Hearings to examine pending nominations.

uh committee will come to order. Uh thank you all for being here today. We welcome our guests uh who uh have joined us at this public hearing. We're always glad to have guests. I wanna remind everyone that uh this is a uh function of the United States government which cannot be interrupted uh we've had that from time to time, haven't had any lately which is good uh we know how to handle it if it happens but uh i'd ask everyone to uh not attempt to communicate with uh in any fashion uh during the uh uh hearing so we can get about our business so we have uh three different uh nominees today and the way this will work is i'm gonna make a uh a brief opening statement then turn to the ranking member uh we'll then have one introduction i'm told and then we'll hear from uh our panel today thank you so much for being here and thank you for your to your families for being here We'd ask you to keep your remarks to about five minutes, if you have more, happy to include whatever you want uh in the record of the hearing. So thank you to uh our nominees for being here today, uh and especially thank you to the families. When you serve, we all know that the families uh share part of the uh burden and responsibility that that takes, and uh it is always uh stress on them just as it is on those who step forward to take part in uh in our government. Ms. Rogers, this call to serve is not new for you uh or for your family. Your potential dual role serving as Under Secretary of State for Public Di- Diplomacy and the CEO of USAGM uh would create a unity of operations and of messaging across the federal government. And as Secretary Rubio continuously demonstrates, in this administration, the best reward for hard work is another job. Uh, as you know, USAGM is the funding source of some of America's most important public uh diplomacy tools. But it is also an agency with a troubled past, and in this administration it is in a period of transition. It will be your responsibility to right the ship and chart a much improved course for the organization and US public uh diplomacy in general. Uh, Mister Atta, the International Monetary Fund is the international organization focused on promotion on promoting international economic stability. If confirmed as US Economic Director to the board, you will be tasked with representing the US position in the day-to-day operations uh and business of the IMF and ensuring American interests are protected. I look forward to hearing how you plan to promote President Trump's vision for refocusing the IMF's efforts, and in achieving its core mandate of global economic cooperation and stability. And finally, Miss Carroll, Trinidad and Tobago is a fellow democracy and a key U S economic diplomatic and security partner in the Caribbean. Uh, Trinidad has benefited from and actively participated in U S initiatives like the Caribbean Basin Trade Partnership and the Caribbean Basin Security Initiative. And most recently, Trinidad has played an active role in support of U S law enforcement efforts in the region, including the arrest and extradition of Nicolas Samaduro um in Venezuela. We are very grateful for this work. I look forward to hearing your thoughts on ways we can deepen our strategic uh relations with Trinidad and if you are confirmed as ambassador. Thank you again to our nominees, again thank you to your families, and now I'll turn it over to the ranking member for her remarks.

Well thank you, Mister Chairman, and welcome to each of our nominees today, to all of your families and friends and supporters who are here with you. Every day U. S. adversaries try to shape the information environment in ways that hurt America's interests. We see it with China's efforts to isolate Taiwan, with Iran's efforts to undermine confidence in American military power, and in Russia's efforts to undermine support for Ukraine, to divide Americans and erode confidence in our democracy. Our adversaries treat information as a domain of strategic competition. Iran, a country under crushing sanctions, still found the resources to triple the budget for its state broadcaster. Russia spends roughly one point five billion a year on state media and propaganda. And as we know, this is not a new challenge. One former KGB propagandist who defected to the West estimated that eighty-five percent of the KGB's time, money and manpower was devoted to influence campaigns and ideological warfare. Now, the United States used to understand this. During the Cold War we built Voice of America, Radio Free Europe, and Radio Liberty to counter Soviet propaganda with fact-based reporting behind the Iron Curtain. We invested in public diplomacy because we understood that influence does matter. We exposed foreign disinformation because we recognized that information is a strategic asset. That commitment continued long after the Cold War. Republicans and Democrats agreed that America had to compete in the information space. Sadly, this administration has walked away from that tradition. It's gutted US international broadcasting, it's dismantled the State Department's capability for countering foreign propaganda, and it has shifted our public diplomacy from confronting authoritarian regimes to criticizing democratic allies. And today we're seeing the consequences. A recent European Council on Foreign Relations poll found only eleven percent of Europeans now describe the US as an ally, and we can see it here in the poster. Globally, more countries name the United States as the biggest threat to the world than named Russia. Earlier this month, the Pew Research Service found that for the first time in its history, Across most of the world, China is now viewed more favorably than the United States. And again, we can see where those lines crossed in twenty twenty five. At the very moment we should be strengthening America's ability to compete for influence, the administration has weakened it. Miss Rogers, you've overseen our public diplomacy efforts over this period. Now the president has nominated you to take over an resuscitate the US agency for global media after Kerry Lake's efforts to dismantle it. This raises serious concerns about the statutory fire wall that's supposed to protect the editorial independence of Radio Free Europe Voice of America and other international broadcasters from political influence and given the record on public diplomacy over the last several months there are real questions about whether this nomination will make things better or worse. Miss Jurata, you've been nominated to serve as the United States Executive Director to the International Monetary Fund. The IMF has played a critical role helping Ukraine keep its economy functioning as it defends itself against Russian aggression. If confirmed, I hope you will continue to ensure the United States remains a strong advocate for Ukraine at the IMF. And finally, Miss Carol, you've been nominated to be the U. S. Ambassador Trinidad and Tobago. As the Chairman said, Trinidad and Tobago's proximity to Venezuela places it on the front lines of regional instability. The country has faced increased migration pressures, trafficking networks, and broader security challenges as a result. If confirmed, I hope you will work to deepen our partnership and support regional stability. I look forward to hearing from each of you. Thank you.

Thank you very much, Senator Shaheen. Uh, before we turn it over to the nominees, uh, Senator Cruz, I understand you have something for us.

Thank you, Mr. Chairman. Uh, it's my privilege to introduce President Trump's nominee to serve as the Chief Executive Officer of the United States Agency for Global Media, Sarah Rogers. Ms. Rogers has spent her life as a committed advocate for freedom of speech and ideas and as a passionate believer in their power to enhance freedom. She earned her bachelor's in international relations from Dartmouth College. She later earned her JD from Columbia Law School, which she followed by carving out a distinguished legal career rooted in constitutional advocacy, free speech, and public service. Miss Rogers spent more than two decades on these causes. As a partner at the New York litigation boutique Brewer, she represented the National Rifle Association in landmark first securing a victory before the Supreme Court. Since October of twenty twenty five, Ms. Rogers has served as Under Secretary of State for Public Diplomacy and Public Affairs, where she has advanced US interests in a global environment that has become complicated and challenging in ways that are quite literally unprecedented in all of human history. We have entered a new era in which American adversaries are using traditional and digital platforms to advance their interest at the expense of the safety and prosperity of Americans. The geopolitical stakes have never been higher. Ms. Rogers has overseen the Bureau's efforts in that space with unremitting commitment. Her leadership is just as necessary at USAGM. USAGM's mission has never been more important. Authoritarian regimes are right now weaponizing propaganda campaigns to undermine the United States and our allies. Ms. Rogers' professional and government experience makes her eminently and perhaps uniquely qualified to lead the agency at this critical moment. I am grateful for Ms. Rogers' willingness to continue serving our country in this role. And I thank her family for the sacrifices they have made

Thank you, Senator Cruz. Thank you, Senator Cruz. We appreciate those remarks. We appreciate those remarks. Uh, we'll now hear from our nominees. Uh, we'll now hear from our nominees, And again, and again, uh, uh, I want to ask that you keep it to about five minutes and, I want to ask that you to keep it to about five minutes and, uh, uh, Then uh you'll have another shot at it as we ask questions. So uh uh Miss Guero let's start uh with you and um you have the floor.

Good morning, Chairman, Ranking Member, and distinguished members of the committee. Thank you for the opportunity to appear before you today as President Trump's nominee for the Ambassador to Trinidad and Tobago. I would like to take a moment of point of privilege to recognize my family that traveled the distance, This nomination holds special personal meaning for me. I was born in Port of Spain, Trinidad. I immigrated to United States at the age of eight, and I've carried a deep connection to the Trinidad and Tobago throughout my life and career. I've also committed to a life of service in the United States. As a Navy veteran who rose from the enlisted and enlisted jet mechanic, to retire as a Lieutenant Commander after twenty years of service. I later served as Florida's eighteenth Lieutenant Governor. I have dedicated my career to strengthening America's security and economic interests. As Lieutenant Governor, I led su- successful trade missions to Trinidad and Tobago and other nations, garnering over seventy million dollars in new trade for Florida's businesses. I will draw directly from those experiences in this role. If confirmed, I will focus my efforts on four priorities central to strengthening the U. S. Trinidad and Tobago relationship and advancing American interests and President Trump's vision for the Western hemisphere. First, my most important priority will be to ensure the safety and security of American citizens residing in Trinidad and Tobago including the thousands who travel there each year for business and tourism. Secondly, Economic security and prosperity are critical to both of our countries. I will promote the American exports, market opportunities, and trade that generate commercial wins for U. S. businesses while helping Trinidad and Tobago build a resilient, diversified economy, positioning the United States as a key partner for its economic growth and competitiveness. I will advance our nation's economic strength by promoting fair trade, American investment and energy security that benefits US workers and industry while building mutual beneficial ties with this resource rich Caribbean partner recognizing that economic and security interests are deeply intertwined I will work closely with the Trimbogonian officials to deepen our security partnership building off of our shared cooperation including through the Caribbean Basin Security Initiative. As a founding member of the America's council cartel coalition and the shields of the America, Trinidad and Tobago is a regional leader on security and a strong partner in the fight against transnational organized crime. If confirmed, I am committed to working with the Trinidad and Tobago with Trinidad and Tobago to stop illicit narco-trafficking that corrupts the lives and livelihood of both our citizens. Finally, If confirmed, I pledge to champion American sovereignty and independence, ensuring that US engagement with Trinidad and Tobago serves our national interests first and reinforces our nation's right to control its own borders, resources and decision making. I am committed to supporting enhanced border security and regional migration corporations working with the Trimbogonian authorities to prevent illegal migration immigration and ensure orderly, lawful movement of people throughout the Caribbean. Together, these priorities reflect this administration's commitment to a safe, secure and more prosperous Western hemisphere. I look forward to your questions and if confirmed, to advancing these goals on behalf of the American people in Trinidad and Tobago. Thank you very much, Mr. Chairman and Reconnaisseur.

Thank you uh, Miss Gira, we appreciate that. Uh now uh, Miss uh Jurata.

Chairman Rich, Ranking Member Shaheen, and distinguished members of this committee, thank you for the opportunity to appear before you today as President Trump's nominee to be the United States Executive Director at the International Monetary Fund. I want to thank President Trump and Secretary Besson for their support. I am humbled by this nomination. Most of my career has been spent in public service, and that is where my heart has always been. I look forward, if confirmed, to returning to public service in this capacity. I would like to briefly acknowledge some of the people I'm most grateful to who have helped pave the way for me to appear before you today, my family and my friends. I want to recognize my father, who is no longer with us, whose life was a prime example of the American dream. He was born during the Great Depression. He started working at six years old. He enlisted in the United States Navy, and he ultimately became a computer engineer. From my dad I learned a great love of this country, and the belief and knowledge that hard work and determination make anything possible. From my mother I learned that good judgment requires not only logic, but also heart. I also want to acknowledge my stepdaughters, Caitlin and Jackie, who are here with me today. My brother Joshua, his wife Molly, and my three nephews. Thank you all for your encouragement. Lastly and not least, I wanna thank my husband, Jay, whose love and support have made my service possible. Those lessons and the love of a large and supportive group of family and friends have shaped both who I am and how I've approached my career. My professional experience has centered on financial markets, economic policy, and public service. I have had the privilege of serving at the Department of Treasury, the White House National Economic Council, the Securities and Exchange Commission, and the House Financial Services Committee, and the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board. While I was at Treasury, I was honored to represent the United States in international standard setting bodies, where I saw firsthand the importance of American engagement and multilateral institutions in promoting pro-growth economic initiatives and market-oriented regulatory frameworks. That experience taught me that American leadership in these forms is not optional. When we step back, others feel the void, often in ways that do not reflect our values or our interest. Throughout my career, one lesson has remained constant. American prosperity is inseparable from economic growth, stability, transparency, and confidence in the financial system, both here at home and in the international institutions that help sustain it. The IMF was founded to, among other things, promote international monetary cooperation, facilitate the balanced growth of traditional, excuse me, international trade, promote exchange rate stability, and provide members with resources under appropriate safeguards to correct balance of payment problems without resorting to measures destructive to national or international prosperity. If confirmed, it will be my priority to help ensure the IMF is focused on this core mission. As Executive Director, I will work to ensure the United States' voice is clear and effective at the IMF, in advancing our economic and strategic interest, consistent with the President's America First policy. I believe the objective of facilitating balanced growth of fair and reciprocal trade should be a focus of the fund's work, and I will push for policies that strengthen economic growth and stability both here and among our trading partners. At the same time, I believe that the IMF must maintain rigorous conditions and accountability in its lending programs and remain focused on its core financial stability mission, rather than expanding into areas beyond its mandate. I will work closely with the Treasury Department and the Administration to advance American interests at the IMF, and I will engage with this committee throughout my service. I am grateful for the opportunity to continue a career in public service that I care deeply about and I hope to earn your support. Thank you for your consideration, and I look forward to your questions.

Thank you very much. Uh, Ms. Rogers?

Chairman Resh, Ranking Member Shahin, and distinguished members of this committee. One year ago, I appeared before you as President Trump's nominee for Undersecretary of State for Public Diplomacy, the position I now hold. It is an honor to return today as nominee for Chief Executive Officer of the US Agency for Global Media or USAGM. I would like to thank President Trump and Secretary Rubio for their confidence, and my family and my husband Jeff, who's here with me today, for their love, patience and support. Before entering public service, I spent my career as an attorney fighting for the First Amendment. I took that fight all the way to the Supreme Court and remained devoted to that cause while in office. Like I said in my opening testimony last time, freedom of speech isn't just America's most famous freedom. It's our number one strength. And USAGM helps champion free speech and freedom of the press worldwide. In my current role as Under-Secretary, I oversee a one billion dollar budget and I lead a workforce of more than five thousand employees to advance American foreign policy and counter propaganda from adversaries including China, Russia and Iran, as well as Cuba and North Korea. Countering propaganda without countenancing censorship, has been my core mission. Sometimes that does mean sparking conversation with a tweet, but it means multi-layered diplomatic engagement too. It means reaching people through music, sports and entrepreneurship. Above all, it means telling the truth, credibly, in a media environment where adversaries do want to seed your timeline with slop. Truth telling is what AGM is for, and if confirmed, that's the effort I'll lead. Over the past year, I've traveled more than seventy thousand miles and seen firsthand the power of free information in closed societies. In Turkmenistan, I met students exploring an uncensored internet through our American center. In Seoul, North North Korean defectors told me that snippets of American radio were the first hints they heard of another kind of life. These defectors risked torture and risked death. Fleeing toward a freedom they'd only heard existed. here, and they heard it from us. It's a great honor. And it's also evidence that Voice of America and our grantees, RFE RL, OCB, MBN, RFA and OTF can be indispensable instruments of American foreign policy. Free people tend to choose America and the truth sets people free. That's why delivering truthful information behind the Iron Curtain helped defeat Soviet communism. And in today's information war, truth remains America's best tool. As multiple administrations have agreed, USAGM must reform and modernize to meet today's media environment. If confirmed as CEO, I will work to meet audiences where they are, which isn't always television broadcast or shortwave radio. We won't abandon those mediums where we need them, but we will expand to short form video, diaspora group chats, podcasts, and other timely forms of engagement. Over a year ago, President Trump signed an executive order directing AGM to operate at its statutory minimum. Put plainly, that means the agency should do what Congress codified, no more and no less. That means we must reach audiences in strategically significant places, like Cuba and the Middle East, where censorship impedes our foreign policy. If confirmed, my first priority will be to stabilize the agency, strengthen its leadership, modernize its operations, and restore research capacity so we can actually measure reach and viewership? Are we actually reaching people? And how can we do it better? And how can we make every taxpayer dollar count? Those will be my obsessions. I pledge to engage consistently with Congress and rebuild local language and transmission capabilities in areas where we need them to. Just last week, I attended the second White House correspondence dinner of twenty twenty six, and listened to President Trump's remarks on the Free Press. At the first dinner, I never got a chance to hear them. Like most dignitaries, I dove for cover when the shooting started. One person sitting near me didn't, though. Susan Zirinsky of CBS, who's about four feet tall, stood on a chair to film the room as the rest of us crouched for cover. When I saw Susan Friday, I thought of the journalists across AGM and our grantees who report the news in the line of fire. daily, despite threats of detention, persecution and violence. If confirmed, I will work every day to be worthy of their courage and of the mission Congress entrusted to this agency. That means keeping the cause of freedom alive where it is under greatest threat. Thank you, and I look forward to your questions.

Well, thank you very much uh to all three of you, and uh we'll now do uh some questions starting with myself and then uh Senator Shaheen. And um let's see, let's uh start uh with you, Miss Carol. There uh we don't often get an appointee that has as great a connection to the country that they're going to as uh you have. So um uh it's good to see you and and glad you are willing to do this. Tell us a little bit about our relationship uh uh with uh uh Trinidad uh and uh Tobago.

Thank you, Mr. Chairman. Right now, the United States is experiencing a good relationship with the country of Trinidad and Tobago in that they've been very supportive of our of the Caribbean Basin Initiative, security initiatives such that they recognize that they do have a porous border, and we do need uh t- some resources or they need some resources in order to curtail against illicit human trafficking as well as narco-terrorists. Additionally, we have um issue with regards to energy of their production uh reducing, and the United States is committed to uh moving forward with uh a license that has been uh um accepted for a a sector in uh the Caribbean area between Venezuela and Trinidad to help the country explore for additional resources, which will also help the United States in its efforts to increase direct uh uh support for businesses business opportunities. So we can see that the the at least Trinidad and Tobago is committed to working with the United States to increase economic opportunities, ex increase uh oil and gas exploration as well as uh utilize our assistance to help combat some of those illicit trafficking.

What's the uh what what's the uh stability of their government like?

The government As far as disability, I cannot speak to that. I if confirmed in getting down to the the region and having more dialogue with post, as well as the government to find out more about that, but I do know that they have had several emergency orders, which um doesn't bode well with regards to the cr criminal uh criminal activities that's that's been occurring for a number of years. And that is something that needs to be addressed and hopefully I've confirmed with my uh direction on the ground and and sharing that information back to committee, as well as the the president and the state, that we can come up with some strategic goals to help in that endeavor.

Thanks so much.

Thank you.

Uh, Mister Arda, uh, as Executive Director at the IMF, what what kind of a staff do you have? How many people do you do you oversee there? What do you oversee?

Uh, thank you, Chairman, it's my understanding that it's around a dozen. career staff report up to the US executive director, but I can confirm and get back to you.

No, that's uh I was just looking at approximate, that's uh that's all. And and who will you report to? Do you report to the board or the the chairman of the board,

I re

or who who's your immediate supervisor?

I report to Senator I report to Secretary Bessence, or the treasury department.

I see, okay, good. Um and does uh Secretary Bessence uh is he actively engaged with the board as far as setting policy and that sort of thing?

So the governance structure of the IMF is that you have the Board of Governors and Secretary Besson is the Governor on the governing board and meets a couple times a year and they have the overarching setting of the agenda as US Executive Director to the IMF I'd be sitting on behalf of the United States on the executive board which meets very regularly multiple times a week to um entertain and vote on underlying decisions that range from day-to-day operations, to major policy decisions.

Mm, yeah. All right, well, I appreciate that. Um, Miss Rogers, um, interesting to hear your story about, uh, talking with people who have fled or escaped, uh, another country. I think all of us that sit on this committee have from time to time met with the same people and it's, uh, uh, it's always a, um, a wake-up call to, uh, realize how we take for granted what we have here in America. Uh, it just amazes me. We w we wake up every morning, don't even think about it. Um and then if I travel I come back here and I I'll turn on uh uh against my better judgment TV and watch the talking heads and talking about how bad America is, and all the troubles we have here and et cetera. Uh it it just amazes me how how people are in awe when they come to the United States as to uh to what we have here. Um let let me ask this, on the there's almost two hundred countries or more or less depending how you count them on the planet, uh and obviously uh uh you're gonna have to be active in some and obviously we can't be in all, so how do you how do you make a decision as to where you're gonna uh where you're gonna focus your uh efforts?

Uh thank you very much Chairman Richland, I totally agree, and my travels have underscored the same gratitude. So look, the statutory mission of AGM, set forth in International Broadcasting Act, sub-section sixty two O two includes reaching audiences in information environments where a free media ecosystem is not possible. So we're focusing on censored societies. And we also have to think about advancing the broad objectives of US foreign policy. That's subsection sixty two O two A. And I think precedent and statute kind of give us a bit of a guide. We have to be operating in the Middle East. We have to be operating in Asia. We have to be operating in Cuba. And then there's Radio Free Europe, and obviously Radio Free Europe is really one of the crown jewels of Cold War soft power. I still have interactions with Europeans who grew up behind the Berlin Wall and they get tears in their eyes when they talk about hearing rock and roll music on Radio Free Europe and that was like a shaft of light from our free society I think Radio Free Europe now should stay focused on the Russian periphery, Iran and Afghanistan, where it is. And then, you know, there were some languages that languages and regions that were deprecated under Kerry Lake that I think we're probably correct to shift away from. I don't think we need to be broadcasting in places like Hungary and Greece, now that the Cold War is over. It's not that those media environments are perfect, it just those aren't the kinds of places where the taxpayer dollar is most efficiently deployed to get information to people who literally can't get it otherwise. I do think Africa is something we shouldn't totally abdicate. The security situation and the and the advances made by Russia and China there show that. So I would, as I have in my role as R with my Limitless Africa podcast and Young African Leaders program, um explore some careful tactical uh resuscitation of resources there. Um but otherwise I think, you know, Cuba, huge focus obviously, we can't have communism on our hemisphere, um Asia huge focus, Iran, Afghanistan, Middle East huge focus, and um count it's basically countering adversarial propaganda with the truth, and we've gotta do that everywhere.

Thank you, I I'm always amazed uh uh when I speak to uh uh part of the diaspora from Iran, the uh reach that we have and the penetration that we have into Iran, even with their efforts uh to to keep that down. So um keep that up. Senator Shahin.

Thank you, Mr. Chairman. Miss Rogers, in May the State Department sent Congress a report concluding that the IRGC uses social media bots to spread anti-semitic propaganda and manipulate on-line discourse. The President goes on to say that Iranian propaganda is a national security threat, and your own department says that the IRGC is conducting influence

It'll be introduced.

So, help me explain why, given the propaganda challenges we have with Iran, why we would provide that kind of a waiver.

Thank you very much, uh, Ranking Member Shahin. You know, we have been very, very active on the Iranian propaganda issue and I'll, I can get to some of our activities in a moment, but I will address your question. So public diplomacy wasn't involved in that particular waiver. I can tell you, though, that Secretary Rubio has been extremely aggressive in enacting sanctions on Iranian entities listing Iranian foreign terrorist organizations and kicking frankly the family members of Iranian

Well, would you agree with me though that that doesn't make sense, that we should provide a waiver? I mean, this is an example of the propaganda that they're putting out a billion views of this video, and why do we wanna encourage our adversary, um, who's bombing Americans and our allies in the Middle East by letting them continue their propaganda efforts?

I don't think there's a single person in this administration who wants to encourage Iran to bomb Americans or have a nuclear weapon. We've been very aggressive against Iran, but I I want to address your question. So um look, these sanctions determinations are legalistic in fact specific.

I I I'm not asking about the sanctions determinations.

Yeah.

I agree with those. What I'm asking about is this waiver,

But but that's

and if you do you know why we provided this to you with a waiver?

So that the determination of that sanctions waiver would be legalistic in fact specific, and I'm not the person to speak on it,

Okay.

but I

Perhaps if you get confirmed you could get an answer for the committee and respond to us. because it's hard for me to understand why we would why we would do that.

I'd certainly be I'd certainly be responsive to the committee. It's hundred.

Thank you. Um I also am concerned, as I said in my opening remarks, about one individual serving as both the head of the USAGM and public diplomacy at the State Department. I I think USAGM is by statute an independent agency. Its mission is to provide objective, as you have confirmed, objective, accurate news free from editorial interference. So I'd like to hear from you how you plan on maintaining that independence and whether you would commit to allowing USAGM broadcasters and grantees to operate free from any interference by you the State Department or other political appointees.

Thank you, Senator. So I commit to follow the law. That's my North Star. I'd come from the courtroom and I wouldn't want to do anything else, and I've done that as or. Um, so

And and would you agree that that is the law,

So with the law

that the law is that um

The law Sorry, I don't mean to interrupt you, Senator.

Oh, well, no, that um, as I understand, the International Broadcasting Act says that USAGM shall continue to exist within the executive branch as an entity described in five USC one O four, the statute on independent agencies, and that there are multiple references to its independence and the independence of the grantees. And it also says clearly that the secretary of state and the CEO shall respect the professional independence and integrity of USAGM.

Yes, so I absolutely commit to respect the professionalism and independence of broadcasting that's what the statute says I don't think the statute says though that there should be no quote unquote interference or interaction because the statute requires that AGM consult with the secretary of state on foreign policy guidance I'm usually the delegate for that consultation and the law requires that I insure that's the verb the statute uses insure that broadcasting is consistent with our broad foreign policy What that means for practical purposes, Senator, and when I meet with the heads of the grantees, this is what they ask me for, is that they don't want me to, and I don't have the time, to copy edit individual stories so that they look like propaganda from RT. I don't wanna do that. But I do want, and the grantees want me to provide uh strategic management level guidance on things like standards and practices on things like foreign policy priorities and I think I think they're crying out for this, if confirmed, I'd be willing to do that, but I don't I don't want to tremble on the independence of professionalism of broadcasting because candidly, accomplishing our foreign policy objectives means that these organs of broadcasting have to be credible. And Shunwa is not credible, I want VOA to be credible.

Well, again, as I understand the statute, it says that the CEO shall respect the professional independence and integrity of USAGM its broadcasting services and the grantees of the agency. That doesn't say to me that they're looking for the CEO to provide them the kind of direction that you're talking about.

So you'd also have to read section sixty-two O two. You're reading, I think, sixty-two O one.

Um, we'll presume my time is up, but I will pursue s- questioning when the second round comes back. Thank you.

Thank you, Senator Sheen. Senator Cruz.

Thank you, Mr. Chairman. Congratulations to each of the nominees. Uh, Ms. Rogers. Authoritarian regimes are investing enormous resources into coordinated campaigns to undermine the United States. Chinese, Russian, Iranian, and other hostile foreign governments are amplifying these campaigns. They do so through a vast networks of anonymous social media accounts, automated bot farms, state-controlled media, and covert influence o- operations. These efforts are backed by effectively unlimited state resources. Their objective is to constrain America's ability to confront hostile regimes, including especially Iran, the world's leading state sponsor of terrorism. To achieve that objective, foreign-backed influence campaigns work aggressively to kneecap America's technology and defense sectors. They manufacture the illusion of widespread domestic opposition to policies

Thank you for that question, Senator. You know, you're absolutely right.

Mm.

when you allude to effectively unlimited resources, China alone spends about forty billion dollars on propaganda and influence operations. And the

J- j- just repeat that statement because that is a staggering statement.

China spends about forty billion dollars on propaganda and influence operations. I have one billion dollars, and most of that goes to salaries and keeping the lights on. Um, but America keeps winning the information war in the suns that people who can choose would choose to come to America over China pretty much any day, and why is that? You know, part of it is that American freedom sells itself, and I could wax on about that for five minutes and I won't waste your five minutes, Senator. So we have coordinated bot hives, that's certainly part of it, we also have foreign influence united front spending through um networks like the Singham network and Code Pink are great concerns this administration, and we even have foreign influence in our universities. So through a partnership between my office and the um Education Secretary, we've started digging up data that universities were obligated to disclose for years but weren't disclosing. We found hundreds of millions in dollars flowing into places like Harvard from sanctioned Chinese nuclear labs and the like, that the American people just didn't know about. And so these influence operations, they're broad, they run deep, and uh we are countering them on a lot of different levels through counter speech and exposure what doesn't work is playing whack-a-mole, censoring American tweets.

You brought up the Syngham network and Pink, and there've been recent reports about the major investment they're making in driving anti-AI sentiment in the United States with the objective of discouraging America from investing in AI to help the Chinese Communist Party beat America in the AI race. Elaborate a bit more on the Syngham network and and Code Pink and what exactly they're doing.

Yeah, so this is a billionaire based in China who's sympathetic to communism and socialism. And I'm not gonna focus. too much on that individual, it's really a whole united front network. So the day after our wildly successful operation against Maduro in Venezuela, we had protests pop up, you know, seemingly overnight in like seventy-five different cities waving the same signs. Uh the information I've received is that that was funded by the Syngham network, Syngham network very uh congenial with China. There's actually incredibly a New York Times expo, say even the New York Times has noticed this, uh from twenty twenty three on it, and it's a big problem. And I wanna, Senator, the anti-AI thing, you're absolutely right, this sloppiness, deletitism, data center hysteria, it's not, you can't blame it completely on foreign bots, but it is being amplified by foreign bots for sure.

And it's being amplified on both the left and the right. Uh, our our adversaries find our open free market of ideas particularly vulnerable uh to manipulation. Now, Chinese and Iranian influence operations appear particularly sophisticated and persistent. What distinguishes their influence ops from those of other other adversaries, and how should the United States prioritize our response?

So both Chinese and Iranian influence operations uh skew especially noticeably towards this kind of leftist anti-colonial ideology. By the way, so does Cuba. Our recent Cuba report, very strong on this. Um, Russia I would say is a bit more

My colleagues on this committee would agree we have too many Cubans.

Well, at least one.

One. But we only have one left, so so that

Well, maybe with OCB's help we make Cuba a nicer place for a Cuban to return to.

A a amen from from your mouth to God's ears. I'm sorry, you were you were giving your answer.

Oh no, I just I think, you know, there's more of a consistent leftist and anti-colonial ideology in some of this stuff. Russia dabbles in that, but Russia is also a bit entropic and entrepreneurial, and we saw, you know, when they tried to muster up There was no evidence that Russia caused President Trump's winning election, that was nonsensical, but they found like a hundred thousand dollars worth of Instagram posts, and there were pro-Black Lives Matter posts, and there were fake white nationalist posts, both from Russia. Russia's a little more chaotic, um and a lot of lot of Russian misinformation right now focuses on recruiting soldiers for its war as well, which to uh China and Iran aren't focused on. China and Iran doing a lot more anti-semitism also.

Thank you.

Uh let's see s um Senator Rosen was uh next.

Mm-hmm. Thank you, thank you Chair Rich, Ranking Member Shaheen for holding this hearing and uh thank you for the witnesses for being here today your willingness to serve. I wanna build a little bit on Senator Shaheen's line of questioning about editorial independence. USAGM has audiences in more than one hundred countries, providing reliable, trusted reporting by journalists, not political officials. But under Kerry Lake's For example, Miss Lake shut down Radio Free Europe, Radio Liberty's Hungarian news service because she claimed its programming had undermined President Trump's foreign policy by opposing the duly elected Prime Minister of Hungary and that's a quote. So I'm gonna double down on what Senator Schahin asked. Miss Rogers have confirmed, will you s- commit specifically, specifically to not interfering in reporting that is critical of politicians governments or political parties that President Trump has expressed support for.

I commit to respect the professionalism and independence of international broadcasting, Senator.

Well, it shouldn't really be a difficult question. Um, if I just wanna say this, if the USAGM is seen as a tool of the US government to punish president's opponents, any president's opponents, and to silence the criticism of his friends, it will lose the very credi- credibility that I think so many of us believe make it an incredible tool in our arsenal. So I'm gonna move on to uh to Lebanon. Miss Jarada, following Lebanon's twenty nineteen economic collapse, the IMF has made it clear that unlocking financial assistance program for Beirut depends on comprehensive economic reforms including a credible banking s restructuring strategy at the same time Lebanese depositors have had their savings effectively frozen for years and any path to making them whole will likely require some combination of losses absorbed by the banking sector, the government, or the depositors themselves. The US has long advocated for these reforms, not just for the good of the Lebanese people, but also to rebuild the international's community confidence and Lebanon's economy and banking system. So, Miss Jarada, given the reforms that IMF is asking for and the goal of fully repaying depositors, um, it may pull in different directions. How would you approach balancing these two imperatives In your view, is there a realistic scenario in which Lebanon can satisfy the IMF's conditions, while also delivering an outcome that will s- uh, the people of Lebanon will see as fair?

Well, thank you, Senator, for that question. So, to state the a little bit of the obvious, which is I'm obviously not currently in the role, so I haven't been privy to some of the underlying deliverances,

Just generally.

but generally what I can say is what I if con if confirmed that I can commit that in evaluating what is an ongoing program getting up on what the current status is and then making sure that one of the core functions of the IMF which is capacity development and technical assistance is deployed in order to help build up that economy because once you do get the lending program ruled out and you have the finances going there you wanna make sure that you have a respected rule of law and the infrastructure associated with it so that then it can develop and I will you know commit to staying coordinated with the treasury department and ongoing commitment with this uh with this committee on that issue.