Video: Kaine Presses Secretary Rubio on Venezuela During Committee Hearing

FULL VIDEO IS AVAILABLE HERE.

WASHINGTON, D.C. - Today, U.S. Senator Tim Kaine (D-VA), a member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee (SFRC) and Ranking Member of the SFRC Subcommittee on the Western Hemisphere, pressed Secretary of State Marco Rubio on U.S. policy toward Venezuela and President Donald Trump's comments at the World Economic Forum in which he confused Iceland and Greenland. Kaine has pushed for more transparency on the Administration's operations in Venezuela and previously introduced War Powers Resolutions to block the use of the U.S. Armed Forces to engage in hostilities within or against Venezuela unless authorized by Congress. He also introduced a resolution focused on the strikes in the Caribbean.

"We started this operation on September 2 with the attack on Venezuelans on boats on open waters, and now, we are nearly five months in," said Kaine. "Finally a public hearing!"

"Even in this first public hearing five months in, there's a lot we can't talk about," Kaine continued. "If it was such a righteous operation, why is this Administration and the majority in the Senate so jealously protecting the details about it from being revealed to the American public? I have Virginians deployed in this operation; I can't answer their families' questions … This is supposed to be the greatest deliberative body in the world."

Kaine pressed Secretary Rubio on the Administration's plan for Venezuela and its support for María Corina Machado.

Kaine said, "The Administration has made the decision in the aftermath of the attack that Delcy Rodríguez should be leading the country."

"Here's what President Trump said about [María Corina Machado] … in the aftermath of the attack on Venezuela: 'I think it would be very tough for her to be the leader. She doesn't have the support within or the respect within the country. She's a very nice woman, but she doesn't have the respect.' What did President Trump mean by that?

"I talked to her last week. Very disappointed in those comments and so were Venezuelans in my state."

Secretary Rubio responded, "Today, as it stands-whether we like it or not-the elements of control in that country, the people with the guns, the people that control the guns, and the institutions of government there, are in the hands of this regime."

Kaine then pushed Secretary Rubio on President Trump's comments in Davos.

Kaine said, "Here's something the President said in Davos: 'I'm helping NATO until the last few days when I told them about Iceland. They loved me. They're not here for us on Iceland-that I can tell you. Our stock market took the first dip yesterday because of Iceland. So Iceland has already cost us a lot of money.' The President repeatedly mistook Iceland for Greenland, right?"

Secretary Rubio responded, "Yeah, he meant to say Greenland."

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