Foreign Policy & National Security

Senator Romney joined a group of his Republican colleagues in sending a letter to Senate leadership demanding that the national security supplemental bill include “an immediate and permanent prohibition” of U.S. aid to the UNRWA. The letter follows recent allegations that 12 UNRWA staff were directly involved in the Hamas terrorist attacks on Israel on October 7, 2023, and reporting by the Wall Street Journal that around 10% of UNRWA staff in Gaza have ties to Islamist militant groups.

Senator Romney, Ranking Member of the Senate Homeland Security & Governmental Affairs (HSGAC) Emerging Threats and Spending Oversight Subcommittee, joined HSGAC Chairman Peters (D-MI), Senator Hagerty (R-TN), and U.S. Representatives Gallagher (R-WI) and Krishnamoorthi (D-IL), in introducing bipartisan, bicameral legislation to help prevent foreign adversaries from stealing sensitive American genetic data and personal health information.

Senators Romney and Hassan (D-NH) sent a letter to the Government Accountability Office requesting an assessment of the Department of Commerce’s export controls on advanced semiconductors, semiconductor manufacturing equipment, and related technologies from China and other countries. Strong export controls protect national security and will restrict adversaries, like China, from using advanced U.S. technology to bolster their artificial intelligence capabilities.

The Senate unanimously passed a bipartisan resolution cosponsored by Senator Romney, which was led by Senators Sullivan (R-AK) and Kaine (D-VA), commending Taiwan for its commitment to democratic elections and institutions, despite ongoing threats from the Chinese Communist Party. This resolution comes prior to Taiwan’s upcoming presidential and legislative elections set to occur on Saturday, January 13.

Congress has passed the bipartisan and bicameral conference report for the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2024 (NDAA), annual legislation that authorizes funding levels and provides authorities for the U.S. military and other critical defense priorities, ensuring America’s forces have the training, equipment, and resources they need to carry out their missions.

Senator Romney joined NBC’s Meet the Press with Kristen Welker to discuss negotiations on the Senate’s supplemental aid package, which he argued must include both border security and continued aid for Ukraine and Israel.

At a Foreign Relations Committee nominations hearing today, the nominee to serve as Deputy Secretary of State committed to personally delivering a comprehensive China strategy to Senator Romney—legislation he secured into law as a part of the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) for Fiscal Year 2022.

Ahead of President Biden’s meeting with Xi Jinping during the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation Summit today, Senator Romney urged the President to implement his legislation to develop a grand strategy to counter China, which was signed into law as a part of the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) for Fiscal Year 2022.