Opening Statements

Washington, D.C. – U.S. Representative Mike Rogers (R-AL), Chairman of the House Armed Services Committee, delivered the following opening remarks at a hearing on the U.S. military and national security challenges in the Greater Middle East and Africa.

Chairman Rogers' opening remarks as prepared for delivery:

Today, we continue our posture hearings with CENTCOM and AFRICOM.

As this will be both General Kurilla and General Langley’s final appearance before this committee, I want to thank them for their service to our nation.

American deterrence in the Middle East and Africa eroded under the last administration.

The disastrous withdrawal from Afghanistan emboldened our adversaries.

The Biden administration’s appeasement of Iran only made matters worse.

After Hamas’ barbaric onslaught, Iran opened a second front—activating the Houthis to strike Israel and disrupt global trade.

Since 2023, the Houthis have launched hundreds of attacks on U.S. warships and commercial vessels. 

Yet, instead of holding the Houthis accountable, the Biden administration pulled them off the terror list.

Immediately upon taking office, President Trump set out to restore peace through strength.

He reinstated the maximum pressure campaign on Iran and strengthened America’s hand in nuclear talks.

I strongly support his demand for Iran to permanently give up its capacity to enrich uranium.

Iran’s nuclear program must be dismantled—for good. 

But so must its proxy network.

Israel has taken decisive action against Hamas, Lebanese Hezbollah, and other rogue actors that had been operating in Assad’s Syria. 

Thanks to Israel, what once seemed impossible is becoming a reality: Iran’s proxies are being destroyed.

The Trump administration is building on this momentum.

Nowhere is this clearer than in its response to the Houthis.

Under President Trump, the United States has hit back decisively. 

But the threat is not gone.

Recent reports indicate Iran is buying materials from China for hundreds of ballistic missiles.

It is clear Iran is determined to rearm and resupply its proxies. 

So we must be equally determined to stop them.

The administration is right to prioritize homeland security. 

But that mission begins well beyond our borders.

We must stop terrorists abroad before they reach us.     

That means denying terrorists a safe haven—and for this, U.S. forces must be forward deployed.

That’s why I support the Department’s conditions-based approach to rebalancing U.S. forces in Syria. 

We cannot allow Syria to become a sanctuary again—for terrorists, Iran, or Russia.

The same applies to Africa.

Al-Shabaab, ISIS, and al-Qaeda are all gaining ground on the continent. 

Recent U.S. strikes in Somalia and across Africa have disrupted their operations. 

That pressure must continue.

Yet AFRICOM is consistently under-resourced. 

Even modest increases in ISR and security cooperation funding would go a long way and empower our African partners to take on more of the burden in the fight against terrorism.

We also must confront China’s growing footprint in Africa. 

The reality is that the threat China poses to the United States extends well beyond the Indo-Pacific.

In Africa, Beijing is securing critical minerals and building military infrastructure—from Djibouti to West Africa.

If China secures a permanent naval base on Africa’s Atlantic coast, it will threaten vital sea lanes and have serious consequences for our ability to defend the homeland.

Russia is also deepening its presence across Africa. 

It is trading arms and mercenaries for access to Africa’s gold, oil, and other resources.

The resulting revenue is helping fund Putin’s malign activities worldwide.

I look forward to hearing from our witnesses on how we can continue to defend forward in CENTCOM and AFRICOM and ensure the region’s threats never reach the U.S. homeland. 

With that I yield to the Ranking Member.