WEBVTT 00:03.288 --> 00:06.455 - (laughs) All right. 00:09.628 --> 00:11.620 Well, greetings, everyone. 00:11.620 --> 00:15.408 Good afternoon, it feels good to be back up here. 00:15.408 --> 00:16.468 Just a few things at the top, 00:16.468 --> 00:18.501 then I'll move to your questions. 00:18.501 --> 00:21.700 Secretary of State Rex Tillerson will travel to Japan, 00:21.700 --> 00:25.437 the Republic of Korea and China, March 15 through 19th, 00:25.437 --> 00:27.752 his first visit as Secretary of State 00:27.752 --> 00:30.730 to the East Asia and Pacific region. 00:30.730 --> 00:33.156 In each country, the secretary will meet 00:33.156 --> 00:35.215 with senior officials to discuss bilateral 00:35.215 --> 00:38.269 and multilateral issues, including strategic coordination 00:38.269 --> 00:40.936 to address the advancing nuclear and missile threat 00:40.936 --> 00:42.353 from North Korea. 00:42.957 --> 00:45.134 Obviously, given North Korea's continuing 00:45.134 --> 00:47.789 provocative behavior and actions, 00:47.789 --> 00:50.882 now the U.S. has actively engaged with its partners 00:50.882 --> 00:54.193 and allies in the region to address the threat 00:54.193 --> 00:57.526 posed by North Korea's weapons programs. 00:58.184 --> 01:00.056 Secretary Tillerson will also seek to reaffirm 01:00.056 --> 01:02.008 the administration's commitment 01:02.008 --> 01:04.318 to further broaden and enhance U.S. economic 01:04.318 --> 01:07.530 and security interests in the Asia-Pacific region. 01:07.530 --> 01:09.993 Asia is, of course, a key engine 01:09.993 --> 01:12.305 of economic growth and dynamism 01:12.305 --> 01:13.729 that the U.S. believes is crucial 01:13.729 --> 01:16.289 to the growth of its own economy. 01:16.289 --> 01:18.476 This administration is also intent on pursuing 01:18.476 --> 01:21.376 a constructive relationship with China. 01:21.376 --> 01:23.858 Secretary Tillerson has already met with China's 01:23.858 --> 01:27.306 state councilor as well as its foreign minister, 01:27.306 --> 01:29.106 while remaining determined to ensuring 01:29.106 --> 01:32.194 that China abides by international rules 01:32.194 --> 01:34.433 and plays fair with respect to trade, 01:34.433 --> 01:38.183 regional issues, and of course, human rights. 01:39.117 --> 01:41.308 Also wanted to add that the States' State Department 01:41.308 --> 01:43.881 welcomed the visit to Washington yesterday 01:43.881 --> 01:47.855 by UN Special Advisor to the Secretary General in Cyprus, 01:47.855 --> 01:50.438 Espen Barth Eide to Washington. 01:51.824 --> 01:54.288 Undersecretary for Political Affairs Tom Shannon 01:54.288 --> 01:56.849 met with Special Advisor Eide yesterday 01:56.849 --> 01:58.999 and reaffirmed strong U.S. support 01:58.999 --> 02:00.800 for the Special Advisor and Cypriot-led, 02:00.800 --> 02:03.624 UN-facilitated process to reunify the island 02:03.624 --> 02:06.791 as a bi-zonal, bi-communal federation. 02:07.038 --> 02:08.366 Based on the considerable progress 02:08.366 --> 02:09.943 made by the Cypriot leaders, 02:09.943 --> 02:11.633 we believe this is the best chance in decades 02:11.633 --> 02:14.395 to achieve a lasting and comprehensive solution 02:14.395 --> 02:16.837 and hope the leaders will return as soon as possible 02:16.837 --> 02:18.920 to the negotiating table. 02:19.198 --> 02:21.545 The United States remains prepared to offer any assistance 02:21.545 --> 02:23.690 that the leaders would consider useful. 02:23.690 --> 02:25.794 With that, over to you, Matt. 02:25.794 --> 02:28.745 - Thanks, Mark, and welcome-- - Thanks. 02:28.745 --> 02:29.578 - Welcome back. 02:29.578 --> 02:33.745 This, as you well know, is a very important venue for, 02:33.793 --> 02:37.817 not only foreign governments but foreign publics, 02:37.817 --> 02:41.234 the American people and the men and women 02:41.280 --> 02:43.820 who work here and in embassies abroad. 02:43.820 --> 02:46.197 They all look to this briefing. 02:46.197 --> 02:48.255 They take their cues from it 02:48.255 --> 02:50.461 and try to figure out what's going on with, 02:50.461 --> 02:52.525 or hopefully, that you explain 02:52.525 --> 02:53.796 what's going on with foreign policy. 02:53.796 --> 02:57.262 So going forward, I hope that you will expect 02:57.262 --> 02:58.709 the same kind of questions 02:58.709 --> 03:01.348 that you were getting in previous administrations, 03:01.348 --> 03:05.515 and we will expect the same kind of fulsome answers. 03:06.564 --> 03:07.546 - [Mark] I appreciate that. 03:07.546 --> 03:10.004 - Even I'm using the word fulsome wrong (laughing). 03:10.004 --> 03:13.008 I know that there's a lot of new administration reviews, 03:13.008 --> 03:15.641 a lot of policies, a lot of things are works in progress. 03:15.641 --> 03:18.146 And so I would just want to start with, very briefly, 03:18.146 --> 03:21.011 with a couple of things that have already happened. 03:21.011 --> 03:25.178 One is, in the last day of the Obama administration, 03:26.317 --> 03:30.484 Secretary Kerry notified Congress that you were going to 03:30.509 --> 03:34.676 ignore some holds on aid to the Palestinians, $221 million. 03:35.532 --> 03:38.449 That was on January 20th. 03:38.782 --> 03:41.341 On Monday, that was the Friday, so on Monday, 03:41.341 --> 03:43.557 the first full day of the new administration, 03:43.557 --> 03:47.724 this building said that that money was now being reviewed. 03:48.441 --> 03:51.696 I'm wondering, one, what the status of that review is, 03:51.696 --> 03:55.329 but also, two, why it is that this building, 03:55.329 --> 03:57.470 in saying it was going to review it, said the money was, 03:57.470 --> 04:01.553 in fact, $220 million for Gaza recovery programs, 04:01.594 --> 04:05.761 when that differs with what the Congress was notified. 04:07.515 --> 04:09.178 - Well, Matt, as always, you've stumped me 04:09.178 --> 04:10.739 right out of the box, because I don't have 04:10.739 --> 04:13.656 a status update on that assistance. 04:14.740 --> 04:16.605 With respect to the discrepancy in numbers, 04:16.605 --> 04:18.719 I'll also have to take that and get back to you. 04:18.719 --> 04:21.047 - Second thing, one of the first things 04:21.047 --> 04:23.590 that the President did was to sign 04:23.590 --> 04:24.942 an executive order reinstituting 04:24.942 --> 04:26.678 the Mexico City language-- - Correct. 04:26.678 --> 04:28.941 - For family planning programs. 04:28.941 --> 04:30.192 The White House, in explaining this, 04:30.192 --> 04:32.777 said that this would prevent U.S. taxpayer dollars 04:32.777 --> 04:36.944 from funding abortion or promotion of abortion overseas. 04:37.175 --> 04:40.974 I'm curious how much money over the previous administration, 04:40.974 --> 04:42.623 the eight years of the Obama administration 04:42.623 --> 04:45.581 when the Mexico City language wasn't in place, 04:45.581 --> 04:49.748 how much money was spent on abortion or promoting abortion? 04:51.504 --> 04:53.377 - How much money, specifically broken out? 04:53.377 --> 04:55.393 I don't have that figure, but-- 04:55.393 --> 04:56.992 - Because it is, in fact, against the law, is it not, 04:56.992 --> 05:00.200 existing law, for U.S. taxpayer dollars to be spent-- 05:00.200 --> 05:01.884 - To be spent for abortion. 05:01.884 --> 05:05.967 Again, we're implementing the EO that was passed. 05:06.702 --> 05:08.621 - Yeah, but wasn't it already being, 05:08.621 --> 05:11.725 I mean, I'm asking if it was necessary to do this 05:11.725 --> 05:14.337 since it was already illegal for taxpayer money-- 05:14.337 --> 05:15.935 - Taxpayer money, again, 05:15.935 --> 05:17.585 it's been illegal for decades-- 05:17.585 --> 05:19.496 - [Woman] It's illegal to use the money for abortion 05:19.496 --> 05:22.269 but not for organizations that also provide abortions. 05:22.269 --> 05:23.406 - Which is what the Mexico City-- 05:23.406 --> 05:25.852 - Right, well, the argument that previous administrations 05:25.852 --> 05:28.936 had made in support of this is the question of fungibility, 05:28.936 --> 05:31.561 where money can be used for different purposes, 05:31.561 --> 05:33.791 frees up other money, so I'm wondering, 05:33.791 --> 05:36.367 considering that this is an important 05:36.367 --> 05:38.183 issue for the administration, 05:38.183 --> 05:42.071 what your studies have shown the amount of money, 05:42.071 --> 05:46.238 the fungible money, is that will be stopped by this order. 05:47.343 --> 05:48.191 - Again, I have to get back to you. 05:48.191 --> 05:49.608 I don't have a specific breakdown on that. 05:49.608 --> 05:50.796 - Last thing, on the executive order 05:50.796 --> 05:54.908 that was signed yesterday but which we all had a preview of, 05:54.908 --> 05:58.575 the immigration and refugee executive order. 05:59.092 --> 06:00.954 Since you knew that this was coming, 06:00.954 --> 06:02.258 and everyone basically knew it was coming 06:02.258 --> 06:04.675 since the first one came out, 06:04.746 --> 06:08.534 it calls for a review of the vetting procedures for 06:08.534 --> 06:12.701 not just refugees, but also on the terms of visa issuance. 06:13.520 --> 06:17.687 I'm wondering, since that review must be well along now, 06:17.904 --> 06:21.655 what deficiencies the reviewers have uncovered 06:21.655 --> 06:23.822 in the previous, or prior, 06:24.008 --> 06:26.416 or even current vetting processes. 06:26.416 --> 06:28.999 - Sure, well, I mean, look, and this is 06:28.999 --> 06:31.529 elaborated in section five of the executive order, 06:31.529 --> 06:35.466 but it does call for the development of a uniform baseline 06:35.466 --> 06:39.045 for screening and vetting standards and procedures. 06:39.045 --> 06:42.176 And it also, as you noted, calls for progress reporting 06:42.176 --> 06:43.624 to the President beginning 60 days 06:43.624 --> 06:47.136 after the implementation date, which is March 16th. 06:47.136 --> 06:51.219 That said, some of this work was already underway 06:51.344 --> 06:54.177 from the previous EO. 06:56.415 --> 06:58.545 I can't get into too many specific details 06:58.545 --> 07:01.527 about what this report has uncovered thus far. 07:01.527 --> 07:04.033 We spoke with, and frankly, Secretary Tillerson spoke 07:04.033 --> 07:08.200 in respect to some of the progress that Iraq has made 07:10.436 --> 07:12.757 with regard to meeting some of the questions 07:12.757 --> 07:16.090 or some of the disconnects, if you will, 07:17.382 --> 07:21.545 in terms of information sharing and other procedures, 07:21.545 --> 07:23.585 that they've met those requirements, 07:23.585 --> 07:26.635 one of the reasons why Iraq was removed 07:26.635 --> 07:28.803 from the list of seven countries. 07:28.803 --> 07:32.970 But this is all part of the executive order's purpose, 07:33.651 --> 07:37.818 which is to review and improve our national security-focused 07:37.827 --> 07:40.726 visitor screening and vetting procedures. 07:40.726 --> 07:43.198 And the process, as I said, is ongoing. 07:43.198 --> 07:47.365 - So there hasn't been any specific improvement so far-- 07:47.435 --> 07:49.019 - Again, I mean, we're always seeking to improve 07:49.019 --> 07:52.070 what we're doing, and this is an iterative process. 07:52.070 --> 07:55.161 I mean, even before the executive order, we can say that 07:55.161 --> 07:58.994 it's not like we just began this January 27th. 07:59.036 --> 08:01.825 But I think it was a renewed commitment to look at 08:01.825 --> 08:05.434 the procedures with how we vet both refugees incoming 08:05.434 --> 08:07.587 as well as immigrants, or rather, 08:07.587 --> 08:10.420 traveling public into this country 08:11.546 --> 08:14.879 to ensure that we're doing the necessary 08:15.899 --> 08:18.586 to provide for the security of Americans. 08:18.586 --> 08:21.851 - That suggests that the necessary wasn't being done prior. 08:21.851 --> 08:22.943 Is that correct? 08:22.943 --> 08:23.776 - Not at all. 08:23.776 --> 08:25.143 And I think the Secretary spoke to this yesterday, 08:25.143 --> 08:28.190 when he said that this is, it's almost impossible, 08:28.190 --> 08:31.695 and I'm paraphrasing him, for this to be infallible, 08:31.695 --> 08:34.534 this process, but we always have to strive to do so. 08:34.534 --> 08:37.222 And I think past administrations have done so as well. 08:37.222 --> 08:40.278 But I think the President clearly identified this 08:40.278 --> 08:42.710 as a security issue when he came into office, 08:42.710 --> 08:45.742 and now we've reissued the executive order yesterday 08:45.742 --> 08:48.855 or issued a new executive order yesterday. 08:48.855 --> 08:52.758 But I can assure you that this is an ongoing process. 08:52.758 --> 08:54.030 - [Matt] Thanks. 08:54.030 --> 08:55.067 - Yeah, Andrea. 08:55.067 --> 08:56.835 - Thank you, Mark. - Sure. 08:56.835 --> 09:00.441 - China has today warned that there will be consequences 09:00.441 --> 09:04.274 both for the United States and for South Korea 09:04.713 --> 09:06.728 from the initial stages of deployment 09:06.728 --> 09:08.840 of missile defense in South Korea. 09:08.840 --> 09:10.113 Can you respond to that? 09:10.113 --> 09:12.305 And then I want to ask you about the North Korean test 09:12.305 --> 09:15.055 and what the vulnerabilities are. 09:15.904 --> 09:18.237 - Sure, I mean, in terms of, 09:18.584 --> 09:22.338 you want me to respond directly to some of China's, 09:22.338 --> 09:23.671 yeah, of course. 09:26.622 --> 09:29.955 Look, I think we've been very clear that 09:31.909 --> 09:34.409 the THAAD, which is what they're referring to, 09:34.409 --> 09:36.909 is clearly a defensive system. 09:37.601 --> 09:41.684 And the reason we're pursuing this implementation 09:42.704 --> 09:45.384 or deployment of THAAD with South Korea 09:45.384 --> 09:48.551 is because of North Korea's continued, 09:49.757 --> 09:52.212 for lack of a better term, bad behavior, 09:52.212 --> 09:55.085 that they continue to carry out exercises, 09:55.085 --> 09:59.002 or rather, tests that frankly not only threaten 09:59.527 --> 10:02.295 the stability of the Korean Peninsula, 10:02.295 --> 10:04.576 but the region and even the national security 10:04.576 --> 10:06.639 of the United States of America. 10:06.639 --> 10:09.216 So, this is not something that is obviously, 10:09.216 --> 10:10.785 we've made the decision in the past week or so, 10:10.785 --> 10:13.618 this has been months in the works. 10:13.962 --> 10:16.755 And the next stage is moving forward. 10:16.755 --> 10:18.874 And for the specifics on that deployment 10:18.874 --> 10:21.138 of the THAAD system, I'd refer you to 10:21.138 --> 10:22.275 the Department of Defense. 10:22.275 --> 10:26.353 But we've been very clear in our conversations with China 10:26.353 --> 10:28.849 that this is not meant to be a threat 10:28.849 --> 10:30.441 and is not a threat to them 10:30.441 --> 10:32.610 or any other power in the region. 10:32.610 --> 10:33.953 It is a defensive system, 10:33.953 --> 10:35.964 and it is in place, or it will be in place, 10:35.964 --> 10:38.845 because of North Korea's provocative behavior. 10:38.845 --> 10:40.865 - David Sanger and his colleagues at The New York Times 10:40.865 --> 10:42.513 have reported over the weekend 10:42.513 --> 10:46.073 that among the options being considered are 10:46.073 --> 10:50.240 helping South Korea get a nuclear defensive weapon 10:50.423 --> 10:52.090 or a nuclear weapon. 10:53.332 --> 10:55.619 Is that one of the options being considered? 10:55.619 --> 10:58.005 And how would that make the peninsula safer? 10:58.005 --> 11:00.755 - Well, again, I don't want to... 11:01.731 --> 11:03.746 I certainly don't want to get into 11:03.746 --> 11:06.491 those kinds of conversations that we might be having, 11:06.491 --> 11:08.822 in terms of some of the things that are out laid in that 11:08.822 --> 11:11.155 or laid out in that article. 11:13.450 --> 11:14.595 I wouldn't say that's something 11:14.595 --> 11:15.771 that we're actively pursuing. 11:15.771 --> 11:17.954 What we're focused on right now 11:17.954 --> 11:21.371 is strengthening our defensive exercises, 11:22.575 --> 11:25.831 our defensive cooperation, with South Korea 11:25.831 --> 11:27.503 so that they can defend themselves 11:27.503 --> 11:30.370 against continued North Korean aggression. 11:30.370 --> 11:34.537 - And finally, there has been criticism today on the Hill, 11:34.616 --> 11:38.472 as there has been in past weeks from other venues, 11:38.472 --> 11:40.794 that this department has been silent 11:40.794 --> 11:44.597 in the face of a number of threats, in Ukraine, 11:44.597 --> 11:48.764 in North Korea, and elsewhere from other adversaries, 11:48.946 --> 11:51.603 that the State Department has not had a voice, 11:51.603 --> 11:55.700 both from the podium and hearing from the Secretary. 11:55.700 --> 11:59.450 Is diplomacy taking a second seat or backseat 12:00.048 --> 12:01.966 in the National Security Council? 12:01.966 --> 12:05.049 And what is the department's response 12:05.439 --> 12:07.772 to the outlined budget cuts, 12:07.871 --> 12:12.038 which would be as deep as 37% in terms of diplomacy 12:12.075 --> 12:14.658 and USAID development overseas? 12:15.124 --> 12:17.401 - It's a big question, but I'll try to answer it. 12:17.401 --> 12:18.881 First of all, I think that, 12:18.881 --> 12:22.631 with respect to the State Department's voice, 12:25.028 --> 12:29.042 first of all, I'm glad that we're back up at the podium. 12:29.042 --> 12:31.051 Many of you know that I've been in this job 12:31.051 --> 12:34.051 for a number of years, so obviously, 12:34.161 --> 12:37.244 I respect what this briefing is about 12:37.284 --> 12:39.367 and what it accomplishes. 12:42.944 --> 12:47.111 Of course, I appreciate the patience of all of you 12:48.128 --> 12:52.295 over the past month or so, as this new administration 12:52.719 --> 12:55.264 got its sea legs underneath it and we're able to 12:55.264 --> 12:56.759 come back out here and brief to the public, 12:56.759 --> 13:00.730 because we do take this very seriously, I can assure you. 13:00.730 --> 13:03.251 With respect to the State Department's voice 13:03.251 --> 13:05.352 in this new administration, I can also assure you 13:05.352 --> 13:07.674 that Secretary Tillerson is very engaged 13:07.674 --> 13:10.777 with the White House, very engaged with the President, 13:10.777 --> 13:13.016 speaks to him frequently, was over there I believe 13:13.016 --> 13:15.433 just yesterday for a meeting. 13:16.257 --> 13:19.735 And I can assure everyone that the Secretary's voice, 13:19.735 --> 13:22.067 or the State Department's voice 13:22.067 --> 13:25.106 is heard loud and clear in policy discussions 13:25.106 --> 13:28.356 at the National Security Council level. 13:29.650 --> 13:33.233 The Secretary himself has been hard at work 13:36.093 --> 13:37.837 and focused on, I think, in his early days 13:37.837 --> 13:41.754 in establishing the relationships that he feels 13:41.898 --> 13:45.815 are absolutely vital with his key counterparts. 13:45.983 --> 13:47.483 He was at the G20. 13:47.847 --> 13:50.103 He held, I think, some 14 bilateral meetings 13:50.103 --> 13:52.686 and I think, three multilateral meetings, 13:52.686 --> 13:56.720 including one with the Republic of Korea and Japan, 13:56.720 --> 13:59.378 to talk about North Korea's continued threat 13:59.378 --> 14:00.345 to the region's stability. 14:00.345 --> 14:02.489 He also met with Foreign Minister Lavrov there. 14:02.489 --> 14:06.239 He met with Foreign Minister Yang from China, 14:09.875 --> 14:14.042 and at the same time held meetings on Yemen and Syria. 14:15.331 --> 14:19.331 Again, I think he's working hard at establishing 14:19.800 --> 14:21.669 the connections that he needs to have 14:21.669 --> 14:23.893 in order to be an effective secretary of state 14:23.893 --> 14:25.925 with key counterparts, with key partners, 14:25.925 --> 14:27.280 and with key allies. 14:27.280 --> 14:29.022 He also went to Mexico. 14:29.022 --> 14:30.534 He had a very successful visit there, 14:30.534 --> 14:33.974 along with the Secretary of Homeland Security, John Kelly. 14:33.974 --> 14:38.141 Again, it was productive, it laid out a very forward-looking 14:38.943 --> 14:41.693 agenda for U.S.-Mexico relations, 14:41.991 --> 14:43.658 and it was, I think, 14:46.280 --> 14:49.055 a recognition of how vital that particular relationship is, 14:49.055 --> 14:52.720 that bilateral relationship is, to the United States 14:52.720 --> 14:55.480 and to the prosperity and security of both our countries. 14:55.480 --> 14:58.505 And now, next week, he'll be going to Asia, 14:58.505 --> 15:01.912 again, visiting with China, visiting in China, rather, 15:01.912 --> 15:05.579 then going to South Korea, as well as Japan. 15:05.831 --> 15:07.160 These are important visits. 15:07.160 --> 15:08.137 They're important trips. 15:08.137 --> 15:10.175 They're important meetings that he's having, 15:10.175 --> 15:14.273 I think, again, to just establish the relationships 15:14.273 --> 15:18.440 that he needs to have to be an effective secretary of state. 15:20.200 --> 15:21.521 I think going forward, 15:21.521 --> 15:25.688 he'll be clarifying his priorities as the secretary. 15:27.005 --> 15:28.645 And your last question, sorry, to address it, 15:28.645 --> 15:29.861 I was going through in my head, 15:29.861 --> 15:30.916 but you talked about the budget. 15:30.916 --> 15:32.213 - [Andrea] About the budget, will he be fighting 15:32.213 --> 15:36.380 for the State Department, for diplomacy, for this workforce? 15:37.956 --> 15:38.789 - Yeah, yeah, of course. 15:38.789 --> 15:41.122 The short answer to that is, 15:43.133 --> 15:45.333 the budget process is still, as you well know, 15:45.333 --> 15:46.750 is in early days. 15:47.302 --> 15:48.981 This is going to be a process that's going to play out 15:48.981 --> 15:51.898 in the weeks and even months ahead. 15:52.012 --> 15:55.845 But what I can say is that he has been working 15:56.167 --> 16:00.084 with senior staff here at the State Department, 16:00.184 --> 16:01.759 listening to what their priorities are, 16:01.759 --> 16:04.380 what they're working on, what they believe is going well, 16:04.380 --> 16:05.720 where they believe they have needs 16:05.720 --> 16:07.487 that need to be addressed. 16:07.487 --> 16:11.570 And he is working to ensure that this department, 16:13.698 --> 16:15.698 and most importantly our missions abroad, 16:15.698 --> 16:18.218 have the resources and personnel they need 16:18.218 --> 16:20.978 to fully carry out their missions. 16:20.978 --> 16:23.314 And I think that's where his focus on. 16:23.314 --> 16:25.017 - [Woman] Mark, can I follow up on this? 16:25.017 --> 16:26.677 - Yeah, Elise, then I'll get to you, too. 16:26.677 --> 16:29.117 - I just want to echo what Matt and Andrea said, 16:29.117 --> 16:31.277 and I'm glad that you said in your opening remarks 16:31.277 --> 16:33.398 that you respect the briefing process, 16:33.398 --> 16:35.773 and hope that you will continue it regularly, 16:35.773 --> 16:38.149 not just as a tool of American leadership 16:38.149 --> 16:41.092 but also in transparency to the American people 16:41.092 --> 16:45.259 that the Secretary promised on his first day to employees. 16:45.818 --> 16:49.298 If you could, I just want to follow up on the budget issue. 16:49.298 --> 16:51.465 You said that the Secretary is working with senior staff 16:51.465 --> 16:53.689 to determine what their needs are and then make sure that 16:53.689 --> 16:56.147 the building and the missions overseas 16:56.147 --> 16:58.980 have the resources that they need. 16:59.161 --> 17:02.170 With the reported budget cuts of up to 37% 17:02.170 --> 17:03.185 of the State Department, 17:03.185 --> 17:05.913 which is more than a third of the budget, 17:05.913 --> 17:08.235 what would be the practical effect 17:08.235 --> 17:09.666 of the State Department operations, 17:09.666 --> 17:13.074 including the dramatic cuts of foreign aid? 17:13.074 --> 17:15.306 And what do you think would be the effect 17:15.306 --> 17:16.971 of U.S. leadership overseas? 17:16.971 --> 17:18.638 - Sure, look, 17:19.585 --> 17:22.845 and I'm aware of all the various numbers 17:22.845 --> 17:25.885 that are circulating out there with respect to 17:25.885 --> 17:28.646 proposed budget cuts not only to State, but to other-- 17:28.646 --> 17:29.724 - [Elise] They're circulating those documents 17:29.724 --> 17:32.531 that have been released. - I understand, I understand. 17:32.531 --> 17:34.153 Again, I would just stress that this is still 17:34.153 --> 17:37.218 very early on in the process, and I think what's important, 17:37.218 --> 17:41.148 well, that's important, first of all, to stress that. 17:41.148 --> 17:44.287 I would also stress that Secretary Tillerson understands 17:44.287 --> 17:45.772 the vital work that this department does. 17:45.772 --> 17:48.579 He understands the hard work of our embassies 17:48.579 --> 17:50.996 and our embassy personnel, our diplomats, 17:50.996 --> 17:53.630 our Foreign Service and Civil Service personnel 17:53.630 --> 17:57.307 here in Washington, but also, as I said, overseas, 17:57.307 --> 18:01.474 and wants to make sure as their leader, as a former CEO 18:03.266 --> 18:06.107 but now directing the foreign policy of the United States, 18:06.107 --> 18:10.107 that his team, his staff are properly resourced. 18:10.427 --> 18:12.162 And I think that's his mindset 18:12.162 --> 18:13.978 going into the budget process, 18:13.978 --> 18:16.145 is how do I make sure that 18:16.219 --> 18:18.395 they have what they need to get the job done. 18:18.395 --> 18:20.971 Now, that being said, I think there's also a period, 18:20.971 --> 18:23.220 as with any transition, of reassessment. 18:23.220 --> 18:24.499 It's one of the reasons why he's meeting 18:24.499 --> 18:25.805 and talking to senior staff, 18:25.805 --> 18:29.014 talking to various leadership at different levels 18:29.014 --> 18:31.815 to try to get their feedback on what they believe 18:31.815 --> 18:34.501 are their priorities and how we can reconfigure 18:34.501 --> 18:36.334 and look at resources. 18:36.381 --> 18:39.077 That's part of what he's been doing the past several weeks. 18:39.077 --> 18:41.325 I don't have many specifics to add, 18:41.325 --> 18:43.380 but of course, as we go forward, 18:43.380 --> 18:45.650 that's something that he's going to be looking at. 18:45.650 --> 18:46.483 Yeah, please. 18:46.483 --> 18:48.651 - Given the fact that several of his predecessors 18:48.651 --> 18:52.004 across party lines, secretaries of defense, 18:52.004 --> 18:54.211 members of Congress, up until this point 18:54.211 --> 18:57.164 with the existing budget that you've been working on, 18:57.164 --> 18:58.875 this continuing resolution, 18:58.875 --> 19:01.964 have said that the State Department is under-resourced, 19:01.964 --> 19:04.797 how does the Secretary fathom that 19:06.907 --> 19:09.739 the State Department could be properly resourced 19:09.739 --> 19:11.990 with up to more than a third of cuts 19:11.990 --> 19:14.085 if it wasn't properly resourced? 19:14.085 --> 19:16.813 I understand that there's a reassessment 19:16.813 --> 19:17.763 that he'll want to make and-- 19:17.763 --> 19:19.685 - Right, and again, I would-- - make reforms and changes, 19:19.685 --> 19:22.981 but those numbers seem wildly disparate. 19:22.981 --> 19:24.535 - Sorry, I didn't mean to talk over you. 19:24.535 --> 19:28.035 And again, I would be cautious to say that 19:29.250 --> 19:31.097 that preliminary number that's floating out there 19:31.097 --> 19:32.440 is where we're going to end up. 19:32.440 --> 19:36.216 I think what his goal, what senior staff's goal 19:36.216 --> 19:38.188 here at the State Department is is to say, 19:38.188 --> 19:41.021 okay, where can we possibly 19:42.671 --> 19:46.838 move resources to, re-evaluate resources, reassess, 19:47.758 --> 19:51.591 perhaps make cuts if we feel that's necessary, 19:53.901 --> 19:56.318 but in no way trying to limit 19:57.283 --> 19:59.700 the function or the efficacy, 20:00.364 --> 20:02.966 efficiency of this State Department. 20:02.966 --> 20:05.799 And I think that's always foremost 20:06.342 --> 20:09.842 certainly in his mind in these early days. 20:10.045 --> 20:12.582 I think in terms of, we've seen the letters, 20:12.582 --> 20:16.749 we've seen the public statements by many former leaders, 20:16.799 --> 20:20.944 military, and obviously former secretaries of state 20:20.944 --> 20:24.280 with regard to the value of foreign assistance, 20:24.280 --> 20:28.447 and I think we recognize the value of foreign assistance. 20:29.619 --> 20:30.851 Again, though, I think at the beginning 20:30.851 --> 20:32.309 of a new administration, it's a chance 20:32.309 --> 20:35.142 and it's an opportunity to look at 20:35.823 --> 20:38.749 who receives foreign assistance, how much they receive, 20:38.749 --> 20:41.164 whether that much is still needed, and again, 20:41.164 --> 20:45.331 just reassess how we're spending American taxpayer dollars. 20:45.954 --> 20:49.679 - Just one last one, as a follow-up to Matt's question. 20:49.679 --> 20:52.762 On the EO, yesterday, Secretary Kelly 20:53.550 --> 20:56.653 said that there were 14, or maybe it was this morning. 20:56.653 --> 20:59.631 Time is a continuum right now. - It's okay. 20:59.631 --> 21:03.714 - That about 14 other countries have questionable 21:05.386 --> 21:08.219 or insufficient vetting processes. 21:09.133 --> 21:12.171 Is the Secretary in touch with the leaders 21:12.171 --> 21:15.803 or his counterparts in these 14 other countries 21:15.803 --> 21:17.939 about strengthening those type of vetting? 21:17.939 --> 21:22.106 And is another executive order or amendment adding 21:22.414 --> 21:24.110 some of those countries in consideration? 21:24.110 --> 21:26.038 - Right, so my understanding on this is that 21:26.038 --> 21:28.871 that's part of this vetting review 21:30.745 --> 21:34.162 that we're looking at, is how to identify 21:34.903 --> 21:38.462 and get a clear understanding of where there are gaps, 21:38.462 --> 21:41.222 where there are deficiencies in the vetting process, 21:41.222 --> 21:44.864 and between, as I said, which countries that involves. 21:44.864 --> 21:46.155 So that's going to be part of the process 21:46.155 --> 21:49.155 going forward in this coming period, 21:51.812 --> 21:55.645 which is to re-evaluate where we can do better 21:56.787 --> 21:58.908 and where we need additional information. 21:58.908 --> 22:00.719 And then, of course, we will address those shortcomings 22:00.719 --> 22:03.214 with the governments of concern. 22:03.214 --> 22:04.598 - Mark, can I just ask a question 22:04.598 --> 22:07.181 about the Mideast peace policy? 22:07.819 --> 22:11.986 Can you clarify what the policy on settlements is? 22:13.016 --> 22:13.863 Has it changed? 22:13.863 --> 22:16.080 Are settlements still an obstacle to peace 22:16.080 --> 22:18.162 or is there some nuance there now? 22:18.162 --> 22:22.328 And secondly, the President has named Jared Kushner 22:22.328 --> 22:25.274 as his envoy to make Middle East peace. 22:25.274 --> 22:27.840 What sort of connection does his role have 22:27.840 --> 22:29.193 with the State Department, 22:29.193 --> 22:32.631 aside from Secretary Tillerson calling him and chatting? 22:32.631 --> 22:35.175 Is there any sort of channel with the experts 22:35.175 --> 22:36.511 here at the State Department 22:36.511 --> 22:40.678 who have been very much involved in previous efforts 22:42.148 --> 22:45.160 to have some sort of Israel-Palestinian negotiations? 22:45.160 --> 22:46.751 - Sure, first of all, on the settlements, 22:46.751 --> 22:49.984 I think the President spoke about this, 22:49.984 --> 22:51.664 I guess a couple weeks ago, 22:51.664 --> 22:53.031 where he said he would like to see Israel 22:53.031 --> 22:55.781 hold back on settlement activity. 22:56.657 --> 23:00.740 And I think that we're in discussions with Israel 23:01.239 --> 23:04.155 about what exactly that would look like. 23:04.155 --> 23:08.322 But I think with respect to how any settlement activity 23:08.939 --> 23:11.939 might affect the overall climate for 23:12.771 --> 23:15.507 an eventual solution between the two parties, 23:15.507 --> 23:17.739 I think that's under consideration, 23:17.739 --> 23:20.509 and it's in that regard that he made those comments. 23:20.509 --> 23:24.676 With respect to the connection or how the State Department 23:26.258 --> 23:30.033 may be playing a role in the pursuit of Middle East peace, 23:30.033 --> 23:31.283 I know that 23:33.949 --> 23:37.258 we are working closely with the White House 23:37.258 --> 23:40.167 on evaluating where we stand. 23:40.167 --> 23:42.129 I think at this point, we're still kind of 23:42.129 --> 23:45.321 at a stage where we're looking at the situation 23:45.321 --> 23:48.238 and trying to formulate next steps. 23:48.424 --> 23:49.809 But I can assure you that the State Department's 23:49.809 --> 23:51.651 playing a role in that process. 23:51.651 --> 23:52.484 Yes, Said. 23:52.889 --> 23:53.767 - [Said] It's good to see you back there. 23:53.767 --> 23:55.960 - Good to see you, too. - We missed you. 23:55.960 --> 23:58.721 Anyway, a couple of things on this issue. 23:58.721 --> 24:01.869 First of all, could you clarify the United States position 24:01.869 --> 24:04.261 on being a member of the United Nations 24:04.261 --> 24:07.525 Human Rights Council because there was a bit of confusion? 24:07.525 --> 24:11.692 Apparently, Secretary Tillerson said that he's looking into, 24:11.711 --> 24:14.388 according to Politico, he's looking into the value 24:14.388 --> 24:16.372 of U.S. membership in this council. 24:16.372 --> 24:18.289 Could you clarify that? 24:18.846 --> 24:19.791 - Sorry, you're talking about on 24:19.791 --> 24:21.103 with respect to the Human Rights Council? 24:21.103 --> 24:22.163 - [Said] Right, right. 24:22.163 --> 24:24.663 - Well, what I can say is that 24:28.135 --> 24:29.667 I think the Human Rights Council is meeting, 24:29.667 --> 24:33.584 I think it continues its work until late March. 24:33.834 --> 24:36.674 We're there, we're a part of that process, 24:36.674 --> 24:38.631 we're bringing an agenda and we're hard at work 24:38.631 --> 24:39.798 on the ground. 24:40.146 --> 24:41.802 So as to any rumors that may have been 24:41.802 --> 24:44.914 circulating out there, I think they're just that. 24:44.914 --> 24:47.081 - And just a couple more-- 24:47.809 --> 24:50.004 - Sorry, March 24th I think, sorry, I apologize. 24:50.004 --> 24:51.017 I just found the date here. 24:51.017 --> 24:52.278 I think the Human Rights Council 24:52.278 --> 24:54.571 is supposed to go until March 24th. 24:54.571 --> 24:58.488 And as I said, we're there, we're at the table, 24:59.286 --> 25:01.536 we're working on an agenda, 25:03.734 --> 25:05.037 we've been elected to a three-year term, 25:05.037 --> 25:08.454 I think back in 2016, and we're committed 25:08.502 --> 25:11.734 to human rights and fundamental freedoms 25:11.734 --> 25:14.067 and working to pursue those. 25:14.097 --> 25:15.313 Please, go ahead, I'm sorry. 25:15.313 --> 25:18.063 - Secretary Tillerson also hosted 25:18.305 --> 25:19.807 the Israeli Prime Minister for dinner here 25:19.807 --> 25:22.807 on the 14th of February, last month. 25:23.946 --> 25:26.650 Has he been in touch with any Palestinian leaders? 25:26.650 --> 25:29.514 Are there any plans to meet with any Palestinian leaders? 25:29.514 --> 25:32.210 I know he's planning to meet with the 25:32.210 --> 25:34.893 Israeli Defense Minister Lieberman in the near future-- 25:34.893 --> 25:36.466 - I apologize, you're referring to Secretary Tillerson 25:36.466 --> 25:38.899 not to the-- - Secretary Tillerson. 25:38.899 --> 25:41.480 - I am not aware of any meetings 25:41.480 --> 25:43.979 in the immediate future, but-- 25:43.979 --> 25:45.126 - [Said] Has he been in conversation 25:45.126 --> 25:47.308 with any of the Palestinian leadership? 25:47.308 --> 25:48.419 - I'm not aware that he has been. 25:48.419 --> 25:50.268 I'll check on that, Said. 25:50.268 --> 25:52.315 Yep, please, but I can assure you that 25:52.315 --> 25:53.659 obviously, Michael Ratney, who I believe 25:53.659 --> 25:57.377 is taking over that portfolio in this administration, 25:57.377 --> 26:00.433 is within the Bureau of Middle Eastern Affairs, 26:00.433 --> 26:02.161 or Near Eastern Affairs, rather, 26:02.161 --> 26:05.244 is in touch with Palestinian leaders. 26:08.556 --> 26:09.483 - [Man] He's not doing Syria anymore? 26:09.483 --> 26:10.827 - He's doing both of them. 26:10.827 --> 26:11.665 - He's doing both? - Yes. 26:11.665 --> 26:13.961 - [Man] Oh, good, because that's not too much of 26:13.961 --> 26:15.874 for one person, is it? (laughing) 26:15.874 --> 26:18.124 - He's a dynamo. - He isn't. 26:19.125 --> 26:20.840 - [Woman] Could we go back to THAAD just for a minute? 26:20.840 --> 26:22.268 - Let's go here and we'll work back, thanks. 26:22.268 --> 26:24.693 Hey, yeah. - I mean, I know that the US-- 26:24.693 --> 26:26.279 - I'm sorry, where are we? - THAAD. 26:26.279 --> 26:27.112 - Oh, THAAD, thank you. 26:27.112 --> 26:28.272 - So I mean, I know the U.S. position 26:28.272 --> 26:30.525 has always been that it's a defensive system, 26:30.525 --> 26:33.942 and the decision to start this deployment 26:36.371 --> 26:40.272 under the Obama administration since the, right? 26:40.272 --> 26:41.317 - [Mark] That's right. 26:41.317 --> 26:44.319 - So since the Secretary is about to walk into 26:44.319 --> 26:47.078 the teeth of this in Asia next week, 26:47.078 --> 26:50.911 what more can you do, can the United States do 26:52.281 --> 26:56.448 to make that position more saleable to the Chinese? 26:57.294 --> 26:59.333 I mean, they're looking at the radar 26:59.333 --> 27:01.885 and the radar looks into their country. 27:01.885 --> 27:03.821 Why wouldn't they be concerned? 27:03.821 --> 27:06.738 - Well, again, just to unpack this, 27:09.795 --> 27:13.545 China is well aware of not just our concerns; 27:14.317 --> 27:16.508 China, in fact, shares our concerns about 27:16.508 --> 27:19.758 North Korea's unlawful weapons programs 27:22.274 --> 27:25.964 and the fact that they, as I said, represent a clear 27:25.964 --> 27:29.002 and very grave threat to the peninsula, to the region, 27:29.002 --> 27:32.002 and as well as to the United States. 27:34.068 --> 27:36.204 I mean, North Korea openly states that its 27:36.204 --> 27:38.867 ballistic missiles are intended to deliver nuclear weapons 27:38.867 --> 27:40.252 to strike cities in the United States, 27:40.252 --> 27:43.335 and the Republic of Korea, and Japan. 27:44.457 --> 27:47.040 So it's in that context that we 27:49.804 --> 27:52.817 are in conversations and discussions with China. 27:52.817 --> 27:54.984 We've been very clear that 27:57.248 --> 27:59.581 the decision to deploy THAAD 28:01.624 --> 28:05.016 is as a defensive measure in order to protect 28:05.016 --> 28:08.440 not only South Korean, but also our military 28:08.440 --> 28:11.190 who are stationed in South Korea. 28:11.568 --> 28:15.735 I think where we all have to focus on going forward 28:17.199 --> 28:19.542 and I think the central focus of Secretary Tillerson's trip 28:19.542 --> 28:23.709 to the region should not be on the deployment of THAAD, 28:23.816 --> 28:27.014 which is frankly a response to the threat, 28:27.014 --> 28:30.270 it's the threat itself, the threat that North Korea 28:30.270 --> 28:34.270 continues to pose and has frankly only augmented 28:35.390 --> 28:37.973 in the past year to six months. 28:38.913 --> 28:40.673 And how do we address that threat? 28:40.673 --> 28:43.169 And I think we're looking at new initiatives, 28:43.169 --> 28:45.086 new ways to address it. 28:48.388 --> 28:50.888 I also think that, I know that 28:51.429 --> 28:55.012 we're pressing for increased implementation 28:55.755 --> 28:59.588 of an already very stringent sanctions regime. 29:00.347 --> 29:02.402 But as we all know and have said many times, 29:02.402 --> 29:06.569 sanctions are only as good as how well they're implemented. 29:07.674 --> 29:11.434 And so until we have full implementation of the sanctions, 29:11.434 --> 29:13.760 we're not going to be able to apply the pressure 29:13.760 --> 29:16.839 that we feel needs to be brought to bear on North Korea. 29:16.839 --> 29:19.447 And you've seen China in recent days 29:19.447 --> 29:23.114 take some steps with respect to coal imports 29:24.311 --> 29:28.478 that reinforce or enforce those sanctions in greater detail. 29:31.318 --> 29:33.453 Let's go to, yeah, Michel, go ahead. 29:33.453 --> 29:34.303 I'll get to you all. 29:34.303 --> 29:36.568 - What's the U.S. position towards 29:36.568 --> 29:39.184 the situation in Manbij in Syria? 29:39.184 --> 29:41.232 The American flag is flying there, 29:41.232 --> 29:43.985 there are more American troops in the area, 29:43.985 --> 29:47.652 and Turkey is threatening to enter the city, 29:48.482 --> 29:52.649 and the regime is preparing to go through the city, too. 29:53.812 --> 29:55.297 - Well, I believe the Pentagon has already spoken 29:55.297 --> 29:59.464 to this in some tactical detail, and I would also, 29:59.598 --> 30:01.693 I would encourage you to speak to them directly 30:01.693 --> 30:04.226 about these kinds of movements on the ground. 30:04.226 --> 30:07.309 I think, broadly speaking, of course, 30:07.429 --> 30:10.012 it's a very complex environment 30:10.734 --> 30:13.317 around the area east of al-Bab. 30:15.779 --> 30:17.685 It's a place where multiple forces, frankly, 30:17.685 --> 30:21.852 have converged, all with the intent to drive out ISIS. 30:24.849 --> 30:27.713 But I think when you've got multiple forces 30:27.713 --> 30:30.380 in such a small, confined space, 30:30.914 --> 30:34.692 we want to avoid any unnecessary or unintended escalation 30:34.692 --> 30:38.859 in what is already a very tense and dynamic situation. 30:43.648 --> 30:47.148 So, we are sending a message to all forces 30:52.293 --> 30:54.150 that are there on the ground to remain focused 30:54.150 --> 30:57.790 on the counter-ISIS fight and concentrate their efforts 30:57.790 --> 31:01.377 on defeating ISIS and not towards other objectives 31:01.377 --> 31:05.544 that may detract from the coalition's ongoing campaign. 31:05.706 --> 31:08.692 So we want to keep the focus on the stated intent 31:08.692 --> 31:11.192 to destroy ISIS. 31:12.071 --> 31:13.478 The coalition is going to continue work 31:13.478 --> 31:17.570 in close coordination with allies and partner forces, 31:17.570 --> 31:20.403 again, with the focus on defeating 31:21.793 --> 31:24.853 what is a common enemy, which is ISIS. 31:24.853 --> 31:27.159 - One more on this, Mark. - One more, okay. 31:27.159 --> 31:30.496 - U.S., Russia, and Turkish chief of staffs 31:30.496 --> 31:34.589 have met in Antalya today, and they will continue meeting. 31:34.589 --> 31:37.221 Is there a new coordination between the U.S. 31:37.221 --> 31:40.221 and Russia on the fight against ISIS 31:41.057 --> 31:43.184 and on the situation in Syria? 31:43.184 --> 31:45.267 - You're talking about a meeting today, 31:45.267 --> 31:47.011 not sure what the date was, 31:47.011 --> 31:50.531 but between Joint Chiefs of Staff General Dunford, 31:50.531 --> 31:54.698 and he met with the chief of the Russian General Staff, 31:54.781 --> 31:57.871 as well as the chief of the Turkish General Staff. 31:57.871 --> 31:59.365 The purpose of the meeting, as I understand it, 31:59.365 --> 32:01.756 is to enhance senior-level military communications 32:01.756 --> 32:04.692 and improve operational de-confliction 32:04.692 --> 32:07.549 of our respective military operations in Syria. 32:07.549 --> 32:09.164 I'd refer you to DOD for any details, 32:09.164 --> 32:10.940 but my understanding of this is that 32:10.940 --> 32:14.023 it remains focused on de-conflicting. 32:14.744 --> 32:15.577 Nick. 32:15.794 --> 32:16.627 Nick. 32:16.926 --> 32:18.838 - Just two quickly, one on the Iraq EO. 32:18.838 --> 32:20.823 Yesterday, when Secretary Tillerson spoke, 32:20.823 --> 32:24.813 he suggested that Iraq came off the list because 32:24.813 --> 32:26.015 it was partnering with the U.S., 32:26.015 --> 32:30.182 and you've mentioned this, in the vetting process. 32:30.354 --> 32:33.604 Prior to that, Iraq was extremely angry 32:33.650 --> 32:35.898 about being on this list, and there was some concern 32:35.898 --> 32:38.635 that its partnership with the U.S. in the fight against ISIS 32:38.635 --> 32:42.604 might be jeopardized by its appearance on the list. 32:42.604 --> 32:45.047 Are you saying that Iraq is taken off this list 32:45.047 --> 32:46.534 only because of the vetting process, 32:46.534 --> 32:47.839 or because there were concerns 32:47.839 --> 32:49.662 that its partnership with the U.S. 32:49.662 --> 32:52.750 in the fight against ISIS would be jeopardized? 32:52.750 --> 32:56.833 - Well, I think both, but I think you can't have, 32:57.519 --> 32:59.928 obviously, we would not have just lifted them 32:59.928 --> 33:04.095 out of this group if we were not convinced and satisfied 33:04.660 --> 33:07.916 that they were taking steps to address our concerns 33:07.916 --> 33:11.333 with regard to the vetting of individuals 33:11.652 --> 33:13.985 and willing to take measures 33:15.829 --> 33:17.949 to achieve, frankly, our shared objective, 33:17.949 --> 33:20.878 which is to prevent anyone with criminal 33:20.878 --> 33:24.795 or terrorist intent to reach the United States. 33:26.289 --> 33:30.289 But this was, frankly, a bold and important step 33:31.358 --> 33:33.858 by the prime minister of Iraq. 33:34.987 --> 33:38.254 We appreciate his positive engagement on this issue, 33:38.254 --> 33:40.587 and obviously, it reinforces 33:45.037 --> 33:47.956 the strong collaboration we already have with Iraq 33:47.956 --> 33:51.413 with respect to the effort to destroy ISIS 33:51.413 --> 33:53.246 on the ground in Iraq. 33:57.482 --> 34:00.565 I think it speaks to the growing ties 34:00.807 --> 34:04.856 between our two countries, the growing ability to 34:04.856 --> 34:06.863 work together on these kinds of issues, 34:06.863 --> 34:10.700 that they were able to, in fairly quick fashion, 34:10.700 --> 34:14.820 address some of the concerns we had with regard to vetting. 34:14.820 --> 34:16.521 - [Nick] Just one more on the budget issue. 34:16.521 --> 34:17.354 - Sure. 34:17.819 --> 34:20.786 - In his Senate testimony, Secretary Tillerson said 34:20.786 --> 34:22.178 that he had looked at the org charts 34:22.178 --> 34:25.106 and seen a few more dotted lines, a few boxes that-- 34:25.106 --> 34:26.048 - I'm sorry, what are we talking about? 34:26.048 --> 34:27.507 I missed the first part. - On the budget. 34:27.507 --> 34:28.499 - Okay, okay. 34:28.499 --> 34:31.100 - He had said that he'd seen a few more dotted lines 34:31.100 --> 34:34.196 and a few more boxes that had not been there previously, 34:34.196 --> 34:36.390 and suggested those should be eliminated. 34:36.390 --> 34:39.424 So regardless of what the top-line budget figure would be, 34:39.424 --> 34:43.174 37% or not, does he support some form of 34:43.969 --> 34:47.313 budget cuts to this building, and does he feel that 34:47.313 --> 34:49.504 the State Department needs to be slimmed down? 34:49.504 --> 34:50.767 - I think I would answer that, Nick, 34:50.767 --> 34:53.267 is that he's looking, like any 34:56.034 --> 34:59.380 new leader of an organization as big as the State Department 34:59.380 --> 35:00.765 although we're not that big in the world 35:00.765 --> 35:04.932 of federal agencies, but it's a sizable organization, 35:04.933 --> 35:07.332 is where efficiencies can be found, 35:07.332 --> 35:09.500 where there might be duplications of efforts. 35:09.500 --> 35:12.582 I mean, let's face it, the State Department 35:12.582 --> 35:15.415 operates on a fairly modest budget 35:18.622 --> 35:20.173 in the grand scheme of things. 35:20.173 --> 35:23.923 So I think as an effective leader and manager 35:24.287 --> 35:26.503 of the State Department, of U.S. foreign policy, 35:26.503 --> 35:29.734 he's looking for where efficiencies can be found 35:29.734 --> 35:32.067 and where we can, if needed, 35:35.028 --> 35:36.987 change or eliminate positions, 35:36.987 --> 35:39.683 but also focus on other priorities, 35:39.683 --> 35:43.266 or focus efforts on other goals and actions 35:44.121 --> 35:46.704 that we can take, and policies. 35:47.330 --> 35:48.163 John, John. 35:48.163 --> 35:49.991 - [John] This theme of State Department drift, 35:49.991 --> 35:51.611 it also derives from a lack of-- 35:51.611 --> 35:53.841 - State Department? - A drift, a lack-- 35:53.841 --> 35:56.591 - Yep, go ahead, I got it, sorry. 35:56.913 --> 35:58.700 - It's also for lack of appointments. 35:58.700 --> 36:00.975 There's no deputy secretary appointment, 36:00.975 --> 36:03.171 undersecretary, assistant secretaries, 36:03.171 --> 36:05.676 huge number of ambassadorial vacancies. 36:05.676 --> 36:08.382 It's led some people to believe that Tillerson 36:08.382 --> 36:12.014 doesn't have the clout to appoint his own people. 36:12.014 --> 36:13.097 Is that true? 36:14.421 --> 36:18.450 - Look, John, this is, again, I think this is where, 36:18.450 --> 36:20.529 and many of you in this room have been around, 36:20.529 --> 36:24.075 this is not your first transition, as we say. 36:24.075 --> 36:26.158 And it's not mine either. 36:26.751 --> 36:29.001 (laughing) 36:32.429 --> 36:34.267 So I would caution everybody. 36:34.267 --> 36:37.184 I'd say take a deep breath, because 36:37.712 --> 36:40.545 this is always an ongoing process. 36:43.115 --> 36:45.755 We're working at identifying candidates. 36:45.755 --> 36:48.925 I can assure you all, I can assure the American public 36:48.925 --> 36:52.580 that we're working on identifying qualified candidates 36:52.580 --> 36:55.163 for senior department positions 36:56.143 --> 36:59.572 and trying to fill them as quickly as possible. 36:59.572 --> 37:01.404 We're also vetting them, and that's part 37:01.404 --> 37:04.157 of this process that we do internally. 37:04.157 --> 37:07.398 And then once we have these individuals ready, vetted, 37:07.398 --> 37:09.748 then we can go take them to the Senate 37:09.748 --> 37:11.332 for their advice and consent. 37:11.332 --> 37:12.706 So this process is ongoing. 37:12.706 --> 37:15.683 We're identifying people for senior management jobs 37:15.683 --> 37:17.396 and senior leadership positions. 37:17.396 --> 37:19.642 But I think it's also important to stress that 37:19.642 --> 37:22.892 there's a very capable diplomatic corps 37:22.916 --> 37:25.399 and Civil Service corps within the State Department. 37:25.399 --> 37:27.095 And many of these individuals have stepped 37:27.095 --> 37:30.845 into acting roles or remained in acting roles 37:32.049 --> 37:35.953 in order to provide consistency through the transition. 37:35.953 --> 37:36.786 - Mark. - Yup. 37:36.786 --> 37:40.160 - In your answer to Nick's first question on the EO, 37:40.160 --> 37:43.547 I thought I heard you say that Iraq was removed 37:43.547 --> 37:45.907 for both reasons, but because they were also 37:45.907 --> 37:48.228 taking steps to address our concerns. 37:48.228 --> 37:51.196 Are you saying that they have not yet addressed? 37:51.196 --> 37:52.029 - No, no, I'm sorry. 37:52.029 --> 37:54.844 I didn't mean to give some kind of time-- 37:54.844 --> 37:55.777 - [Matt] Because if they hadn't addressed-- 37:55.777 --> 37:57.785 - No, no, no, I apologize. 37:57.785 --> 37:59.118 Thank you for clarifying. 37:59.118 --> 38:00.475 They have taken steps. - Okay. 38:00.475 --> 38:01.761 - [Woman] Mark, back to the travel ban-- 38:01.761 --> 38:03.201 - Yeah, I'll get to you. 38:03.201 --> 38:05.187 - Sorry, is it okay? - Of course, of course. 38:05.187 --> 38:06.863 - [Woman] This is very weird, but anyway-- 38:06.863 --> 38:09.179 - This is a very crowded briefing, so 38:09.179 --> 38:10.986 I'm doing my best to manage. - Now that I have the floor, 38:10.986 --> 38:14.828 (laughing) yesterday the administration, 38:14.828 --> 38:18.078 in this version of the executive order, 38:19.306 --> 38:22.806 to back it up mentioned these 300 refugees 38:23.727 --> 38:25.574 who are under investigation. 38:25.574 --> 38:29.574 So can you confirm whether even one of those 300 38:29.788 --> 38:33.328 is from any of the countries that are named in the ban? 38:33.328 --> 38:36.076 And if not, why not even mention that yes, 38:36.076 --> 38:37.724 some of them are from the countries? 38:37.724 --> 38:40.412 I don't understand why that would be such, 38:40.412 --> 38:42.293 even though these are under investigation, 38:42.293 --> 38:46.460 why would naming the country or countries be so sensitive? 38:46.733 --> 38:48.733 - It's a valid question. 38:48.925 --> 38:50.253 A couple points to make. 38:50.253 --> 38:53.586 One is, excuse me, these are individuals 38:53.906 --> 38:57.073 under active investigation by the FBI. 38:58.519 --> 39:01.602 So these are people who already have, 39:03.718 --> 39:07.438 theoretically, have already immigrated to the United States. 39:07.438 --> 39:10.054 So they're not on our radar, so to speak, anymore. 39:10.054 --> 39:13.304 So I can't really speak to what the FBI 39:14.027 --> 39:16.564 may be investigating, who they may be investigating, 39:16.564 --> 39:19.067 or really provide any details as to 39:19.067 --> 39:21.722 where these individuals come from. 39:21.722 --> 39:24.683 My understanding, but again, I would refer you to the FBI 39:24.683 --> 39:28.850 or to DHS for clarity, is that these were 300 individuals, 39:34.367 --> 39:38.534 globally speaking, i.e., not from the six countries 39:39.060 --> 39:41.829 that were targeted in this particular EO. 39:41.829 --> 39:44.364 They were speaking to 300 active investigations 39:44.364 --> 39:47.614 of people who've come over as refugees. 39:49.733 --> 39:50.566 Go ahead. 39:51.247 --> 39:52.247 - Thank you. 39:52.320 --> 39:55.320 I have a couple questions on the EO. 39:55.407 --> 39:59.106 So in order to be taken off this list of six countries 39:59.106 --> 40:01.359 whose citizens aren't really allowed to come here, 40:01.359 --> 40:02.847 they would have to provide the U.S. 40:02.847 --> 40:05.734 with greater cooperation, greater data sharing. 40:05.734 --> 40:09.630 I'm wondering how you expect countries like Syria and Libya, 40:09.630 --> 40:12.655 that are in the throes of violent conflict 40:12.655 --> 40:15.223 and many of their government functions 40:15.223 --> 40:16.169 really aren't functioning, 40:16.169 --> 40:17.582 how do you expect those countries 40:17.582 --> 40:19.959 to actually comply with that request? 40:19.959 --> 40:21.925 And therefore, does it amount to 40:21.925 --> 40:24.675 basically a de facto eternal ban? 40:25.164 --> 40:28.247 I have a follow-up after that. - Sure. 40:29.700 --> 40:33.117 So, recognizing that this is a challenge, 40:33.741 --> 40:36.408 certainly with respect to Syria, 40:37.831 --> 40:41.748 since we don't exactly have bilateral relations 40:42.105 --> 40:44.355 with the Syrian Government, 40:45.252 --> 40:47.419 but with respect to Libya, 40:49.525 --> 40:52.775 there is a nascent government in Libya. 40:55.882 --> 40:58.819 We recognize, though, that the situation 40:58.819 --> 41:01.069 in both Libya and Syria is, 41:03.192 --> 41:06.359 to put it mildly, in perpetual crisis. 41:09.142 --> 41:13.309 The security situation in both those countries is dire. 41:13.573 --> 41:16.309 That's part of the reason, frankly, why 41:16.309 --> 41:19.559 given the fact that within these areas, 41:20.256 --> 41:22.483 within these countries, rather, and their borders, 41:22.483 --> 41:25.316 we have ISIS, and ISIS affiliates, 41:27.172 --> 41:30.005 and al-Qaida affiliates operating, 41:30.768 --> 41:34.281 that we need to be especially vigilant about the individuals 41:34.281 --> 41:37.353 that we're admitting from those countries. 41:37.353 --> 41:40.957 I don't want, though, to in any way, as you say, 41:40.957 --> 41:44.790 condemn any country to a perpetual travel ban. 41:47.829 --> 41:49.708 That's not what this is about. 41:49.708 --> 41:52.100 I think, with respect to where we can work 41:52.100 --> 41:55.390 with the government, however early days it is 41:55.390 --> 41:57.756 with respect to Libya especially, 41:57.756 --> 42:01.493 we are going to do so, with the eventual goal 42:01.493 --> 42:05.081 of trying to get the information that we feel we need 42:05.081 --> 42:08.168 in order to fully vet these individuals 42:08.168 --> 42:09.574 coming to the United States. 42:09.574 --> 42:12.271 - And then I have a question specifically to Iran. 42:12.271 --> 42:15.589 So the number of people that are affected by this ban, 42:15.589 --> 42:18.573 Iranians are overly represented, you might say. 42:18.573 --> 42:21.702 Like I think that's something like over half of the people 42:21.702 --> 42:23.846 who would be coming from these six countries 42:23.846 --> 42:28.013 are actually coming from Iran, or maybe perhaps even more. 42:28.295 --> 42:30.527 This government, under both Republican 42:30.527 --> 42:32.223 and Democratic administrations, 42:32.223 --> 42:34.425 under George W. Bush and Barack Obama, 42:34.425 --> 42:37.783 has sought to engage directly with the Iranian people, 42:37.783 --> 42:40.145 kind of going around the Iranian Government, 42:40.145 --> 42:43.110 which, of course, has a lot of enmity and animosity 42:43.110 --> 42:46.875 towards the United States or between those two countries. 42:46.875 --> 42:50.211 I'm wondering what you would say the message of this ban 42:50.211 --> 42:53.522 sends to the Iranian people, especially given that 42:53.522 --> 42:55.530 there isn't that kind of violent conflict 42:55.530 --> 42:59.697 that you just referred to, or the groups like ISIS 43:00.040 --> 43:04.207 or these sorts of terrorist groups active inside Iran. 43:04.526 --> 43:06.967 As you might know yourself from the 2009 protest, 43:06.967 --> 43:09.376 it was evident that many of the Iranian people 43:09.376 --> 43:11.118 disagree with the actions of their government. 43:11.118 --> 43:15.201 And so what exactly does this sort of ban achieve 43:15.351 --> 43:18.039 when it seems to be preventing Iranians 43:18.039 --> 43:20.179 who are well-disposed towards the United States 43:20.179 --> 43:23.096 from coming into the United States? 43:23.648 --> 43:24.731 - That's a very good question, 43:24.731 --> 43:25.997 and a couple points to make on it. 43:25.997 --> 43:30.164 First of all is that we always need to be driven by 43:30.825 --> 43:33.537 the safety and security of the American people. 43:33.537 --> 43:35.812 That's not to say that we don't eventually want 43:35.812 --> 43:38.812 to see Iran emerge as a constructive 43:39.886 --> 43:42.469 global player, regional player. 43:43.222 --> 43:45.952 That's up to the Iranian Government, the Iranian leadership 43:45.952 --> 43:47.927 to make those kinds of decisions. 43:47.927 --> 43:51.844 Frankly, what we've seen in the past year or so 43:54.138 --> 43:57.638 since they signed the nuclear agreement is 44:02.821 --> 44:05.904 continued bad behavior in the region. 44:06.460 --> 44:08.569 - Would you say that's being conducted by Iranian citizens 44:08.569 --> 44:10.059 or the-- - Well, again, I mean, 44:10.059 --> 44:14.100 this is a country that is a state sponsor of terror 44:14.100 --> 44:17.850 and plays a destabilizing role in the region. 44:19.129 --> 44:21.642 And so again, when you're looking at a country like that, 44:21.642 --> 44:23.571 this is not about the Iranian people, 44:23.571 --> 44:24.819 it's not directed to them, 44:24.819 --> 44:26.218 but when you're considering the safety and security 44:26.218 --> 44:30.301 of the American people here in the United States, 44:31.061 --> 44:34.644 you have to hold them in a different class. 44:35.374 --> 44:38.662 - With all due respect, I mean, the ban doesn't bar 44:38.662 --> 44:41.701 IRGC or Qods Force members from coming to the United States. 44:41.701 --> 44:43.679 Obviously, they're not barred, but it is-- 44:43.679 --> 44:46.022 - [Woman] Well, they're under sanctions, too. 44:46.022 --> 44:47.359 It's a totally separate category. 44:47.359 --> 44:48.953 - Your answer doesn't really address 44:48.953 --> 44:51.786 the heart of my question, which is 44:52.155 --> 44:56.125 banning an entire country and all of its citizens, 44:56.125 --> 44:57.503 when there is a lot of evidence that 44:57.503 --> 44:59.206 a, engaging with the Iranian people 44:59.206 --> 45:01.293 has been the policy of this country 45:01.293 --> 45:02.702 going back into the Bush administration-- 45:02.702 --> 45:05.367 - Yeah, but I mean, my answer to your question is that 45:05.367 --> 45:08.867 this is a country that has shown itself... 45:09.528 --> 45:13.329 - The government has. - But it has shown itself 45:13.329 --> 45:17.496 capable of exporting terrorists and terrorism abroad. 45:20.487 --> 45:22.466 As I said, they're a state sponsor of terror. 45:22.466 --> 45:24.265 What they've done in Syria, what they've done elsewhere 45:24.265 --> 45:27.361 in the region, frankly, puts them in a class by themselves 45:27.361 --> 45:30.694 with respect to what they're capable of. 45:31.466 --> 45:34.966 This has nothing to do with those Iranians 45:34.986 --> 45:38.986 who may want to come and visit the United States 45:40.709 --> 45:42.668 to develop a better understanding of the United States 45:42.668 --> 45:44.168 or to visit relatives here, but-- 45:44.168 --> 45:47.168 - [Woman] And who are now unable to. 45:49.718 --> 45:51.188 - Let me be very clear about this one more time. 45:51.188 --> 45:52.369 - [Elise] Till Iran's not a state sponsor 45:52.369 --> 45:55.415 of terrorism anymore that-- - What I'm saying is-- 45:55.415 --> 45:57.400 - The Iranian people won't be able to come to this country? 45:57.400 --> 45:59.656 - No, what I'm saying is that we have 45:59.656 --> 46:03.073 legitimate concerns about Iran's actions. 46:03.913 --> 46:05.602 I understand there's a difference between 46:05.602 --> 46:08.072 what's happening in Libya, what's happening in Syria, 46:08.072 --> 46:10.097 and what's happening in Iran. 46:10.097 --> 46:11.262 But Iran has-- 46:11.262 --> 46:14.218 - Mark, when Iran sponsors foreign terrorism, 46:14.218 --> 46:15.521 they use Lebanese foot soldiers. 46:15.521 --> 46:17.098 Lebanon is not on this list. 46:17.098 --> 46:19.691 They send Hezbollah to conduct these things. 46:19.691 --> 46:22.191 Why isn't Lebanon on the list? 46:23.328 --> 46:26.328 - Again, again, what they have shown 46:26.387 --> 46:29.554 through their behavior is a consistent 46:33.266 --> 46:37.433 ability to create chaos, to sow chaos in the region, 46:41.019 --> 46:45.186 to create or to fund terrorist activities in the region. 46:46.034 --> 46:48.034 And it's because of that 46:50.509 --> 46:51.598 that they're in this category. 46:51.598 --> 46:52.667 - [Woman] Well, but you're saying-- 46:52.667 --> 46:54.547 - Do you think the Iranian Government regrets 46:54.547 --> 46:57.187 that the United States is now banning its citizens 46:57.187 --> 47:01.203 from coming to study in America and meet Americans? 47:01.203 --> 47:04.079 Do you think it struck a blow against 47:04.079 --> 47:06.311 the terror-sponsoring Iranian regime 47:06.311 --> 47:08.707 by imposing this ban? - No, David, 47:08.707 --> 47:10.790 let me just revisit this. 47:11.440 --> 47:14.108 My point about all of this is I understand 47:14.108 --> 47:15.972 the power of people-to-people exchanges 47:15.972 --> 47:18.564 and having Iranians come to this country 47:18.564 --> 47:20.004 and experience this country 47:20.004 --> 47:22.149 and the cultural exchange that that entails 47:22.149 --> 47:25.020 and the broader goodwill that that can build. 47:25.020 --> 47:27.356 But I think before all of that, we have to put 47:27.356 --> 47:29.477 the safety and security of the American people, 47:29.477 --> 47:30.805 and it's because of that 47:30.805 --> 47:33.888 that they've been added to this list. 47:34.284 --> 47:35.428 One last question because we got 47:35.428 --> 47:36.843 a lot of questions in the room. 47:36.843 --> 47:38.203 - I still don't feel like you've addressed 47:38.203 --> 47:39.613 the heart of my question. 47:39.613 --> 47:41.785 I was at Dulles when a lot of these people 47:41.785 --> 47:42.952 were barred from coming in 47:42.952 --> 47:44.311 and then they were eventually let out. 47:44.311 --> 47:46.400 The vast majority of them were Iranian 47:46.400 --> 47:50.306 and they were not people who expressed a great affinity 47:50.306 --> 47:51.907 with the Iranian Government. 47:51.907 --> 47:53.824 What I'm saying is that 47:54.964 --> 47:57.462 your answer to the question is, I think, presuming that 47:57.462 --> 47:59.795 the people who are coming here who are Iranians 47:59.795 --> 48:02.284 are somehow affiliated with the Iranian Government 48:02.284 --> 48:03.531 or are carrying out their policy. 48:03.531 --> 48:04.835 I'm wondering if-- - Not at all. 48:04.835 --> 48:05.795 - If there have been any instances-- 48:05.795 --> 48:07.449 - And I'm sorry if I'm not explaining that clearly. 48:07.449 --> 48:09.706 What I'm trying to say is that the government, 48:09.706 --> 48:12.300 their government, unfortunately, 48:12.300 --> 48:13.867 is a bad actor in the region. 48:13.867 --> 48:16.487 - Does the U.S. now equate all the citizens of a country 48:16.487 --> 48:18.099 with a bad-acting government? 48:18.099 --> 48:20.666 - No, but what we do take under consideration 48:20.666 --> 48:24.210 through this executive order is the fact that 48:24.210 --> 48:27.762 we don't believe that we can ensure the safety 48:27.762 --> 48:29.882 of the American people and security of the American people 48:29.882 --> 48:33.132 absolutely given the current procedures 48:34.137 --> 48:36.400 and vetting procedures that we have 48:36.400 --> 48:37.601 with people coming from Iran. 48:37.601 --> 48:41.580 - So are you saying that until Iran is not a bad actor, 48:41.580 --> 48:43.159 in your words, any-- - No, I think-- 48:43.159 --> 48:44.586 - Can I finish my question? - Yeah, sure, go ahead. 48:44.586 --> 48:46.385 - Are you saying that until Iran is not 48:46.385 --> 48:47.994 a state sponsor of terrorism 48:47.994 --> 48:49.835 or cleans up its act in the region 48:49.835 --> 48:53.168 or you have less fears about the actions 48:53.362 --> 48:55.108 of the Iranian Government, 48:55.108 --> 48:56.897 that all of the citizens of Iran 48:56.897 --> 48:58.394 will not be able to come here? 48:58.394 --> 49:01.151 Or are you saying that they need better vetting procedures? 49:01.151 --> 49:02.368 Because they're two different things. 49:02.368 --> 49:04.056 One is vetting procedures 49:04.056 --> 49:07.088 and one is saying it's a bad government, 49:07.088 --> 49:09.392 therefore we're not letting their citizens in. 49:09.392 --> 49:11.159 - So my answer to that is 49:11.159 --> 49:14.492 part of this review period is looking at 49:16.193 --> 49:20.360 where we don't have sufficient vetting procedures in place. 49:20.552 --> 49:22.080 What are those countries? 49:22.080 --> 49:25.580 And then following up on that, we'll then, 49:26.284 --> 49:28.284 where we can or able to, 49:28.764 --> 49:31.390 talk to those governments and express where 49:31.390 --> 49:33.322 there are these disconnects and these failings. 49:33.322 --> 49:34.659 - Are you willing to talk to the Government of Iran 49:34.659 --> 49:36.618 to help strengthen those vetting procedures? 49:36.618 --> 49:38.391 - I can't speak to that at this time. 49:38.391 --> 49:41.912 - There was a Homeland Security report published last week 49:41.912 --> 49:46.079 that says that extreme vetting procedures are not helpful 49:46.623 --> 49:49.161 because people do not become radicalized 49:49.161 --> 49:50.352 when they arrive here. 49:50.352 --> 49:54.435 They are radicalized years, if not decades later, 49:54.526 --> 49:56.685 which undercuts the whole premise 49:56.685 --> 50:00.517 of keeping out people from many of these countries. 50:00.517 --> 50:02.997 - Well again, I would refer you to the DHS 50:02.997 --> 50:04.902 to speak to the contents of their report, 50:04.902 --> 50:06.519 the substance of their report. 50:06.519 --> 50:08.879 I think what this EO is focused on 50:08.879 --> 50:10.717 and where the State Department is focused on 50:10.717 --> 50:12.871 in implementing this executive order 50:12.871 --> 50:17.038 is on looking at how people are vetted from given countries 50:17.977 --> 50:22.144 and whether those procedures can guarantee to the degree, 50:22.240 --> 50:25.393 recognizing that we can never have 100% guarantee, 50:25.393 --> 50:28.904 to the degree possible that these people coming in 50:28.904 --> 50:32.737 are coming here without the intention to harm, 50:32.979 --> 50:34.202 do harm to the American people. 50:34.202 --> 50:37.048 - Do you have reports from your embassies 50:37.048 --> 50:39.431 as to how these executive orders, 50:39.431 --> 50:42.239 the first one and even the second one, 50:42.239 --> 50:45.156 are hurting the United State abroad 50:46.009 --> 50:48.009 with allies as well as-- 50:48.248 --> 50:50.367 - Andrea, I would say that we've gotten 50:50.367 --> 50:53.458 a variety of opinions from a variety of governments, 50:53.458 --> 50:57.625 from a variety of countries, about these executive orders, 50:58.197 --> 51:00.259 and not all of them negative. 51:00.259 --> 51:02.691 But I think, again, we need to start from, 51:02.691 --> 51:04.036 and Secretary Tillerson spoke to this 51:04.036 --> 51:05.780 in his remarks yesterday, 51:05.780 --> 51:08.228 we need to start from the premise here, which is 51:08.228 --> 51:10.470 we're doing this, we're undertaking this effort, 51:10.470 --> 51:13.124 in order to guarantee as much as possible 51:13.124 --> 51:15.460 the safety and security of the American people. 51:15.460 --> 51:19.627 And we hope that other governments, foreign governments, 51:20.096 --> 51:24.073 can appreciate that premise and take it under consideration. 51:24.073 --> 51:26.262 - There is no underlying threat that's ever been established 51:26.262 --> 51:28.929 by any agency of this government 51:29.418 --> 51:32.835 involving these countries, in particular, 51:32.948 --> 51:36.948 or recent terror activities from their citizens. 51:37.132 --> 51:39.932 - Again, we can go into the criteria, 51:39.932 --> 51:41.524 but it's all laid out in the EO 51:41.524 --> 51:45.191 why these six specific countries were chosen 51:45.796 --> 51:48.029 to be a part of this executive order. 51:48.029 --> 51:50.849 Please. - Mark, can you speak briefly 51:50.849 --> 51:53.849 about why Syria was taken off a list 51:54.421 --> 51:56.921 of being banned independently, 51:57.853 --> 52:01.912 like why they're now going to not be indefinitely 52:01.912 --> 52:04.745 kept out of the U.S., the Syrians? 52:04.916 --> 52:06.249 Refugees, sorry. 52:07.412 --> 52:09.400 - I'm sorry, I apologize, it was like-- 52:09.400 --> 52:10.698 - [Nike] Syrian refugees. 52:10.698 --> 52:12.530 - [Man] Banned Syrian refugees indefinitely. 52:12.530 --> 52:14.198 The second version just includes them 52:14.198 --> 52:16.407 in the general refugee ban. - Right. 52:16.407 --> 52:19.824 I'm frankly not certain why the rationale 52:20.761 --> 52:23.261 to shift them other than that. 52:23.684 --> 52:26.684 I mean, obviously, they're a segment 52:28.260 --> 52:32.427 of the refugee population that's in dire need of support. 52:32.683 --> 52:34.795 But I don't have any specifics as to why 52:34.795 --> 52:36.779 they were moved from one list to the other. 52:36.779 --> 52:39.777 I'll try to get back to you on that. 52:39.777 --> 52:41.626 Are we done with the EO? 52:41.626 --> 52:43.365 Can we move on to a different subject? 52:43.365 --> 52:47.448 And then I only have about five more minutes, so. 52:47.459 --> 52:49.334 Are we ready to switch to China? 52:49.334 --> 52:50.167 Are we done with the-- 52:50.167 --> 52:51.289 Okay, I'll get to you and then you, Nike. 52:51.289 --> 52:53.304 - Mark, on China real quickly. 52:53.304 --> 52:55.579 You mentioned that Secretary Tillerson would bring with him 52:55.579 --> 52:58.649 a message of stronger implementation of current sanctions. 52:58.649 --> 53:00.329 Is the United States willing to go beyond 53:00.329 --> 53:02.705 asking China to confront North Korea, 53:02.705 --> 53:05.522 beyond implementation or beyond sanctions? 53:05.522 --> 53:07.377 And in particular, there was a Wall Street Journal report 53:07.377 --> 53:09.353 out last week saying that the United States 53:09.353 --> 53:12.217 was putting greater weight on a military 53:12.217 --> 53:14.010 or regime-change option. 53:14.010 --> 53:15.840 Is that something that the Secretary is aware of 53:15.840 --> 53:18.423 or will be discussing in China? 53:18.929 --> 53:22.818 - Well, look, I don't want to get into specifics 53:22.818 --> 53:24.641 of all the options that we're looking at 53:24.641 --> 53:26.974 with respect to North Korea. 53:27.705 --> 53:30.622 How I would answer your question is 53:30.873 --> 53:34.706 that we are very concerned with the escalation 53:35.901 --> 53:37.984 of North Korea's actions. 53:38.936 --> 53:43.103 The continuing testing and augmenting of its weapons program 53:45.365 --> 53:49.135 is of great concern, and it's getting to the point where 53:49.135 --> 53:51.574 we do need to look at other alternatives. 53:51.574 --> 53:54.633 And that's part of what this trip is about, 53:54.633 --> 53:55.863 that we're going to talk to our allies 53:55.863 --> 53:57.429 and partners in the region 53:57.429 --> 54:01.512 to try to generate a new approach to North Korea. 54:03.149 --> 54:05.408 I think right now we're focused on sanctions 54:05.408 --> 54:06.925 and implementing those sanctions 54:06.925 --> 54:08.822 to the fullest extent possible, 54:08.822 --> 54:11.013 but we're looking at other possibilities as well. 54:11.013 --> 54:12.180 We always are. 54:12.381 --> 54:13.814 Please, at the back. 54:13.814 --> 54:15.523 Nike and then two more questions after that. 54:15.523 --> 54:16.356 Please, Nike. 54:16.356 --> 54:17.571 - Mark, thank you very much. 54:17.571 --> 54:20.611 You said that part of the goal of this travel 54:20.611 --> 54:24.119 is to generate new approach in dealing with the DPRK. 54:24.119 --> 54:27.119 Does that include direct or indirect 54:27.808 --> 54:30.320 diplomatic engagement with DPRK? 54:30.320 --> 54:32.864 And then could you please update the status 54:32.864 --> 54:35.929 of the policy review regarding North Korea? 54:35.929 --> 54:36.762 Thank you. 54:36.942 --> 54:38.839 - Well, again, Nike, I would say that 54:38.839 --> 54:41.839 given North Korea's recent behavior, 54:43.890 --> 54:46.490 we're not at the point where we're looking at 54:46.490 --> 54:48.724 direct engagement with them. 54:48.724 --> 54:50.770 We're not rewarding that behavior 54:50.770 --> 54:52.482 in any way, shape, or form. 54:52.482 --> 54:55.075 I think what North Korea's, (sneezing) 54:55.075 --> 54:56.051 and this is something we need to, 54:56.051 --> 54:56.968 God bless you. 54:56.968 --> 55:00.718 We need to convey to them in very clear terms 55:00.799 --> 55:03.183 is that this kind of behavior is only further 55:03.183 --> 55:05.559 alienating them from the international community 55:05.559 --> 55:08.059 and from the global community. 55:09.319 --> 55:11.864 They're increasingly becoming a pariah 55:11.864 --> 55:14.945 through this kind of behavior that violates 55:14.945 --> 55:18.359 the international norms and international law. 55:18.359 --> 55:20.942 And how we convey that to them, 55:21.735 --> 55:23.847 how we get that message across to them, 55:23.847 --> 55:25.015 remains to be seen. 55:25.015 --> 55:28.256 We're pursuing tougher and tougher sanctions, 55:28.256 --> 55:31.339 but we're also looking at other means 55:32.111 --> 55:34.303 to make that message clear to them. 55:34.303 --> 55:36.220 Dmitry, please, Dmitry. 55:37.784 --> 55:41.036 - (indistinct) and recently, 55:41.036 --> 55:44.617 China National People's Congress spokeswoman Fu Ying said 55:44.617 --> 55:48.784 the mainstream of China-U.S. relationship is cooperation 55:48.958 --> 55:52.405 and the China top legislature will continue 55:52.405 --> 55:55.160 exchanges with U.S. Congress this year 55:55.160 --> 55:57.397 to boost understanding and communication. 55:57.397 --> 56:00.730 So what is your comments on her remarks, 56:02.312 --> 56:04.953 and how do you see U.S.-China relations, 56:04.953 --> 56:07.215 especially during Trump administration? 56:07.215 --> 56:08.165 Thank you. - Sure, I mean, 56:08.165 --> 56:11.850 I think China is an absolutely vital relationship 56:11.850 --> 56:13.683 for the United States. 56:14.195 --> 56:15.556 We want to build a more constructive 56:15.556 --> 56:17.155 relationship with China. 56:17.155 --> 56:21.322 As I said, two of Secretary Tillerson's earliest meetings 56:22.192 --> 56:24.161 were with your foreign minister, 56:24.161 --> 56:28.244 or China's foreign minister, and state councilor. 56:28.772 --> 56:32.939 And indeed, one of his very first trips is to Beijing. 56:34.176 --> 56:36.609 I think that speaks to the importance that the United States 56:36.609 --> 56:39.776 places on its relationship with China. 56:39.795 --> 56:43.113 And we're going to look for areas that we can expand 56:43.113 --> 56:46.363 our cooperation, whether it's economic, 56:47.093 --> 56:50.426 whether it's with respect to North Korea 56:51.085 --> 56:53.502 or other multilateral issues. 56:53.915 --> 56:58.082 I think we want to build on our relationship with China. 56:59.927 --> 57:01.971 - [Nike] As for the One China policy, 57:01.971 --> 57:04.518 President Trump opposed One China policy. 57:04.518 --> 57:05.539 So how do you think how important is-- 57:05.539 --> 57:07.860 - There's no change to our longstanding policy 57:07.860 --> 57:09.777 on cross-strait issues. 57:09.923 --> 57:11.573 Secretary Tillerson spoke to that 57:11.573 --> 57:14.421 in his hearing in the Senate, and President Trump 57:14.421 --> 57:17.469 agreed to in his phone call in February, 57:17.469 --> 57:20.802 I think February 9th, with President Xi, 57:21.969 --> 57:25.435 that he agreed to honor our One China policy. 57:25.435 --> 57:26.433 Last question, really, guys. 57:26.433 --> 57:28.475 It's been an hour already. 57:28.475 --> 57:30.387 One on Turkey, and that's it. 57:30.387 --> 57:31.924 Turkey and Dmitry, and then I'm finished. 57:31.924 --> 57:33.980 - [Woman] Okay, and Michele Kelemen maybe? 57:33.980 --> 57:37.480 - Oh, sorry, okay, Elise, Dmitry, Michele. 57:38.140 --> 57:41.584 - I want to ask you about an American citizen, a pastor. 57:41.584 --> 57:43.635 His name is Andrew Brunson. 57:43.635 --> 57:46.968 He was detained in Turkey on October 7th 57:47.252 --> 57:49.380 as a threat to national security. 57:49.380 --> 57:52.180 He was held and detained for 64 days 57:52.180 --> 57:54.421 without explanation or charge, 57:54.421 --> 57:55.940 unofficially charged with membership 57:55.940 --> 58:00.107 in an armed terrorist organization on December 9th. 58:00.196 --> 58:02.847 I'd like to know what the State Department 58:02.847 --> 58:05.097 is doing about his release. 58:05.115 --> 58:07.266 Is there any concern about the case? 58:07.266 --> 58:10.546 It seems that this is a Christian pastor 58:10.546 --> 58:13.779 who has been living in Turkey for 23 years. 58:13.779 --> 58:17.250 I'm not sure really what the terrorist charge is. 58:17.250 --> 58:19.666 And before you say anything about privacy concerns, 58:19.666 --> 58:23.251 I have the Privacy Act waiver (laughing) right here 58:23.251 --> 58:25.834 and it's signed by Mr. Brunson. 58:26.963 --> 58:28.865 - [Mark] Does he check the media box? 58:28.865 --> 58:31.110 - The media box is checked, yes. (laughing) 58:31.110 --> 58:33.248 As well as the general public, employer, 58:33.248 --> 58:36.527 individual members of Congress, friends, and family. 58:36.527 --> 58:39.527 - That's impressive, that's a first. 58:39.638 --> 58:42.409 You've got to be feeling pretty good about that. 58:42.409 --> 58:43.282 (laughing) 58:43.282 --> 58:45.115 - I do, actually, yes. 58:46.589 --> 58:48.205 - We are, of course, aware of U.S. citizens 58:48.205 --> 58:49.622 that have been detained in Turkey, 58:49.622 --> 58:52.289 indeed, this case in particular. 58:52.797 --> 58:55.053 I'll try to see what additional information I can get. 58:55.053 --> 58:58.079 But of course, we take very seriously 58:58.079 --> 59:02.246 this case and all cases of detained Americans overseas. 59:02.788 --> 59:04.900 Obviously, we would offer all consular assistance 59:04.900 --> 59:08.150 to any individual who's being detained. 59:09.682 --> 59:13.849 I think I can speak more broadly, whether you think that 59:13.868 --> 59:17.260 he as a Christian or that Christians are being persecuted, 59:17.260 --> 59:19.168 the U.S. Christian community is persecuting, 59:19.168 --> 59:22.008 or rather, the Turkish Government is persecuting 59:22.008 --> 59:25.258 the U.S. Christian community in Turkey, 59:26.211 --> 59:27.981 we would not agree with that assessment. 59:27.981 --> 59:30.646 We've seen no clear evidence that Christians 59:30.646 --> 59:33.924 are being specifically targeted for their religious beliefs. 59:33.924 --> 59:37.084 But of course, the United States obviously strongly supports 59:37.084 --> 59:39.188 the right of all people in Turkey to exercise 59:39.188 --> 59:41.844 their freedom of religion and belief. 59:41.844 --> 59:44.893 And in Washington and Ankara, we regularly engage 59:44.893 --> 59:46.612 the Turkish Government at all levels 59:46.612 --> 59:50.029 on the need to respect religious freedom. 59:50.749 --> 59:53.040 But with respect to this particular case, 59:53.040 --> 59:54.754 given that he has signed a Privacy Act waiver-- 59:54.754 --> 59:56.795 - [Elise] No, he has signed a Privacy Act waiver-- 59:56.795 --> 01:00:00.346 - I said given that he has signed a Privacy Act waiver, 01:00:00.346 --> 01:00:04.513 which apparently is news to our consular affairs folks, 01:00:04.514 --> 01:00:06.513 so I'll get you some more information about that. 01:00:06.513 --> 01:00:07.858 - He seems to be wrapped up in this, 01:00:07.858 --> 01:00:10.038 like, they seem to be targeting him 01:00:10.038 --> 01:00:11.821 as part of this Gulenist movement. 01:00:11.821 --> 01:00:12.654 - [Mark] I'm aware of that. 01:00:12.654 --> 01:00:14.796 - He maintains that he is not part of this movement. 01:00:14.796 --> 01:00:18.046 So given the fact that this government, 01:00:18.077 --> 01:00:21.005 in the past anyway, has voiced concern 01:00:21.005 --> 01:00:24.484 about the kind of wide swath which the Turkish Government 01:00:24.484 --> 01:00:26.101 has rounded up people that they believe 01:00:26.101 --> 01:00:27.457 to be part of this movement, 01:00:27.457 --> 01:00:31.324 the fact that an American citizen is being charged-- 01:00:31.324 --> 01:00:33.460 - Absolutely, and let me just be very clear, 01:00:33.460 --> 01:00:36.444 that in the case of any American citizen charged overseas, 01:00:36.444 --> 01:00:38.527 that we offer assistance. 01:00:39.580 --> 01:00:42.997 We offer protections, we follow the case. 01:00:44.889 --> 01:00:47.247 We offer legal assistance where we can, 01:00:47.247 --> 01:00:50.330 or offer them access to legal counsel 01:00:51.597 --> 01:00:54.097 or access to legal assistance. 01:00:54.357 --> 01:00:57.412 We visit them in the detention facilities 01:00:57.412 --> 01:01:00.547 that they're being held in, to assess their health 01:01:00.547 --> 01:01:02.100 and to assess their well-being. 01:01:02.100 --> 01:01:03.043 All of this, I can assure you, 01:01:03.043 --> 01:01:04.875 is being done in this particular case. 01:01:04.875 --> 01:01:06.401 But what I don't have is a specific answer 01:01:06.401 --> 01:01:07.889 to the charges against him, 01:01:07.889 --> 01:01:08.722 and I'll try to get that for you. 01:01:08.722 --> 01:01:10.038 - Thank you. - Dmitry. 01:01:10.038 --> 01:01:12.853 - Great to see you, sir. - Good to see you too, man. 01:01:12.853 --> 01:01:15.055 - Listen, I believe I have very simple question. 01:01:15.055 --> 01:01:16.905 At least, I believe so. 01:01:16.905 --> 01:01:19.565 Has there been a discussion between the State Department 01:01:19.565 --> 01:01:22.232 and the Russian foreign ministry 01:01:23.448 --> 01:01:27.615 on the possibility of Secretary Tillerson trip to Moscow, 01:01:27.736 --> 01:01:31.352 or extending an invitation to Foreign Minister Lavrov 01:01:31.352 --> 01:01:34.935 to travel here, in the near future, I mean? 01:01:35.618 --> 01:01:39.785 - Yeah, no, I don't have anything to announce in that regard 01:01:40.450 --> 01:01:43.211 and I'm not aware of any travel plans at this time. 01:01:43.211 --> 01:01:45.187 And I don't mean to give you a kind of 01:01:45.187 --> 01:01:47.555 smushy answer like that, but that's just where we stand. 01:01:47.555 --> 01:01:49.333 - Instead of that-- - Smushy. 01:01:49.333 --> 01:01:50.908 It's a very technical term. 01:01:50.908 --> 01:01:53.281 - Instead of that, can you give me a readout 01:01:53.281 --> 01:01:57.448 of the Secretary Tillerson and Minister Klimkin meeting? 01:01:57.911 --> 01:01:58.744 - Sure. 01:02:00.086 --> 01:02:02.586 It was, of course, focused on, 01:02:07.444 --> 01:02:09.851 obviously, domestic issues within Ukraine 01:02:09.851 --> 01:02:14.018 but also our continued concern about compliance with Minsk. 01:02:15.853 --> 01:02:17.672 But it was a good meeting. 01:02:17.672 --> 01:02:19.541 They talked about reform efforts underway 01:02:19.541 --> 01:02:21.874 by the Ukrainian Government. 01:02:23.591 --> 01:02:25.934 And certainly, Secretary Tillerson reiterated 01:02:25.934 --> 01:02:29.017 the U.S. strong commitment to Ukraine 01:02:30.509 --> 01:02:34.259 and our commitment to ensuring that all sides 01:02:35.793 --> 01:02:38.190 fulfill their Minsk commitments, and that includes Russia. 01:02:38.190 --> 01:02:41.606 - So the Ukrainian readout of this meeting 01:02:41.606 --> 01:02:44.750 says that Secretary Tillerson emphasized the U.S. 01:02:44.750 --> 01:02:47.416 would further support Ukraine, and the U.S. sanctions 01:02:47.416 --> 01:02:49.763 against the Russian Federation will stay in force 01:02:49.763 --> 01:02:52.449 until the Minsk agreements are fully implemented, 01:02:52.449 --> 01:02:54.514 the aggression is ceased, 01:02:54.514 --> 01:02:58.097 the Donbass and the Crimea are de-occupied. 01:02:58.675 --> 01:03:01.796 Would you say that that's also accurate? 01:03:01.796 --> 01:03:05.629 - I can say that, indeed, that with respect to 01:03:06.521 --> 01:03:10.688 the sanctions remaining in place until Russia complies, 01:03:11.576 --> 01:03:13.295 both with respect to eastern Ukraine, 01:03:13.295 --> 01:03:15.962 but also with respect to Crimea, 01:03:17.056 --> 01:03:19.223 that that holds true, yes. 01:03:19.327 --> 01:03:20.160 Michele. 01:03:20.591 --> 01:03:23.370 - Yesterday, the White House put out a statement 01:03:23.370 --> 01:03:25.833 about ExxonMobil just an hour or so 01:03:25.833 --> 01:03:28.988 after Tillerson met with President Trump, 01:03:28.988 --> 01:03:32.009 and I'm wondering if that was part of his discussions 01:03:32.009 --> 01:03:34.592 or reason for being over there. 01:03:34.631 --> 01:03:36.099 - Not to my understanding at all. 01:03:36.099 --> 01:03:40.228 I believe it was to talk about foreign policy issues 01:03:40.228 --> 01:03:41.811 and not ExxonMobil. 01:03:43.586 --> 01:03:44.716 I can check, but I assume-- 01:03:44.716 --> 01:03:46.026 - [Woman] Was the Secretary surprised at that? 01:03:46.026 --> 01:03:47.776 Was that coordinated? 01:03:48.082 --> 01:03:49.870 - Again, I'm just not aware 01:03:49.870 --> 01:03:51.784 that he was consulted on that at all. 01:03:51.784 --> 01:03:55.112 - [Man] Can you answer if he has fully divested-- 01:03:55.112 --> 01:03:57.269 - Yeah, I was actually going to speak to that. 01:03:57.269 --> 01:04:01.436 I mean, as he made clear in his testimony to Congress, 01:04:03.510 --> 01:04:06.280 he's committed to federal ethics rules 01:04:06.280 --> 01:04:08.336 and he's continuing to carry out 01:04:08.336 --> 01:04:10.401 and meet the terms of this agreement. 01:04:10.401 --> 01:04:13.804 I think he has until May 2nd, I believe, to fully divest. 01:04:13.804 --> 01:04:15.471 And that's the same. 01:04:17.260 --> 01:04:18.530 Guys, last question. 01:04:18.530 --> 01:04:19.934 This is truly the last question. 01:04:19.934 --> 01:04:20.892 I've been up here for over an hour. 01:04:20.892 --> 01:04:25.059 - [Woman] What are U.S. One China policy included now? 01:04:26.642 --> 01:04:28.514 - (laughs) I'm sorry, what's that again? 01:04:28.514 --> 01:04:32.018 - What are U.S. One China policy including now? 01:04:32.018 --> 01:04:34.825 Why I'm asking is because during Secretary Tillerson's 01:04:34.825 --> 01:04:37.569 nomination hearing, he say, I quote, 01:04:37.569 --> 01:04:39.761 "I think it's important that Taiwan knows 01:04:39.761 --> 01:04:42.265 "we are going to live up to the commitment 01:04:42.265 --> 01:04:45.968 "under the Taiwan Relations Act and the six-issue accord." 01:04:45.968 --> 01:04:47.656 Six-issue accord, normally, we acknowledge 01:04:47.656 --> 01:04:49.344 is like the six assurance. 01:04:49.344 --> 01:04:52.984 I just wondering the, is six assurance play any role 01:04:52.984 --> 01:04:57.151 in U.S. One China policy under Trump administration now? 01:04:58.619 --> 01:05:01.692 - Well, again, I think it is the same One China policy 01:05:01.692 --> 01:05:03.637 that we had in the past, 01:05:03.637 --> 01:05:06.554 and there's no change to our policy 01:05:07.019 --> 01:05:10.019 with respect to cross-strait issues. 01:05:11.170 --> 01:05:14.933 We do encourage the authorities both in Beijing and Taipei 01:05:14.933 --> 01:05:17.710 to engage in constructive dialogue, 01:05:17.710 --> 01:05:19.459 to seek a peaceful resolution of differences 01:05:19.459 --> 01:05:20.603 that are acceptable to the people 01:05:20.603 --> 01:05:23.035 of both sides of the Taiwan Strait. 01:05:23.035 --> 01:05:24.202 So I'll leave it there, thanks, everyone. 01:05:24.202 --> 01:05:25.035 - [Woman] When will we see you again? 01:05:25.035 --> 01:05:26.793 (laughing) 01:05:26.793 --> 01:05:28.629 Can you announce the next briefing? 01:05:28.629 --> 01:05:30.534 - Sure, I think we're going to do tomorrow. 01:05:30.534 --> 01:05:31.976 It's going to be a telephonic briefing, 01:05:31.976 --> 01:05:33.889 and then, tomorrow's on-camera, 01:05:33.889 --> 01:05:36.223 and then Thursday will be by telephone. 01:05:36.223 --> 01:05:37.337 So you'll see me tomorrow. 01:05:37.337 --> 01:05:38.170 Thanks, guys. 01:05:38.170 --> 01:05:39.837 - [Woman] Thank you.