twin brothers here, along with my parents, and my mother and father-in-law are also here. I am deeply indebted to the the sacrifices and support that they have shown. I also want to thank the team at the department who has helped me prepare for this opportunity. The prospect of working with such superb and dedicated people has demonstrated a key facet of why this position is so desirable. Years ago I came to Washington DC from Kansas where both my wife and I were raised,

Yeah.

wanting to pursue a career in the government.

Yeah.

Interested in international relations, in early September two thousand one I submitted an application for a national security education program scholarship to study Turkish in Istanbul, which itself entailed an obligation to work for the government. Little did any of us know how the events of that month would reshape our lives. I was eventually granted the chance to pursue a master's in Arabic and modern Middle Eastern studies and subsequently filled a role at the Treasury attache's office at the US embassy in Baghdad. I later returned to Treasury in DC and worked on the inter-agency group focused on Afghanistan before heading to law school. I share these experiences because they formed my impressions of the fundamental role of the rule of law, incredible institutions in ensuring pathways to stable and prosperous coexistence. In short, they highlighted the centrality of communal trust to the success of any public endeavor. A thriving society rests on predictable legal norms, and when it acts as a single community externally, it must do so with conviction and credibility. The legal advisor's office is core to those principles and accomplishes its functions across an array of complex, and intersecting legal regimes. Paramount, of course, is the delivery of accurate and objective legal advice to the secretary and to the department more broadly. It has a particularly distinct role, moreover, in advising on and articulating the meaning of international law. That law is not just a set of rules, but a framework for communicating our principles, expectations and aspirations to the global community. The department then grants to the legal advisor in supporting the secretary, a legal mouthpiece for conveying our values abroad and engaging in dialogue about those values. My legal career spanning both government and private practice informs how I understand the obligations of the legal advisor's office and the wide array of talents and skills that the office possesses. I have spent years advising clients on a variety of crisis management, international negotiations, litigation, governance, and operational strategy issues. That experience also provides signals on how the office can continue to engage effectively with the various communities of interest, with Congress, across the executive branch, with the American public, and with the world community. I am incredibly grateful to be considered by this committee, and if confirmed would be deeply honored to serve. But for now I recognize we have much to discuss, and I look forward to that engagement.

Thank you, uh, Mister Dahl. We'll now proceed to a uh round of questions, uh five minutes for each member here, and I'm gonna start with myself. Um, Miss Thiel, uh y- you know, uh I think most everybody on this committee is has gone to Korea. and stood on the dmz and looked one direction and then the other direction and you can't help but think about what happened there uh in korea on a korean peninsula after world war two as the world was was readjusting itself to a new world order and people were deciding what kind of government they're gonna have on the one side you got this autocracy uh that is uh incredibly closed society uh with no rule of law and uh an incredibly uh difficult standard of living uh and uh in a communist country. On the other side you have a robust democracy uh and uh people have a high standard of living and um uh i and obviously it's a capitalist free market system. And you look at those two and and you think how could any human being stand here and look at this and not easily see uh which way is better. Um uh it it to me that was uh that that is just uh staggera and here you had a really monolithic population of people who occupied the peninsula all one country, all one uh one race, one group of people, and yet one went one way and one went the other and and and half of them living a horrible life right now and the other really living a a life that is much different than here in America as I traveled around around South Korea. So um i in any event, the thing that struck me is over the years back, they each each country had a reunification department, if you would. And now that's gone. Uh each of them have disbanded that and it seems like you can't pick up the paper every day or or turn on the TV or the internet and not see that they're that that North Korea is challenging more and more, South Korea. Uh it it's It's not a pretty picture and it really isn't uh very encouraging for the future. I'd like to hear your thoughts on that.

As I said on the opening statement that my both parents fled from North Korea from communism. They lost everything there and they came down to South Korea and they rebuilt. And then my father became diplomat and then went to Japan and then we came to United States. We all know that how many people suffering in North Korea. That's why we need very strong alliance between United States and Japan and South Korea. It's not just protecting South Korea, but it's protecting all in the Pacific region. So that's why we have to have a strong alliance between United States and United States been there. And our relationship is really ironclad. And we have a very, very strong relationship. It's not just military-wise, but economy side same thing too. So because of US's help, that Korean economy just grew top in the world for top six. So I'm very proud that I c if confirmed that love to be in South Korea, we gonna work better and we gonna work together, and we gonna have stronger relationship. between South Korea and United States.

Well said. Thank you so much. Um, Mister Brat, uh, the um AUKUS agreement has really reinvigorated the relationship between the United States and uh and Australia, and I know I'm sure you followed that. Uh, there's a lot of us that have been uh involved in that from the very beginning and are very enthusiastic about it. Um, then uh following that, of course, we've got the new critical minerals agreement, which I'm sure you're uh aware of. That's something that uh uh we're w is really necessary for us, for the free world really. Uh and again that has helped reinvigorate our relationship. I know Australia's got some uh we we think uh we have a China problem here. They got a real China problem there. Uh your thoughts.

Y yes uh thank you Chairman uh uh let me just start off wi with the rare mineral piece. Uh, I'm not a chemist, but I'm trying to get up to speed on all that. I I talked to the heads of national security and they put it in terms that I had not yet heard, right? So if you look at the economic value of the rare earth minerals, et cetera, it doesn't really show up. Uh, but what what is so important about the rare earths, the minerals and the processing is that they're vital to every aspect of the economy, every aspect of our economy. Uh, not just the F thirty fives. not just the submarine engines, your lawnmower engine, et cetera, right on down the line. And the impact of uh of uh i- i- if we get into an adversarial position on that with with some of the countries around the world right now, that that can have the loss of of of that uh trading of rare minerals can have a significant GDP effect that that goes beyond a few percent. And so I think it's important to convey that to the American people, as you said, the importance of that and con convey how important Australia is to us. They're mining experts, they're processing e- uh experts, they're refining experts, they have engineers. Uh, we need to get that skill base going over here and invest beyond STEM into that kind of engineering in the processing of the rare earths, where China's got ninety percent, uh, of of the processing, uh, around the world. And so I'm gonna work on that. Uh, well, probably one of my main priorities, uh, working the uh mission and the embassy. And then uh on AUKUS uh as you've just laid out and I see my Senator Kane walking in the room the AUKUS the AUKUS uh I know is uh vital in his work. Uh that's huge, that's that's just not a submarine deal, it's you know that's three submarines over a decade and then three more down in Adelaide but built with the UK and interoperability, and all this kind of thing. Uh nuclear powered conventionally uh conventional arms uh i- is important in that respect. Uh, Australia's already put over two billion into industrial production on AUKUS, and that doesn't even include the subs yet. And so, but the, the key I think to that piece is it is a model, uh, for a multilateral, uh, uh, coordination, uh, with the UK, uh, as we pivot to the Pacific. Now we have the UK with Australia, with the United States, uh with interoperability with the with the Marines, uh more forces are on the way, uh we have to work that out with Australia, uh but that that AUKUS framework uh is is much more uh than than just uh industrial uh, you know, economics. It it we it it it's security for the South Pacific.

Yeah.

A- and right now we're having maritime challenges across the board throughout the islands. uh all the way through the Marianas, up through South Korea, the Philippines, uh and so I look forward to working with this committee uh on on those issues.

I I think you've got uh a good understanding of this, and your particularly your focus on the critical minerals. I was really surprised uh when the Aussies tell us they got like fifty-three of the fifty-five we're looking for there, Yeah, yeah. and and uh they've got processing figured out, which is gonna be really important to us. Senator Shaheen.

Thank you, Mister Chairman. Um, Mr. Dahl, as I said in my opening remarks, um, your predecessor, excuse me, last year, or when he came before the committee, couldn't commit to following the law. And, um, I appreciate your, um, state opening statement and your adherence to the law, but I feel compelled to ask you this question. Um, do you commit to following the law if you are confirmed for this post?