Ahead of Blinken’s China Visit, Sullivan Tells Biden Administration to Push Back on CCP Aggression
WASHINGTON—In an interview yesterday on Fox News Channel, U.S. Senator Dan Sullivan (R-Alaska), a member of the Senate Armed Services Committee (SASC), said the United States should not be “begging for some kind of communication” with the Chinese Communist Party (CCP), and should instead “push back” when China berates the American government, as a senior Chinese Communist Party official did yesterday.
“The foreign minister, yesterday, of China, already showed what he was going to do, which is berate Blinken on the state of the relationship, which is very rocky, and say it's our fault. Well, it's not our fault,” Senator Sullivan said. “The cause of the rocky relationship is China and the one thing Tony Blinken needs to do is push back on that narrative when he hears it from the Chinese for the world to hear.”
Senator Sullivan also discussed legislation he recently introduced in the Senate to prevent the Biden administration from banning gas stoves.
“The federal government should not be telling Americans how to cook their dinner,” Senator Sullivan said. “The Department of Energy has a proposed rule. Places like New York and Berkeley in California are banning gas stoves, if you can believe it. So my legislation, the Save Our Gas Stoves Act, is something that [Senator] Schumer should bring up. It's bipartisan.”
Representative Debbie Lesko’s (R-Ariz.) companion legislation passed the House with bipartisan support this week.
BRIAN KILMEADE: GOP Senator Dan Sullivan sits on the Senate Armed Services Committee. Senator, I know it is in our best interest to talk to China, but should we be talking under these circumstances? A day after they scolded us for our myriad of actions.
SENATOR SULLIVAN: Brian, good morning. And it's a great point, by the way. First, I think prayers from all Americans for those American soldiers in Syria. I just learned about that. Reminds us just how dangerous serving in the military is all over the world. But you're making a great point. And your point is important in a couple of areas. You know, even adversaries can talk, right? Especially crisis communications. We did that during the Reagan administration during the Soviet Union. But you shouldn't have to beg for it.
And what we've been seeing over the last several months is literally this administration begging for some kind of communication with the Chinese Communist Party officials. And your piece set it up well: The foreign minister, yesterday, of China, already showed what he was going to do which is berate Blinken on the state of the relationship which is very rocky and say it's our fault—well, it's not our fault.
Look at what the Chinese Communist Party has done in the last couple of years: They unleashed this virus on the world, including on us and our economy; crushed the people of Hong Kong, which used to be a bastion of liberty; literal economic warfare against our allies like South Korea and Australia; a border war with India; and now all these aggressive actions in the South China Sea. The cause of the rocky relationship is China and the one thing Tony Blinken needs to do is push back on that narrative when he hears it from the Chinese for the world to hear.
STEVE DOOCY: Senator, as we switch gears a little bit, one of the things we get from China is a lot of cheap stuff, a lot of appliances as well. I know that the administration would like to get us to use less fossil fuels. And so there's been a suggestion, you know what. Let's start with the kitchen. Let's get rid of gas stoves. You're part of a group of senators that's going to make sure that the gas stove in my kitchen lights up for years to come.
SULLIVAN: Look Steve, the federal government should not be telling Americans how to cook their dinner. And, literally, they are looking at doing that. The Department of Energy has a proposed rule. Places like New York and Berkeley and California are banning gas stoves, if you can believe it. So my legislation, Save our Gas Stoves, is something that Schumer should bring up. It's bipartisan. You may have seen in the House, they passed it with a strong bipartisan vote. Schumer needs to bring it up in the Senate. We’ll send that to the president’s desk. I highly doubt they'll do it. And here's the reason why. You know, this administration has this zealot wing that is anti-American energy. And of course, that hurts working families more than anybody and families in rural states like mine. So, you know, it was a good move in the House, a strong vote to put this stop, this reckless kind of far-left policy about banning stoves. We need to bring it up in the Senate. That's what my bill does. I got a lot of co-sponsors, Democrats and Republicans, but we'll see. Don't hold your breath on Schumer doing that.
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