[inaudible conversations] the committee will come back to order, and we will finish up with the honorable jon huntsman, and i understand senator shahe shaheen. yes, thank you very much mr. chairman. first of all, i would like to thank the governor for his willingness to continue to serve the country and i very much appreciated our conversation. i know one of the things we discussed a little bit in the challenges getting the attempt to influence the elections, occupation and annexation of crimea, some of the other challenges facing and the need to counter those efforts into the same time to look at the places where we can work with russia because we have mutual interest. can you talk about how as ambassador you will try to balance those needs and the kinds of efforts that you think are helpful in responding to russian aggression versus the kind of efforts that he would try to employ and to engage in areas of mutual interest with. >> put your microphone on. there we go. senator it was a pleasure most recently to see you. aggression doesn't pay and there will be a response. we've already seen that in the case in 2014 and in the case of ukraine in the eastern provinces and previous to that in 2008 in the case of georgia with self study south of. the constant pushing is taking place in europe and we have friends and allies that we support and whose sovereignty we stand behind from a security standpoint. and i think we have to live up and respecforand respect those , which is the case. we have that same thing going on while overlapping and common interest. and i think as with any challenging relationship i would say in the case of russia it is a challenging but necessary relationship we have to be at the table together and find a common ground. we have to solve problems and move to a higher altitude. no question about it. but it's to show we can succeed in what we do together and there may be some early signs of success with the attempt to disarm and quiet the western region just south of damascus. it's still the early days but there may be some successes from their. i think the dpr k. is another area that we could find success. in the case of ukraine, we are nowhere and i would have to say that a lot of the main highway that leads to an improvement in the u.s. russia relations goes right through to ukraine and that is leadin is living up andg the accord through the norm in the process that right now is actively being worked out by the special representative for a fairs. it's a critically important issue not just for ukraine and the region but for people here in the united states, so that will be an important area. then we have issues such as space which may be the level of oxygen that keeps us together in a collaborative session. this keeps us together in the united states and russia. another issue i think we have to come together on and maybe in ways that are positive, so i see the balance sheet and the need to come up with a very clear and crisp list of priorities that we can meet on and hopefully make progress and i can return to you on. >> ambassador, can you talk about whether you are going to be willing to meet with opposition figures in russia and discipline through may not agree with? >> that has always been my practice that every other post and it will continue to be my practice. yes, senator. >> ambassador, governor, i just wanted to come back to this hearing to complement you as one of the highest quality nominees that i have seen in my seven years on before in relation committee. in the personal meeting ended your opening statement, i think that you represent the very best in public service and leadership at home and abroad. you answered a whole series of questions i have for you whether reading with obligation issues, human rights, the value of the western european allies and many others. so, to you and your beautiful family thank you for your dedication to the public service and let me ask two or three questions and i look forward to supporting your nomination in any event. how do you think we could counter this in western europe and as we talk about in my office, our core challenge is raising the cost for russia of the continued interference in their continued illegal actions in ukraine and other places in the world. and do you think it is critical that we maintain the sanctions until the end or destabilize the actions in ukraine and metal in the european elections or can you imagine a path we would enlighten some sanctions that others did in the action of this committee we would have a hand in any decision on that front? >> thank you for those warm comments that you previously made. i think ukraine becomes a centerpiece when we look at the sanctions we had five rounds of sanctions when you count the act as well and i think a lot of the barometer on where the relationship goes will be based on ukraine and kind of success that we have living up to the mexican court. when i think about the different sanctions that are there, some are the result of meddling in our election and more human rights focused. with respect to the kind of hybrid warfare which includes the maligned activity goes well beyond the welfare that my generation was accustomed to as was yours growing up. you put a quick note on the field and practice and never have to go to the war. what we see today is very different and it includes disinformation campaigns and networks that are dedicated to the dissemination of good news of different sources we see the support of political movements on the extreme end for example. it's to recognize it does exist anthat doesexist and want to bel about it so what is the nature of this hybrid campaign and what does it take on the very survivability of the nascent democracy because i think that is the target to undercut the credibility of the political system which is the most nefarious approach but one can take to another nationstate and then we have to see what are the options in terms of the tools one might have there may be options on the technology side and the private sector would be worth looking at. then the work you are doing with others including senator murphy on funding some effort efforts t would produce a counter narrative is important. it's the clarity and the forcefulness of your view about russia's actions and our election in the region against our alliances in western europe it's both at home and around the world and your commitment to join with us so i very much look forward to working with you. [laughter] i do appreciate your commitment to the global engagement center. we are very pleased that the administration after some question is now transferred $48 million to help set up the capacity for the young nations and he would be instrumental to figure out how that plays out going forward. with that being said, let me ask a little question here. i really appreciated your clear statement regarding a russian interfere in in the u.s. election. but i want to put the swor thisf elephant out on the table here. you're going to be working for a president who's done the opposite and is that he intentionally cast doubt on whether they interfered in this election. it's all a hoax, it is all a scam. in poland earlier this year he said it could have been russia, but it could have been other people. and the results are real. 43% of americans don't believe that russia interfered in the u.s. election. and importantly, only about 9% believe that russia interfered. so let me ask you this because e everybody is wondering. how do you represent your belief that in all of our beliefs that they interfered in the election is engaged in a terribly intentional campaign at the very least to cloud the issue how do you manage that? >> it's important to note that the odni has spoken, is a powerful symbol when you get the director of the national intelligence director of the cia ahead of the fbi who come together in unison behind their findings and they are material for some years i very rarely see them come together in such coordinated fashion of one mind and one conclusion, so i think that expresses where the facts are with respect to the involvement. but i have to say that for me as a former governor, you are tasked with the integrity of the system sometimes as a lieutenant governor, sometimes the secretary of state you have nothing more important than the integrity of your election process at the list of levels and to undercut or subver subveo associatsubvert ortwo associater to succeed about or distrust about that system is the highest level of industry that i think can be played on any local election system. i will speak to this not just as a u.s. ambassador to russia but also somebody that had responsibility in my state. thank you for that answer i don't want to normalize the moment i think it will be very difficult by the fact that you will put pressure to stop interfering in our elections trying to cloud this question and use as his personal communications device to call this a hope is and i don't want us to normalize what happened today when the diplomats are telling one line at the president is telling a different one on his twitter feed and i appreciate tha the capacity and willingness to do the jobs that are uniquely hard in an unprecedented way. we will get a commitment to follow-up ofollow up on somethid about in the office. senator shaheen and i and some others talked about the balkans where the war started a place that remains very unstable and in the last six months since the president took office and said gold but we were sort of exiting the diplomatic playing field, russia has gone into buying up all sorts of media sources and they started paying off new and interesting people. i just wanted to have you reiterate your commitment against all these things you're going to be paying into to keep an eye out for us to increase the russian interference. at the very stable place that could be made much more unstable if we don't check that interference. >> you have my commitment, senator. it is an example of what we described earlier specifically when you point to serbia and kos about. i think this is an example of what happened in that vacuum. i will watch it and it will certainly be part of my discussion. >> thank you, senator cain. >> governor, welcome. you are superbly qualified for this position. it's a very tough job and i'm glad the president asked you to do it. i was involved in the sum of the circumstances senator murphy was asking about and i will switch and toland tell you an interestg irony while i was a candidate in the election that's been much discussed for these reasons my son was deployed in the initiative in the entire marine you will also have theblack and opportunity to dialogue with other european nation that russia, and i think an important part of your job is going to be working with the russian government to make sure that we advance and protect the nations on their border that are currently under serious assault in many demands. i wonder if you can just address that aspect how you might approach the different aspect of your job. >> my approach will be to work with friends and allies in europe, specifically the g5 where they are dedicated to the issues that are prominently on the security agenda. we all know the full double states are right on the periphery and the need for help and support both nato and the united states. i think we are better and stronger when we are coordinating with those who are focused in on the ground and maybe have a slightly different perspective. and i learned this while serving in china working with the g5 in other contexts including north korea and the south china sea. and i fully expect to consult on a regular basis with my colleagues to make sure that we are plugged into the work of the supreme allied commander in europe along with the nato command as well. i very much want to make a visit to both of those areas to make sure we are all of one mind as it relates to understanding the last training exercise that is playing out in belarus even as we sit here that it will go on through september 30. i'm not sure they've invoked the documents required as far as transparency is concerned but it may be that they should have. nobody quite knows the number of troops involved or how this is likely to play out. that's not good. that doesn't serve the interest in europe. so i think we ar are together on the issues and i would look forward to working with our friends and allies on these issues. you will also have a unique perspective having to be ambassador to china. china. both critical nations and where we have many points of disagreement, but there are areas where we need to work together, for example we had a briefing recently though it was classified, this portion wasn't. wasn't. it's about north korea and the administration officials said over and over again we are pursuing diplomacy if we can. if it is a 10% chance or 5% or 3% chance, we need to pursue diplomacy and the diplomatic resolution of the situation in north korea and i assume you share that view and the view that person and you diplomatic relations would likely involve having russia and china involved in those discussions. .. which is worth hundreds of millions of dollars. these are big deals so far as it really comes down to either sanctions going to be implemented and that's where we have had difficulties in the past. will china do what they have signed up to do and will russia do what they signed up to do? that's where you roll up your sleeves and get to work. might as one more question mr. chair or do i need to wait for a second round? >> i will be very brief. >> we will have questions for the record. >> i will be very brief. having acknowledged china and russia would be critical if there was an ability to find a nuclear deal of some type with north korea you would agree would you not that their belief about whether or not the u.s. would follow a deal if we reached it that could be important to them in determining how much they wanted to work with us to press north korea. >> obviously there are trust issues all around and they constantly have to be work done and the trust deficit the deployment of thaad most recently among other things is causing consternation with both china and russia but we have worked together successfully in the six-party contact so i have seen examples of where three of us can in fact take on an issue share information work from a common sheet and a common playbook and try to get things done. >> thank you. governor and ambassador thank you so much for taking this big responsibility on and thank you to your family who was also willing to undertake a sacrifice is. >> mr. chairman i want to thank the governor also and if there's one thing senator kaine said enforcement of sanctions in north korea is very important. enforcement of the sanctions against russia is very important so we are going to need your help in forcing the sanctions in regards the sale of turkey that the sanctions may be in fact being violated so we are going to need your intentions if we are going to be effective in the action against russia. >> for members of the committee we will keep the record open until the close of business on thursday that includes members of many questions for the record so again thank you so much. you and your family, thank you. mr. mitchell would you care to join us? [inaudible conversations] >> thank you all. [inaudible conversations] >> mr. mitchell thank you so much for joining us. i am here in the position that you have been nominated for is certainly an important position and i apologize for our time today. we are going to bit -- be in the bit of a short stream so instead of at it making an open statement i don't want to preach on about europe and how important it is to us. i'm going to pass on that and get to your perspective. >> i commented earlier so mr. mitchell the floor is yours. >> thank you senator reisch and let me say how much i appreciated earlier senator cornyn from my home state of texas giving me a warm introduction and i'm honored to have your backing. chairman parker rank member cardin and members of the committee it's a real privilege to appear before you as a nominee for assistant secretary of state for european and eurasian affairs. president trump ends secretary secretary -- for the confidence they placed me to undertake this important role. i'm proud to have here with me today a support battalion of my family members. my wife elizabeth, her children wesley and charlotte are terrorizing folks in the hallway so i apologize if anyone who experienced that today. my mom beth mitchell, my aunt and father in mother-in-law. as senator cornyn said i'm a sixth generation texan prevent first person my family more than 150 years to pursue a career north of the red river. like my wife who is a 13 year veteran of the department of defense that came to washington to serve my country. 12 years ago i cofounded the center for european policy analysis of think tank that is now widely recognized or the quality of his research and analysis on control of fear. as president seau i'm overseeing the truly transatlantic organization with offices in washington the warsaw and personnel in several european countries. this role at the close and effective relationships with senior leaders across the state and had the honor of working with previous secretaries and seen the skills, dedication and patriotism of the men and women of the bureau for european and eurasian affairs and i've worked closely with many of you and your staff on this committee on some of the most important pieces of legislation affecting america's relationship with europe and russia. what animates my work is a belief that america's alliances are the backbone of our strength and influence of the great power years ago americans helped to create a new western order grounded in atlanta corporation rate they did so because they understood that america has this enduring strategic interest in removing what an earlier generation of policymakers called the firetrap of geopolitics through this region was the birthplace of the three global wars the 20 century too hot and one cold to the alliance was built after 1945 and expanded after 1989 laid the foundation for unprecedented freedoms stability and prosperity much much of the world. as president thompson were so there's nothing like this nation we must have the courage and desire to preserve it. if confirmed i will view as my central path the preservation and strengthening of the western alliance to ensure my young children are able to enjoy the benefits and abundance we have known in our lifetime. if confirmed my first priority will be to give substance to the administration's affirmation of american commitment to article v of nato our allies especially frontline between the baltic and black seas. to be credible or acquires a strong posture and a willingness by all allies including the largest and wealthiest european states to bear their full share. in the fight against isis must be an urgent priority. we need allies to assist robustly in defeating isis sharing information on terrorist threats and address the sources of migration of extremism and north africa. must work closely with europe on syria i ran and north korea and rally u.s. strategy in afghanistan worked to keep turkey long the lynchpin of nato's plank firmly anchored in the community. in both east and south we must be sober minded about russia. in the interest of the american russian people lower tensions between the largest nuclear powers. the same time the russian government us understand a return to normal relations would be impossible as long as it attacks his neighbors abuses his people and undermines confidence in american institutions and those of our allies if confirmed i will destabilize activities in ukraine and and the support of regions in syria and i ran to america's greatest winner alliance is strong or kidd is reliant prado strengthened the trillion dollar transatlantic community and build on the administration's efforts to help europe enhance energy security through diversification of energy sources and highlight the viability of american lng as an option in these efforts. in these areas so you must get the clear. the glue that holds us together is greater than the treaty or set of institutional roles. as the glue of a common civilization, the west grounded in freedom democracy and rule of law and united by the bond of culture and shared sacrifice. american leadership requires more clarity. we are strongest when our values and those of our allies are aligned to behold arrivals accountable for human rights at home. if confirmed always the relationships i have forged in europe and the talented staff of the days state department and capitol hill tube banned u.s. interest values and -- and help relay secretary tillerson's vision of making every state department dollar count to the mecca taxpayer. i'm humbled to be considered for this position and thank you for the opportunity to be here. i welcome your questions and comments. >> thank you very much mr. mitchell. senator cardin. >> mr. mitchell welcome and as i told you i appreciate your willingness to serve our country. the obama administration takes pride that they were able to get europe to have consistent sanctions against i ran that the united states initially brought forward and they have a right because that was leverage on i ran to get them to negotiate. no question about it. i want to take you back a little bit when congress passed the sanctions against i ran. the administration was not as as we were taking up the sanction legislation because it took away some of the flexibility that any administration likes to have. they recognize he gave them additional strength in dealing with our european partners to get tough sanctions against i ran but ultimately lead to negotiations. my point is with russia we are in a very similar situation. this congress has spoken with a very strong voice. these are tough sanctions and it gives the president a much stronger hand but he has got to play the hand. you are going to be the key person in the administration working with our european partners to get consistency in the sanctions imposed by the united states and europe against russia so they know that the impact on their economy will be much stronger if they don't change course in their behavior against europe and the united states. do we have your commitment that you are going to carry out not only the law but carry it out with enthusiasm these tools that are available consistent with united states imposing additional sanctions against russia. >> thank you for that question senator and i enjoy the time we had together and i want to thank you for your leadership particularly on human rights issues. the countering american rivals as you say this was a 98-2 vote replica of the will of the american people. think the secretary has been clear and president trump cited for saw russia as a country that tests are well under mitre conference and challenges our interests. if i'm confirmed you have my commitment to executing and implementing the terms of this legislation as it was intended obviously in close gordon age with the secretary. >> at thank you for the answer but i want you to go further than that. i want you to work with european allies so they have consistent sanctions. one of the things we frequently hear about is that if you don't get consistency and sanctions you could drive a truck through the economic penalties so we need europe which is closer with russia on economic activity to follow u.s. leadership. that's right need your help. this country needs your commitment. >> let me say i agree fundamentally that our sanctions are most effective only if unity unity with your pants and i think it'd restate years we have seen both republican and democratic administration a recognition that the utility of her sanctions increases in direct proportion to the scale of her to romantic engagement with european allies. the tools that congress has made available are very important tools for raising costs vis-à-vis the russian government and i think a clear message has been sent through that legislation. i take your point and i particularly want to emphasize the role that u.s. diplomacy will play with our allies and addressing concerns that have been raised specifically about section 232 involving european energy, infrastructure and also section 231 on defense contracts. think these are immediate sources of concern over u.s. diplomacy will need to be very focused on working closely with our european allies to help them understand the nature of the legislation and is the legislation explicitly states to be effective we want this to be coordinate with our allies and if confirmed that will be my approach. >> of course we made concessions with european concerns and european -- or in our office asking for modifications to be put in the bill to take care of their concerns. they may very well be saying something different to different audience but it was clearly an effort made for that to happen. in reviewing the legislation we found various where europe in some cases had stronger sanctions than the united states i'll still tell you that you are going to hear accounts of we can't do this we can do this and after we all do it they take credit for saying we finally got unity and we may be making a difference. takes leadership. it takes leadership to make this work. the state -- stakes could never be higher in what russia is doing today. you are going to be the key person because you are going to be the conduit to all of the different emphases in europe and you will have ambassadors who won't be bothered with that on their plate and yet i don't know of a higher priority where rush is doing against their interests getting an effective way for sanctions to work. my last point would be expected to work closely with its committee on this issue. this is not a partisan issue as you know. we need your commitment that you will work with us and keep us informed as to the progress we are making with europe and the sanctions against russia in the last point i would add to that you mentioned the helsinki commission. i bet that senator wicker the regional commission that is directly involved in the portfolio would ask that you corporate with the helsinki commission. we have representation that you would work with the helsinki commission on these issues so i'd ask him both of those cases that he would work with our committee and work with the helsinki commission. >> i think -- take that to heart and let me say i have spent time with some of my predecessors that impose understanding how they approach congress and you can expect to see if i'm confirmed my full engagement. >> thank you. senator shaheen. >> thank you mr. chairman in mr. mitchell congratulations on your nomination and i want to thank you for your willingness to consider service with this post. i appreciate the time you spent with me talking about the challenges facing our international diplomatic efforts and the state department itself. you will have a large public to paul missy shop and the office is charged with implementing russian policies as you testified to including our efforts to counter russian disinformation. how do you expect the european -year-old to work with the newly constituted global engagement to address the disinformation that is coming from russia? >> thank you senator for that question and i appreciate have the opportunity to spend time with the recently put it want to thank you for the leadership you have shown on some of the work we have done and for your work on the subcommittee specifically on the state department. i think we have to start by recognizing the russian government takes a whole of government approach. over it and covert activities maligned interest of lung european allies and here in the united states. i would like to say we were a pioneer in calling to the types of methods and strategies for addressing them in the scale of the detriment to the west. we also help engage with some of the offices here as the legislation on gdp process is being crafted. provided briefings from our analysts and fellows here and in the region and we have worked closely with nato stratcom to understand the approach is it's taking not obviously the hyperfusion cell that the european nation is setting up. i would simply say that for us to be effective with disinformation, we have to have a whole of government approach and i think what legislation provides that senators portman and murphy put forward as the basis for that for synchronizing your efforts and if i'm confirmed i will work very closely to ensure the pier wrote of european and eurasian affairs works closely with the gdp as it turns his focus towards russia. >> do you think we have a whole of government approach at this point? >> i think we have an awareness that we have had in the past. i think we have learned a lot in the last couple of years including from our european allies who pioneered areas that we can explore for combating this pretty think we are moving towards a whole of government approach but i think there's no shortage of that tooling capacity that prompts coordination and my understanding of the mandate given to the gdp and its resources that it provides a resource. >> do you think it's currently doing that? >> my understanding of the gdp in his current role until his mandate was put forward the resources were put forward his doing very good work including on areas other than russia. i think the new direction and the new resources will increase the capacity to do that more effectively. >> we had a hearing last week in the helsinki commission on this very issue on disinformation and focuses mostly in russia but also the challenge that sends to america the fact that we have a lot of people who really don't question the accuracy of media reports, who get news from social media which may not provide a filter for how accurate that news is. and we talked about the issue of who is in charge and the consensus of people who testified there is we don't currently have someone in charge heading up these efforts. not only do we not have a whole of government approach we don't have someone charged with doing this and we don't have someone currently named to do that. i guess i would ask do you agree with that and who should take that role? i had a chance to serve on in the armed services committee. members of our military, this is something that they should have a hand in. russia has said that the negative in their military that is responsible for information and cyber information so what i was told is that's not the role of the military. as you know after the were we disbanded u.s. information agency in so much of the apparatus that is designed to counter disinformation so from your perspective what is the role of the state department? who should lead this effort and how do we get to that whole of government approach? >> i think it's a very important question. i think we have allies that the nato level and the nation-state level who are grappling with similar questions in part because society to value an open media discussion we have to balance security and privacy. i don't think we are unique or alone in realizing the magnitude of these problems and seeking to understand how to use our tools. even before the direction the bureau of european and eurasian affairs has been active providing resources for media training and countries of central and eastern europe working to increase cyber defenses and interference in the election. i would say moving forward what's important is that now that it's been made clear the center will have this as and mandate that as the resources come into play and leadership comes into play i think ordination within the department obviously because of the vast reservoir of expertise on the situation on the ground which is indispensable to do its job well. beyond that not eating privy to wear the administration wants to take the specific issues i would want to speculate further but i will say i strongly support the new direction and would be committed if i'm confirmed to ensuring working closely with the bureau. >> thank you mr. mitchell for your willingness to serve. i think your family as well for your willingness to support mr. mitchell in the service. let me ask you two questions if i might. first i haven't had a chance to review all of president trump's remarks at the united nations but i understand he continues to express opposition to the iran deal jcpoa, something that took a great deal of work and coordination to pull together both our european allies and our partners and adversaries and others such as russia and china and provide constraints for iran's nuclear ambition. concerned that if president trump fails to certify iranian compliance with the nuclear deal absent any credible evidence of iranian cheating within the four corners of the deal that will deeply strain our relations with our european partners and if we do so they will then refuse to agree by the sanctions provided in the jcpoa and it will be harder for us to craft a meaningful sanctions regime to force north korea to back off of their nuclear ambition. >> thank you for that question. it's an absolutely crucial issue. demonstrations currently you review of not only jcpoa that are broader approach to iran. i haven't seen the latest comments that were made in new york but i do know secretary tillerson has been clear that what we want to take account of is the broader array of iranian activity including the ballistic missile program is supported terrorists in the region i think that picture gives us a better sense of where the iranians are at and just in terms of the jcpoa my understanding is to be review is underway and while that review is underway we are emphasizing the strict implementation of jcpoa. obviously whatever direction things take with iran unity with our european allies will be crucial to good to know there are possible points on the future of jcpoa. i can't speculate on the direction of the administration's review but i can assure you if i'm confirmed it will be a very high priority to ensure that we have a high degree of coordination with our european allies and the european union and ensuring the effectiveness of the jp cla and the broader iranian strategy. >> he said in your opening statement is firmly anchored in the trans-atlantic community. i will be a challenging task. how would you recommend we proceed and retaining some relationship with turkey given all the tensions that have led to a significant degradation in our relationship. >> it's an important question. thank you for that. i will start by saying that turkey is an absolutely indivisible nato allies of the united states. don't think there's a country in the region or in nato that could provide for u.s. national security of turkey is providing not over supporting our efforts to defeat isis but are broader strategic equation including syria iraq afghanistan iran the relationship with russia. at the strategic level i think it's absolutely critical that we sustain engagement with the turkish government. at the same time the department has raised very severe concerns about the state of rule of law, human rights and religious minority issues inside of turkey and arab than developments that are very concerning. i think we have a balance and contain to work with the turks as a strategic partner in the region but i don't think we should be shy about raising our concerns in these areas and i think if i'm confirmed in court nation with the secretary my approach would be to emphasize the common interests we have in expanding our strategic engagement but an appropriate manner to continue to raise those concerns come to look for ways to work closely with expanding our people-to-people contact but i think there's a lot more that can be done in those areas. >> thank you mr. mitchell. i believe we are safest and strongest when we lead with our values. our values don't always make our allies happy and they often don't share them but an analysis of -- analysis of ranchers test includes our values particularly human rights in an open society so thank you for the answer and i look forward to working with you. >> senator murphy. >> thank you very much mr. chairman. it's good to see you mr. mitchell. thank you for stepping up and being willing to serve. i support her nomination when it comes to for the united states senate and working closely with you and the ranking member on the subcommittee on europe. as i did with secretary, excuse me governor huntsman i want to just acknowledge some underlying realities with you for a moment and get your take on them. this administration has opened up a pretty open war with the idea board diplomacy, budget proposal a 40% reduction for funding the state department. the hiring freeze seems to apply to only one agency today which the state department. there has been a banner was to slow down on lateral transfers to the agency. you're going to be asked for your counsel by the secretary and perhaps by the president as to whether once again to re-up a request for a 40% reduction in funding, whether can to continue the hiring freeze and slow down promotions. can you share with us what your advice will be when asked whether to continue these policies that many of us see as leading to an evisceration of diplomacy abroad? >> thank you for that question senator murphy and i want to express my gratitude for the meeting that we had and the years of cooperation we have had with your office in her leadership of so many issues that are close to our hearts at cepa. the secretary has been cleared once to see a better alignment. american priorities and resources at the state department. my understanding of the redesign is a recently completed second phase. this was an employee of lead process. secretary tillerson has experience in the private sector large-scale redesign of organization and my understanding in the targeted areas in this process are areas where the secretary would like greater efficiency. i've not been privy to those. i do know the secretary has said as it relates to the bureau of europe and eurasian affairs he would like see a priority in our work on those parts of europe that have been under pressure or duress or maligned influence from the russian federation of those parts of europe we are working the most closely with i think those priorities are correct. i don't know what direction or final form the budget discussion will take. if i am confirmed i will make good use of the resources at my disposal. i certainly graywith the priority the secretary has outlined and i think in some of these areas is not a moment we want to decelerate. i have a lot of respect for talented people at the bureau and if confirmed that like to get my feet on the ground have a listening tour and talk to people in the bureau and understand their priorities and concerns. a hand until i've done that i wouldn't be willing to speculate. >> you know have respect for you with all due respect to does not employee driven redesign. it is a top down driven redesign and i would be challenged to find a single employee who thinks any of these policies are in the best interest of the state department. you will be able once you're in this position to be able to make sure the people that work under you have something to say about this because that is not what is happening right now. one last question on trade policy. we spent a lot of time on this committee over the past four years talking about a trade agreement a bilateral trade agreement with the european union. it's essentially on hold as we all knew but the danger is it's going to be substituted by replacement bilateral agreements in particular one the president has floated with england and the united kingdom. you know that would help europe. that would be a big win for those who want to europe to fall apart. the ideas the u.s. will not do a deal with the eu and instead will pursue deals with the country that would draw from the eu. what is our current position? are you going to be asked to negotiate a bilateral trade agreement with great britain? should they withdraw or are you going to be asked to negotiate a bilateral trade agreement with european union? >> this is a very important issue and i've been on the record in the past strongly in support of robust transatlantic trade agenda. the relationship we have with united kingdom is a very old and special relationship. this is a relationship that is strategic terms is economically our largest single source of foreign direct investment a conduit for a major swath of our trade with europe and i think our priority is to ensure an amicable divorce. arab goal is to see that we in the process of wrecks it with a strong strategic and economic relationship with eu and the uk. president trump sees a vibrant bilateral trade agreement with united kingdom. my understanding is we are in informal talks with the u.s. and uk trade investment working group. i think we have to strike a balance here between allowing the u.s., i'm sorry allowing the eu and uk to flush out their own deal not the least because of whatever arrangements we come to is that readers will be contingent on that deal but also sending a signal to american businesses and british as her allies that there is a process underway for establishing groundwork or principles for a deal that would be done between the united states and the uk. the lead on this is obviously ustr predefined confirmed i look forward to working closely with the folks at ustr and other relevant agencies to ensure we end this process with the strong trade relationship. >> i want to go on the record one more time saying i think that would be an enormous strategic mistake. the responsibility will lie at the feet of the demonstrations if it pursues a bilateral trade agreement with great britain at the expense of a trade agreement with the european union and i would hope that you would counsel against it. thank you mr. chairman. >> thank you senator. mr. mitchell thank you for your willingness to serve and i thank you for your family. with that we will close the hearing. i would say for the record the record will be open until thursday until close of business on thursday and that will conclude questions. without again thank you mr. mitchell and the meeting is adjourned. >> thank you. [inaudible conversations] [inaudible conversations] [inaudible conversations] [inaudible conversations] [inaudible conversations] hour-s moderated by "meet the press" host, chuck todd. >> a special presentation decision 2017 the virginia governor's race democrat

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