U.S. Senator Katie Britt Highlights National Security Priorities in Senate Banking Committee Nominations Hearing

WASHINGTON, D.C. — U.S. Senator Katie Britt (R-Ala.) today participated in a Senate Banking Committee nominations hearing where she questioned two nominees to be assistant secretaries for the Department of Treasury: Mr. Jonathan Burke and Mr. Christopher Pilkerton.

Senator Britt directed her opening remarks to Dr. Stephen Miran, President Trump’s nominee to serve on the Federal Reserve Board of Governors, saying, “I appreciate your conversation with me yesterday, your commitment to Fed independence and just taking so much time talking through [my] questions with me. I look forward to supporting your nomination.”

The Senator met with Mr. Miran yesterday ahead of his hearing. “Stephen’s extensive background in economic policy and time as CEA Chair prove he is well-qualified to serve on the Federal Reserve Board,” she stated.

In her first question, she highlighted counterterrorism and illicit financing, saying, “When you look at what happened with Iran (under the Biden Administration), (and) us not using every tool in our toolbox to squeeze them dry financially, what happened was billions of dollars … moving into that oil regime. We now have an administration that is taking this seriously, understanding that Iran is the largest state sponsor of terrorists, and every single dollar that they have, they use to advance that goal.”

She then asked Mr. Burke to address the importance of sanctions enforcement against Iran as part of President Trump’s maximum pressure campaign. 

Mr. Burke agreed with the effectiveness of the sanctions against Iran, noting, “It’s a multifaceted approach. It’s not just about imposing new sanctions on new targets, but it’s actually complemented by extensive diplomatic engagement with partners and allies around the world, and also the private sector to identify the risks associated with exposure to Iran, so they can take action as well to curtail that Iranian activity.”

Mr. Burke went on to discuss Treasury Secretary Bessent’s announcement of new sanctions against Iran earlier this week, and how he would support these efforts if confirmed.

Senator Britt then went on to discuss secondary sanctions enforcement to discourage countries from doing business with Tehran, asking Mr. Burke, “How can we better utilize the secondary sanctions available to us to use them against these nations that attempt to undermine the United States and aid Iran?”

Mr. Burke responded by discussing the effectiveness of secondary sections and their intentions to change behavior of countries and entities who are credible threats to the United States by disregarding U.S. sanctions to aid the Iranian regime.

In her last question, the Senator asked Mr. Pilkerton about China’s efforts to undermine the United States, specifically citing the Chinese Communist Party’s (CCP) recent purchasing of American farmland around sensitive military sites, saying, “I can assure you that China is not allowing America to buy up land around sensitive military sites there in China.”

She asked Mr. Pilkerton if he would commit to working to combat this effort by the CCP, to which he said, “I will absolutely commit to working with you and this committee on these really important national security matters.”

Senator Britt has led on legislation that would end this practice and recently reintroduced the Not One More Inch of Acre Act, which would prevent any Chinese individual or business from owning American land.

The full line of questioning can be viewed here.

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