VIDEO: Ricketts to Secretary Blinken: “Stop Strengthening Hamas’ Hand”

May 21, 2024

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, U.S. Senator Pete Ricketts (R-NE), a member of the Senate Committee on Foreign Relations,slammed Secretary of State Antony Blinken for strengthening the hand of adversaries like Hamas and Russia by conditioning U.S. aid to allies like Israel and Ukraine.

“My concern here is when you start putting conditions on our allies, on how they have to win these conflicts… our allies around the world wonder if these so-called ironclad commitments are going to be ironclad in the future,” Ricketts said. “We’ve got to support our allies to win, and when we send mixed messages then our allies start questioning our commitment and that leads to a more dangerous world.”

“Stop strengthening Hamas’ hand by signaling that we are showing weakness,” Ricketts closed. 

Ricketts made the comments in a hearing of the Senate Committee on Foreign Relations titled American Diplomacy and Global Leadership: Review of the FY25 State Department Budget Request.