U.S. Senator John Curtis (R-UT) appeared on CNN’s The Lead with Jake Tapper to discuss recent developments regarding U.S. military support for Ukraine and the Senate Foreign Relations Committee’s confirmation hearing for Michael Waltz as U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations.
During the interview, Tapper questioned Curtis about President Trump’s decision to resume weapons shipments to Ukraine after a pause by Secretary of Defense Hegseth. Curtis stated, “Well, I think any time there’s a question like this, the American people and Congress want answers. I haven’t had a satisfactory answer. I think we’re all pleased. Well, let me just say, the people I associate with are pleased that the weapons are going over there. And I think even more important, it’s tied to a specific strategy. Let’s get a ceasefire in 50 days. And I think one of the mistakes we’ve made in Ukraine in the past is we haven’t been strategic about what we’re sending over and what we’re actually trying to achieve.”
When asked if Hegseth should testify before Congress regarding the pause in shipments, Curtis responded, “Oh, absolutely. Any time there’s a lack of information, like I said, it’s not just Congress, I think the American people long for that and want answers. Of course.”
Tapper also brought up reports from the Financial Times that President Trump discussed Ukraine’s potential use of long-range U.S. weapons against major Russian cities such as Moscow or Saint Petersburg. In response to whether striking Moscow should be off limits, Curtis said: “Well, if you go back to the beginning of this war and our involvement, I think one of the mistakes we’ve made is taking things off the table. All of us would like to fight an enemy that has restrictions, particularly dramatic restrictions. You remember a couple of years ago, we wouldn’t let any offensive weapons go over there. Well, how is Ukraine going to really fight that war? So it’s hard for me to say what we should do or what we shouldn’t do, but simply from a strategic advantage, we should be talking about what we’re not going to allow them to do publicly.”
The conversation then shifted toward Mike Waltz’s nomination as ambassador and questions surrounding his use of Signal messaging during sensitive government discussions—a topic highlighted by an incident where journalist Jeff Goldberg was accidentally added to a chat containing sensitive information.
Curtis commented on transparency issues: “So, I didn’t ask him that specific question [about lessons learned], but the topic obviously came up. I think it’s important to me, and I’ll come back to this—it’s important to Congress and the American people that when things like this happen, that we have answers. The more transparency, the better. I think there’s a lot of legitimate questions about just in government in whole—not just this administration—but overall—is this something that has been going on.”
In follow-up questioning about whether using Signal was appropriate for sharing sensitive military information—and whether disciplinary action was taken—Waltz stated during his confirmation hearing: “Recommends end-to-end encryption messaging on both government and personal devices.” When pressed further by Senator Coons about whether any disciplinary action occurred following White House investigation into sharing details about an upcoming airstrike via Signal chat involving senior officials including Vice President Pete Hegseth and others—Waltz replied: “No. The use of Signal was—and not only authorized—it’s still authorized and highly recommended.”
Curtis said he awaits results from an ongoing Department of Defense investigation into these communications: “Well—as I understand it—there is a DoD investigation—and that’s what will satisfy me when I get answers to that—I don’t have experience to know when that line was crossed—obviously—there was a lot of information shared there—that didn’t sound appropriate—and I would like to know—that—as well as—I think my colleagues—and—the American people would like—to know—that—as well.”
Curtis also defended Waltz personally while emphasizing patience until investigations conclude: “So—I served with Mike Waltz in—the House—for—a number—of years—I think—I know him well—and—think—I know his character well—and—I don’t—to me—this is not—a character issue—I think there’s an issue—of—not throwing my colleagues under—the bus—Also,—an issue—of,—look,—as long as this DoD investigation—is going on,—let’s wait—and let’s get—to—the end—of—that—and see what—we have.”
Additional Utah offices are expected soon according to Senator Curtis’ office.
