The President-elect and I believe that we must restore the traditional role of Congress as a partner in shaping our foreign policy. In recent years, across the administrations of both parties, the voice of Congress in foreign policy has been diluted and diminished. It doesn’t make the executive stronger, it makes our country weaker. We will engage the world, not as it was, but as it is, a world of growing nationalism, retreating democracy, growing rivalry between China and Russia and other authoritarian states, growing threats to a stable and open international system, and a revolutionary technological system that is reshaping all aspects of our lives, especially in cyberspace. Together, we are much better placed to counter threats from Russia, Iran, North Korea and to defend democracy and human rights. President-elect Biden is committed to the proposition that Iran does not acquire nuclear weapons. And we share, I know, that goal in this committee. I also think President Trump was right to take a tougher approach on China. I totally disagree with how he did it in a number of areas, but the rule of thumb was right. And I think it’s really helpful. We can beat China and remind the world that a government of the people, for the people, can serve its people.
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