On Friday, U.S. Senator Tommy Tuberville (R-Alabama) questioned Joe Biden’s nominee for Under Secretary of Defense for Policy, Derek H. Chollet. Chollet was testifying before the Senate during his confirmation hearing before the Senate Armed Services Committee (SASC). Sen. Tuberville questioned Chollet on the Biden administration’s withdrawal from Afghanistan, why the Biden Administration has not secured the southern border, and why the Department of Defense has not done more to stop the flow of fentanyl coming across the Southern Border.
Sen. Tuberville asked, “What do you think was the biggest misstep in the Afghanistan withdrawal in your thoughts after looking at it?”
“I think there are so many lessons that we have to learn as a country [from] the 20-year engagement we had in Afghanistan. 2,400 troops lost 20,000 injured, $2 trillion spent,” Chollet answered. “It’s why I applaud what Congress did with the support of this committee – the leadership of this committee – to create the Afghan War Commission. And, if confirmed, I pledged to you that I will do whatever I can to support the work of that commission because it’s critically important that we learn the lessons and apply the lessons of that 20-year engagement in Afghanistan.”
Tuberville asked, “So, do you think we made some mistakes in the withdrawal?”
Chollet answered, “I think, Senator, that there, of course, were mistakes made over that 20-year period. Absolutely.”
“We had less than 100 overdoses a year. Now fentanyl is number one in our state, and we will lose over a thousand people this year,” said Tuberville. “What do we tell the families [whose] kids are dying because of fentanyl – and we won’t do anything at the border. What do we tell them?”
“I really appreciate you asking this question because shining a light on the scourge that is fentanyl and the damage it is doing in so many communities across this country is absolutely critical,” said Chollet. “I can say that State Department Secretary [Antony] Blinken has tried to make this into a global issue. Fentanyl is the number one killer of Americans 18 to 49, and it’s a problem that we cannot solve alone because of the elaborate supply chain that creates fentanyl that ends up in U.S. communities. So, just last week in New York, Secretary Blinken hosted a meeting of foreign ministers to talk about ways that countries can work together to try to fight the scourge of fentanyl because it’s not just the U.S. alone that is facing this challenge. Synthetic opioids are ravaging the Middle East and Asia as well. So, we have absolutely got to get at this problem. One of the things that I will do, if confirmed, at DoD is to understand DoD’s role and see what more DoD can do to get at this problem.”
“It doesn’t seem like that we have everything in order from the DoD. In May, the Administration sent 1,500 troops to the border,” Tuberville stated. “In August, we pulled out 1,100. And a few days ago, we sent 800 back. If confirmed, I hope we get a little bit more consistency down there. I don’t know if you’ve been down there, but it’s a complete mess. We need to save our kids.”
Chollet is the current counselor of the U.S. Department of State. President Biden has appointed him to serve as Under Secretary of Defense for Policy, and he is awaiting confirmation. Chollet’s confirmation is presently on hold due to Sen. Tuberville’s holds on Defense Department nominees due to the Senator’s objection to President Biden’s abortion policy.
Tuberville asked Chollet about the current impasse between Tuberville and the White House.
“From where I sit – look, we need our team on the field,” Chollet told Tuberville. “Given the challenges that we face in the world from the pacing threat from China and to the threat of Russia. We need all the team on the field. We can’t fight with one hand tied behind our back. The job that I have been nominated for – the senior civilian in the Pentagon – I am going to want my military teammates on the field as well. We need to get this resolved as quick as possible.”
Senator Tuberville represents Alabama in the United States Senate and is a member of the Senate Armed Services, Agriculture, Veterans Affairs, and HELP Committees. He was first elected in 2020.
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