SCOTT SIMON, HOST:
There are Senate confirmation hearings next week for President-elect Donald Trump's foreign policy and national security team. The nominees, many controversial in their own right, will be in the spotlight following a series of provocative remarks from the president-elect. Mr. Trump has said the U.S. should buy Greenland, take control of the Panama Canal and make Canada a U.S. state. NPR national security correspondent Greg Myre joins us. Greg, thanks for being with us.
GREG MYRE, BYLINE: Hi, Scott.
SIMON: Which of Trump's selections are going to be in the hot seat?
MYRE: Well, the first one will be Trump's nominee to lead the Pentagon, Pete Hegseth, who goes before the Senate Armed Services Committee on Tuesday. Now, he's the former Fox News host who claims the military has become too woke, in his view, and needs to get back to basics. His TV commentary is certainly appealed to Trump, but Democratic critics say he simply lacks the experience to manage one of the world's largest bureaucracies, the U.S. Defense Department, which has nearly 3 million personnel worldwide. And Republicans now have this 53-47 majority in the Senate, so Hegseth and others will need almost every Republican vote to be confirmed.
SIMON: What other nominees might be most at risk?
MYRE: Tulsi Gabbard is a former Democratic congresswoman from Hawaii. She's up to be director of national intelligence, a role that oversees all 18 intelligence agencies. Democratic critics also cite her limited experience in the intelligence world, as well as sympathetic statements she's made toward Russian leader, Vladimir Putin, and a 2017 visit to Syria where she met with that country's recently ousted leader, Bashar al-Assad.
SIMON: What's the effect of President Trump's - I'll just call them colorful comments this week directed at friendly countries been?
MYRE: So, you know, no sign that any votes in the Senate have changed, but it could certainly lead to some awkward moments for the nominees. Trump said the U.S. needs to control the Panama Canal for national security reasons, and he said he wouldn't rule out the use of force. Now, nominees who are going to be pressed on some of their own statements are also likely to be asked if they would support Trump's positions. And the outgoing Biden team says they've been working with those who've been nominated. The departing CIA director, William Burns, spoke with our NPR colleague, Mary Louise Kelly about what he's been doing.
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WILLIAM BURNS: Well, I've had a couple of conversations with my successor, at least, you know, the CIA director designee John Ratcliffe, and I promised him that we would ensure the smoothest possible transition here. I stressed to him that this is an apolitical institution.
SIMON: Greg, of course, during his first term, President Trump threatened all kinds of things he didn't do, like pull the United States out of NATO. Is this latest batch of comments in that vein?
MYRE: Scott, probably too early to tell. Trump supporters say the president has always been unconventional and disruptive. But countries being named by Trump are trying to figure out whether this is bluster or whether he's serious. One example, when Trump talks about making Canada a state, that seems completely far-fetched and unrealistic. When he talks about tariffs on Canada, that's a threat that's perhaps more serious. So at minimum, this is taking the focus away from some other pressing issues.
SIMON: Well, and let me ask about that. Russia-Ukraine War or the Israel-Hamas conflict - what do you see happening there?
MYRE: So Trump is inheriting these complicated, protracted conflicts. He's made a few comments, but he's been pretty vague. He says, for example, if Hamas doesn't release the roughly 100 Israeli hostages by the time he enters office, there will be, quote, "hell to pay." What does that mean? He hasn't said. And just one final note, Scott, Trump has picked some respected and mainstream candidates on foreign policy. We're talking about Florida Senator Marco Rubio as secretary of state and Florida Congressman Mike Waltz as national security adviser.
SIMON: NPR's Greg Myre. Thanks so much.
MYRE: Sure thing, Scott. Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.
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