Senate Foreign Relations Committee questions Trump nominees on China competition, energy and DFC role

WASHINGTON — The Senate Foreign Relations Committee on June 10 heard testimony from five of President Trump’s foreign-policy nominees and pressed them on strategic competition with China, energy security, NATO defense spending, the fate of Afghan allies and the mission and reauthorization of the U.S. International Development Finance Corporation.

The hearing brought nominees before the committee for opening statements and a round of questions focused on U.S. economic statecraft and security. Chairman Jim Risch opened by warning the public against interruptions and praised the committee’s pace in moving nominees. The nominees who spoke were Jacob Helberg, nominated to be Under Secretary of State for Economic Growth, Energy, and the Environment; Andy Puzder, nominee for U.S. Ambassador to the European Union; Dr. Kapoor, nominee for Assistant Secretary for South and Central Asian Affairs; Benjamin Black, nominee to be CEO of the U.S. International Development Finance Corporation (DFC); and Howard Brody, nominee for U.S. Ambassador to Finland.

Committee members repeatedly returned to three themes: how nominees would respond to economic and technological competition from the People’s Republic of China; energy as both an economic and geopolitical tool (including liquefied natural gas and nuclear energy); and the DFC’s dual mandate to advance development while countering strategic competitors. Senator Jeanne Shaheen pressed Jacob Helberg on how a pending State Department reorganization would preserve subject-matter expertise for offices the e bureau will absorb; Helberg said the bureau’s “North Star” would be economic security and economic statecraft and that he would implement the administration’s agenda once org decisions are finalized. Helberg said in his testimony that “economic security is national security.”

On energy, senators including Rick Scott and Mike Ricketts cited U.S. capacity to export LNG and pressed nominees about ensuring allies’ energy resilience in the Indo‑Pacific and protecting Taiwan’s energy lifelines. Helberg highlighted U.S. strengths as an energy exporter and cited the president’s executive order on nuclear energy, saying it could free domestic capacity to export natural gas. Senators also raised concerns about supply‑chain dependencies: Helberg told the panel the United States is “90% reliant on Taiwan for semiconductors” and “90% reliant on China for rare earth minerals,” calling supply‑chain security a top priority.

Benjamin Black’s testimony and question period focused on the DFC. Black pledged to Congress that, “If confirmed, I would absolutely look forward to working with Congress on the reauthorization.” Senators sought commitments that DFC would retain its dual development-and-strategic mandate, maintain robust due‑diligence and ethics practices, and preserve career staff access in the agency’s New York office. Black said the BUILD Act created the DFC’s dual mandate and described the agency as a tool to catalyze private capital to achieve strategic aims.

Members pressed nominees on human‑rights and humanitarian questions. Senator Shaheen asked Dr. Kapoor whether Afghanistan is safe for returnees and whether the United States would continue advocacy for Afghan Special Immigrant Visa (SIV) holders; Kapoor said he had not been privy to internal policy reviews and would review the programs if confirmed.

European matters also figured prominently. Senators asked Andy Puzder about transatlantic trade friction and NATO defense spending; Chairman Risch said bluntly that “America is a reliable partner, but it's not an ATM,” and urged stronger European defense contributions. Puzder urged rapid progress on a U.S.-EU trade agreement and argued the U.S. should press for more market access for American exporters.

Several senators raised ethics, inspectors general, and enforcement questions. Senators asked nominees to commit to recusal where conflicts exist and to uphold the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act. Black, who said he would follow his ethics agreement and DFC procedures, acknowledged he was not yet familiar with the workings of inspectors general across agencies and said he would review them if confirmed.

The hearing closed with the committee leaving the record open for additional submissions and questions for the record through the close of business on June 11.

Speakers listed below are those quoted or who spoke substantively at the hearing and are the sole attribution sources used in this article.