At Hearing, Warren Presses Defense Nominee on Ceasefire and Urges More Humanitarian Aid in Gaza

At Hearing, Warren Presses Defense Nominee on Ceasefire and Urges More Humanitarian Aid in Gaza

Warren: "Half a million people are starving in Gaza right now, and we need to do everything we can to help."

Video of Exchange (YouTube)

Washington, D.C. - At a hearing of the Senate Armed Services Committee, U.S. Senator Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) pressed Austin Dahmer, nominee to be Assistant Secretary of Defense for Strategy, Plans, and Capabilities, on her concerns about the ongoing humanitarian crisis in Gaza and the need to ensure Palestinians get desperately needed aid without interference.

Following the declared ceasefire between Hamas and the Israeli government, the Trump administration's plan called for "full aid" to be sent to Gaza "without interference." Senator Warren raised concerns about the U.S. government's partnership with the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation, an inexperienced and militarized organization that lacks experience in food distribution.

Mr. Dahmer was questioned about his support for the ceasefire, as he previously tweeted that providing aid to Palestinians makes "U.S. support for Israel look performative." He affirmed his support to Senator Warren for the current peace efforts in Gaza. When pressed about his stance on the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation's (GHF) inexperience and limited aid distribution, which led to over 1,000 deaths near aid sites, Mr. Dahmer refused to directly answer the question but acknowledged the need for experienced aid organizations to ensure successful aid delivery in Gaza.

Senator Warren concluded the hearing by calling for more effective aid efforts: "Half a million people are starving in Gaza right now, and we need to do everything we can to help."

Senator Warren has been a strong advocate of requiring any recipient of U.S. military aid to follow U.S. laws prohibiting the restriction of humanitarian aid, as well as calling for more desperately needed supplies to be delivered to Gaza. She was the first Senator to open up an investigation into the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation and has also been a vocal advocate against sending more weapons to the Netanyahu government.

Transcript: Hearings to examine the nominations of Austin Dahmer, of Arizona, and Robert Kadlec, of New York, both to be an Assistant Secretary, and Michael Borders, of Florida, to be an Assistant Secretary of the Air Force, all of the Department of Defense.
Senate Armed Services Committee
November 4, 2025

Senator Elizabeth Warren: Thank you, Mr. Chairman. So, right now we have a fragile ceasefire in Gaza, and we need to make it last. Following the October 7 terrorist attack, Prime Minister Netanyahu initiated a war that has cost nearly 70,000 Palestinians their lives. About a third of them were women and children. We need the ceasefire to put us on a path to peace. Now, one of the tenets of the ceasefire is that all parties must provide "full aid into Gaza" "without interference." This is powerfully important. For months, the Israeli government had a mere total blockade of food, medicine, and other critical humanitarian supplies, leading to half a million Palestinians in Gaza suffering from the first declared famine in the Middle East.

Now, Mr. Dahmer, you've been nominated to be the Assistant Secretary of Defense for Strategy, Plans, and Capabilities. If confirmed, you will advise the Secretary on how to align DoD resources to our national security strategy, including enforcing the conditions of this ceasefire.

Mr. Dahmer, do you support President Trump's ceasefire, including ensuring full aid goes into Gaza without interference?

Mr. Dahmer: Yes, Senator, I absolutely support the President's agenda, including his efforts at peace in Gaza.

Senator Warren: Okay, I'm glad to hear you believe that now in the past, you have tweeted that providing aid to Palestinians makes the U.S. "support for Israel look performative." But on top of continuing to limit aid, the U.S. government chose to work with the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation, an inexperienced organization with no history in food distribution. It was created by management consultants and run by armed contractors. Previous ceasefires saw more than 400 aid distribution sites, but GHF limited distribution instead of 400 to 4 and on GHF's watch, over a thousand starving Palestinians desperately seeking food near GHF sites were killed amid multiple reports that the IDF has been opening fire on them.

Mr. Dahmer, do you think the GHF has a record of success in delivering aid to Palestinians?

Mr. Dahmer: Well, Senator, I think President Trump has been clear not only that he's focused on peace, but that he expects both Israel and Hamas to abide by the ceasefire.

Senator Warren: Okay, I appreciate that, but I asked a very specific question. Do you think the GHF has a record of success in delivering aid to Palestinians? It's a yes or no question.

Mr. Dahmer: Senator, I don't have enough information about the specific organization.

Senator Warren: Don't have enough information? Expertise is critical here, and I'm worried DoD's complete indifference to the experience in delivering aid will only cost more Palestinians their lives.

Now, on October 21 U.S. Central Command announced they had opened a civil-military coordination center where U.S. military personnel will help facilitate assistance from international counterparts into Gaza. The Netanyahu government promptly selected one of the architects of the GHF to be their representative at this U.S.-led center. Press reporting indicates DoD is considering replicating the GHF model, including limiting aid distribution to a handful of sites.

Mr. Dahmer, this is one of the most complex areas to deliver aid. Would DoD be more successful by partnering with experienced aid organizations that have had some real success in delivering that aid?

Mr. Dahmer: Senator, thank you for the important question. I would also note that U.S. Central Command released just a few days ago a video of Hamas actually looting an aid truck as it was being delivered-

Senator Warren: So, I appreciate that but that is not the question I asked. I have very limited time here. The chairman is very strict about our time. I'm asking you-this is a complex part of the world to deliver aid in. Would DoD be more successful if they partnered with somebody who actually had had some success in delivering aid in this region?

Mr. Dahmer: Senator, if confirmed, I would commit to always working, not only across the department, on our security cooperation efforts and humanitarian aid-

Senator Warren: Could I just have a yes or no on my question?

Mr. Dahmer: Senator, what? I'm sorry, what is this? What is the question?

Senator Warren: The question is, it's a complex area to deliver aid. Would DoD be more successful if it partnered with experienced aid organizations that have had success in delivering aid in this region?

Mr. Dahmer: Senator, I would agree that a demonstrated record of success would be a positive indicator of future success.

Senator Warren: Well, I appreciate that. Half a million people are starving in Gaza right now, and we need to do everything we can to help.

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