Media Contact 202-321-9747

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, House Foreign Affairs Committee Chairman Brian Mast delivered opening remarks at a full committee hearing titled, “FY26 State Department Posture: Protecting American Interests.”

Watch Here

-Remarks-

Since day one, President Trump and yourself, you’ve taken bold action to clean house, to restore accountability, to slash waste, and to put America—and Americans—first. I would say that this was desperately needed.

In the past two decades alone, the State Department’s budget grew from about $9.5 billion to over $55 billion. And I think we could all easily say: for what? In any way, shape, or form did our foreign policy feel like it was five times more effective under Joe Biden? I think everybody would say no.

Instead, we had a State Department that was literally a slush fund for many far-left bureaucrats, grifting non-government organizations, and foreign adversaries like the Taliban. We had our tax dollars went to things like vouchers for migrants at our southern border, mobilizing elderly lesbians to vote in Costa Rica, as well as drag shows, LGBT comic books, musicals, plays, and operas.

That stuff was not PEPFAR, to say the least. It didn’t make America safer. It didn’t make America stronger. It didn’t bring other countries closer to us, and it didn’t save lives.

Now, many of my colleagues might think that canceling these programs creates an inroad for China. I would say we could only hope that China is stupid enough to spend money in that way.

I want to thank this administration for bringing charges against those who, it appears, were stealing from the State Department and USAID—and, in turn, the American people.

And I want to thank you, Secretary Rubio, for reorganizing the State Department into a lean and effective diplomatic operation.

Let’s give proof of that.

Just this past week alone, President Trump secured more than $2 trillion of investment from the Middle East. That is more than ten times what Joe Biden secured from the Middle East during his entire four years in the White House—which is not entirely surprising, considering under the Biden State Department, millions were spent on programs like trans inclusion in Tunisia. That was the focus in the Middle East.

Now, as you know, Secretary Rubio, the job is not done. Up until now, over 80% of the State Department has been unauthorized. We have bureaus and offices that have grown from thousands of dollars to billions of dollars, and that changes in law when we pass the first comprehensive and stand-alone State Department reauthorization that has occured since 2002.

I look forward to working with the members of this committee. I look forward to working with you, Secretary Rubio, and I look forward to working with Senator Risch, moving forward, to make sure that one thing—and one thing alone—takes place: Every single dollar and diplomat that we authorize and send into the field puts America first.

###