Joining Bipartisan Delegation to Reaffirm Our Nation’s Commitment to Key National Security Allies

As part of my role as a member of the Senate’s Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee, last week, I joined a bipartisan delegation of Senators in meetings in the United Kingdom, Israel, Jordan, and Greece focused on the impacts of U.S. foreign aid to Jordan and Israel and the ability of U.S. support to achieve stability in the Middle East.

Our delegation visited the U.S. Embassy in London to meet with U.S. Ambassador to the U.K. Woody Johnson. In London, we also met with British Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson and National Security Adviser Mark Sedwill.

In the face of this Administration’s sometimes erratic foreign policy, we worked to reaffirm America’s bipartisan commitment to these key national security allies.

I spoke at a press conference in Jerusalem with (from left to right) Senators Jeff Flake (R-AZ), Lindsey Graham (R-SC), Bill Cassidy (R-LA) and Catherine Cortez Masto (D-NV).

Over the course of the week, we met with heads of state and government officials, including British Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson, British National Security Advisor Mark Sedwill, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, Israeli Defense Minister Avigdor Lieberman, King Abdullah II bin Al-Hussein and Queen Rania Al-Abdullah of Jordan, and Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras.

At Golan Heights, overlooking Israel’s border with Syria and Lebanon.

I also received a briefing from one of our Visa Security teams, which are constructed of groups of counter-terrorism professionals who aid the State Department’s consular offices in granting U.S. visas and play an important role in the fight against ISIS. I also raised the importance of Visa Security teams in the fight against terror during a Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee hearing.

Jordan, Israel, and the United Kingdom are critical allies when it comes to national security and counter-terrorism issues, and Greece has also been an important ally of the United States. Through our meetings with Heads of State of senior officials, we reaffirmed the bipartisan commitment the United States has to these allies and emphasized the importance of strengthening the ties between our nations to help keep Americans safe, secure, and free.