WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Representatives Adam Smith (D-Wash.), Ranking Member of the House Armed Services Committee, and Chrissy Houlahan (D-Penn.), Ranking Member of the Military Personnel Subcommittee, released the following joint statement in response to Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth’s gathering of top U.S. military leaders to Quantico.   “Secretary Hegseth summoning hundreds of general officers and flag officers from around the world at significant cost and on the eve of a Republican-led government shutdown to promote a regressive culture war is a staggering and unacceptable waste of time, money, and resources.    “Changes in Department of Defense processes and policies have been communicated clearly and effectively by previous administrations, both Republican and Democratic, without resorting to blatantly partisan pep rallies. Today’s spectacle, led by Secretary Hegseth, wasn’t just a distraction from the serious business of ensuring our national security, it undermines the core American principle of an apolitical U.S. military. Our service members swear an oath to protect and defend the U.S. Constitution and to follow the legal orders of the President, not to any political ideology.    “To have the President of the United States also engage in this travesty and make such vitriolic political attacks in a rambling and incoherent way, while at the same time issuing serious threats to deploy troops across America against Americans, was beyond the pale.    “Our service members, our country, and the world is watching. What we saw today is an embarrassment that threatens to weaken our position in the face of threats and challenges from around the globe and further undermine confidence here at home.”

PHNOM PENH – U.S. Representative Adam Smith (D-Wash.), Ranking Member of the House Armed Services Committee, led a bipartisan congressional delegation to the Kingdom of Cambodia that included U.S. Representatives Michael Baumgartner (R-Wash.) and Chrissy Houlahan (D-Penn.). The delegation issued the following statement at the conclusion of the visit:   “Our delegation’s visit to the Kingdom of Cambodia comes at an important time in our bilateral relationship. In our meetings, we discussed Cambodia’s economic development, the status of bilateral negotiations related to reciprocal tariffs, future opportunities for U.S. businesses, and U.S. security cooperation.    “Cambodia’s efforts to diversify its economy and play a stronger role in the global supply chain, which also benefits the United States, will depend on maintaining peace and stability in the region. To that end, it is our hope that Cambodia and Thailand will continue to uphold the ceasefire and pursue a peaceful and enduring resolution to the dispute at their borders.    “Finally, we raised our concerns with the prevalence of scam centers based in Cambodia that target Americans. Unfortunately, we all have constituents who have fallen victim to these scam centers as Americans have been bilked out of billions of dollars. While we appreciate the Cambodian government’s efforts and cooperation with the United States to date, we expressed our desire to see Cambodia take more action to put these scam centers out of business.    “We are grateful for the discussions we had with senior government officials. We hope that our visit to Cambodia will help further strengthen the bilateral relationship as our two countries work together on important bilateral, regional, and global issues.”    Background: During their two days in the Kingdom of Cambodia, the delegation visited Phnom Penh and Kampong Chhnang. The delegation participated in briefings at the U.S. Embassy led by Chargé d’Affaires, ad interim Bridgette Walker. The delegation held bilateral meetings with Hun Manet, the Prime Minister of the Kingdom of Cambodia, Aun Pornmoniroth, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Economy and Finance, General Tea Seiha, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of National Defense, Cham Nimul, Minister of Commerce, and Eat Sophea, Foreign Policy Advisor to the Prime Minister and Ministry of Foreign Affairs Permanent Secretary. The delegation also met with representatives of U.S. companies doing business in Cambodia and received a briefing from the Cambodian Mine Action Center training facility.

SHANGHAI – U.S. Representative Adam Smith (D-Wash.), Ranking Member of the House Armed Services Committee, led a bipartisan congressional delegation to the People’s Republic of China that included U.S. Representatives Michael Baumgartner (R-Wash.), Ro Khanna (D-Calif.), and Chrissy Houlahan (D-Penn.). The delegation issued the following statement at the conclusion of the visit:

WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Representative Adam Smith (D-Wash.), Ranking Member of the House Armed Services Committee, released the following statement in response to the improper release of U.S. Representative and House Armed Services Committee Member Mikie Sherill’s personal information.   “I am alarmed and outraged by the improper release of Rep. Sherrill’s personal information. The Department of Defense (DoD) and the National Archives and Records Administration (NARA) have an obligation to take appropriate action to protect the privacy of current and former service members. It is imperative that both the DoD and NARA follow the robust safeguards in place to protect against the unauthorized release of personal information, which clearly did not happen in this case. I call on the DoD and NARA to conduct a thorough investigation into this matter and ensure the individuals responsible for this blatant violation of privacy are held accountable.”