00:00Mr. Secretary, as you know, I represent San Diego, the largest military community in the country.
00:05Right now, as we are speaking, 2,500 San Diego Marines are off the coast of Iran.
00:11Many, many other San Diegans in uniform have gotten 48-hour deployment notices.
00:16So this war in Iran is not theoretical for me or for my constituents. It's deeply personal.
00:23As you also know, on Easter Sunday, President Trump threatened to destroy Iran's bridges and power plants, writing, quote,
00:31Open the f***ing straight, you crazy b***h, or you'll be living in hell. Just watch.
00:36And two days later, President Trump wrote, quote, A whole civilization will die tonight, never to be brought back again.
00:43I don't want that to happen, but it probably will.
00:46My office's phones have been ringing off the hook.
00:49I've heard from so many military families concerned about the president's mental fitness
00:53and whether he's fit to serve as our commander-in-chief, given that he's sending their loved ones into harm's
00:58way.
00:58Our troops, who have shown incredible bravery and tactical proficiency, deserve to know that their leaders are focused and stable.
01:07So, Mr. Secretary, you are with the president a lot.
01:10And it pains me to even have to ask this about our president, but my constituents' lives are at stake.
01:17Do you believe that the president is mentally stable enough to be the commander-in-chief?
01:23Did you ask the same question of Joe Biden for four years?
01:26Mr. Secretary, Joe Biden is not the president.
01:29Mr. Trump has been president for a year and a half, and I'm asking you right now.
01:32You did not. And I won't even engage with the level of disparagement that you're putting on the commander-in
01:35-chief,
01:36who indeed is, I mean, meeting him every single day.
01:41Mr. Secretary, Mr. Secretary, Biden is not the president.
01:43He's the sharpest, most insightful commander-in-chief we've had in generations.
01:46And you want to compare, I mean, you want to ask that question after you and your fellow Democrats defended
01:51Joe Biden,
01:51who could barely speak and didn't know what day of the week it was?
01:53Mr. Secretary, as you know, as you know.
01:55He had an auto-pen. He had a secretary of defense who went AWOL for a week.
01:58Mr. Secretary, I can't be gone for ten minutes without-
02:01Mr. Secretary, I will reclaim my time. Thank you so much.
02:02You're in a lady's time. She's reclaimed it.
02:04Thank you. So, as Mr. Jimenez said, we should be taking leaders at their word.
02:09So, is there a reason that we should not be taking our leader at his word?
02:12Mr. Secretary, Iran should not underestimate the will of President Trump and the United States military to achieve our mission.
02:19Okay. Well, I want you to know this is not a partisan thing.
02:22In fact, many, many Democrats have had- many, many Republicans have had these same questions.
02:27Marjorie Taylor Greene said he's out of control and he's gone insane.
02:32Candace Owens said the 25th Amendment needs to be invoked.
02:35Megyn Kelly, Tucker Carlson, who you used to work with, Alex Jones, Stephanie Grisham, the list could go on.
02:41So, how do I explain to my constituents that while they are in harm's way, their commander-in-chief is
02:47posting these unhinged posts?
02:50How did you explain to your constituents what happened on October?
02:54Or what happened in Afghanistan?
02:56Or what happened with the debacle and the withdrawal in Afghanistan, where the troops were left?
03:00How did you explain that to Joe Biden's leadership?
03:01Mr. Secretary, I'm not asking you about the previous administration.
03:03How did you explain that to the Marines that didn't get medals?
03:04That we restored their medals because of that disastrous withdrawal in Afghanistan?
03:07Mr. Secretary, I'm asking about what's happening right now.
03:09When Joe Biden was asleep at the wheel and he had an AWOL secretary of defense?
03:13Okay, Mr. Secretary, how about this next post?
03:15I don't think you did.
03:15How can I explain this next post to my constituents?
03:22I'm Jewish, so this doesn't really bother me, but my understanding is that this is quite offensive to many Christians.
03:29So, how do you explain this post?
03:31I'm not here to explain post.
03:33We have an incredible commander-in-chief who puts our troops first.
03:37I'm here for a budget hearing about our troops.
03:39This is about our troops.
03:39It's a historic budget that's giving us a chance to defeat our adversaries, and President Trump is doing that in
03:45world-class fashion.
03:46This is my time.
03:47This is about our troops.
03:47The general lady has reclaimed her time, Mr. Secretary.
03:49This is about our troops.
03:50This is about who is commanding our troops and if our troops can trust that they are being sent into
03:55harm's way under good strategy.
03:57The mental stability of our commander-in-chief is deeply important to our troops.
04:02It's deeply important to this country.
04:04It wasn't important to you during Joe Biden.
04:06I'll remind you that when there were concerns, Democrats came together and he was not our nominee for president.
04:12So, I encourage you to have the same courage that Democrats had.
04:16Mr. Secretary, you keep saying that he is the best commander-in-chief we've ever had, the best negotiator.
04:22After the troops.
04:23Thirteen American troops have died.
04:25More than 380 have been wounded.
04:27The Strait of Hormuz, which was wide open, is now closed.
04:30Less than 90% of traffic through the Strait is still not going despite the ceasefire.
04:36The Iranian regime is still in power.
04:38It still has nuclear material.
04:40The war is costing Americans billions of dollars.
04:43And, Mr. Secretary, if you think that this is what winning looks like, then maybe we should be questioning your
04:48mental stability.
04:50Maybe you are the one responsible for this failure and the president should think about replacing you.
04:54Mr. Chairman, I yield back.
04:56General Lady yields back.
04:57General, I recognize General Lady from Virginia, Ms. Kiggins.
05:00He is going to proceed with the
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