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A Conversation with Ambassador Kay Bailey Hutchison

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September 10, 2020 at 10:00 a.m. EDT
U.S. Ambassador to NATO Kay Bailey Hutchison joined Washington Post columnist Karen Tumulty to discuss new challenges facing that alliance, how President Trump has shifted NATO’s priorities and the future of this organization designed to uphold the values of representative democracies. (Video: Washington Post Live)

She was the first female senator to represent Texas and did so for twenty years. Now the U.S. Ambassador to NATO, Kay Bailey Hutchison, joined Washington Post columnist Karen Tumulty to discuss the emerging challenges facing NATO, President Trump’s frequent criticisms of that alliance and the vital role it still plays in upholding democratic values around the globe.

Click here for a full transcript.

Highlights

Citing the recent poisoning of prominent Russian dissident Alexei Navalny, U.S. Ambassador to NATO Kay Bailey Hutchison said Russia is still not ready to "come into the communities of nations." "We must deter the kinds of acts we see Russia doing, like running over Crimea...we are standing firm as an alliance against this kind of aggression." (Video: Washington Post Live)
U.S. Ambassador to NATO Kay Bailey Hutchison said NATO is calling on Russia to investigate the poisoning of prominent Russian dissident Alexei Navalny, and the alliance is looking into whether it will enforce sanctions against the country. "[W]e're calling on Russia to investigate who could've done this and take the necessary actions, if they're going to be taken seriously... I think we've got to continue to press Russia to stop maligned behavior." (Video: Washington Post Live)
President Trump has threatened to pull out of NATO, calling the alliance a financial drain for the U.S. When asked if she thinks the U.S. pulling out of the alliance is a real possibility, U.S. Ambassador to NATO Kay Bailey Hutchison said she thinks Trump now sees the value of the alliance. "He used some of that language early on when he was saying ‘you’ve got to do more,’ and I think the allies have stepped up, and he's recognizing that...I think that now he does see the value of NATO, the value of allies, so I think that he has turned a corner." (Video: Washington Post Live)

Guest

Ambassador Kay Bailey Hutchison

Ambassador Kay Bailey Hutchison was sworn in as the Permanent Representative of the United States to the North Atlantic Treaty Organization on August 15, 2017. From 1993-2013, she served as a U.S. Senator from Texas and was also elected to a Senate leadership position. Ambassador Hutchison gained extensive international experience and developed a deep understanding of NATO as a Member of the Senate Armed Services Committee. She also served as Chairman of the Military Construction Subcommittee and as a Member of the Defense Subcommittee on the Senate Appropriations Committee. She served two terms as Chairman of the Board of Visitors of the U.S. Military Academy at West Point. Prior to assuming her duties, Ambassador Hutchison was a prominent attorney at Bracewell, LLP, an established international law firm in Dallas, Texas. Ambassador Hutchison also served in the Texas House of Representatives, as the Texas State Treasurer, and as Vice Chairman of the U.S. National Transportation Safety Board. Ambassador Hutchison earned a Bachelor of Arts degree from the University of Texas and a degree of Juris Doctor from the University of Texas School of Law. She calls Dallas home and has two children.

Interviewed by Washington Post columnist Karen Tumulty

Karen Tumulty is a columnist for The Washington Post. In her previous role as a national political correspondent for the newspaper, she received the Toner Prize for Excellence in Political Reporting. She joined The Post in 2010 from Time magazine, where she had held the same title. During her more than 15 years at Time, Tumulty wrote or co-wrote more than three dozen cover stories. She also held positions with Time as congressional correspondent and White House correspondent. Before joining Time in 1994, Tumulty spent 14 years at the Los Angeles Times, where she covered a wide variety of beats. During her time there, she reported on Congress, business, energy and economics from Los Angeles, New York and Washington, D.C. Tumulty is a native of San Antonio, where she began her career at the now-defunct San Antonio Light. Tumulty holds a bachelor of journalism from the University of Texas at Austin and an MBA from Harvard Business School.