Rep. Brian Mast Pledges ‘America First’ Agenda as Foreign Affairs Committee Chair: ‘Never Be Played for Suckers Again’

The United States “will never be played for suckers again” on the global stage, vowed Florida Republican Rep. Brian Mast, who outlined his priorities for leading the House Foreign Affairs Committee, pledging to enforce an “America First” agenda and provide a “colonoscopy” of State Department activities.

In a video statement shared on social media Sunday, Rep. Brian Mast (R-FL) announced his ambitious plans as the newly selected chairman of the House Foreign Affairs Committee, signaling a sharp pivot toward an “America First” foreign policy. 

“I always love fighting for America,” he begins, noting that his fight is now “going to take a little bit of a different angle” after having been selected to serve as the Chairman of the House Foreign Affairs Committee. 

Mast, a decorated U.S. Army veteran who lost both legs during his military service in Afghanistan, declared that his tenure would focus on ensuring every diplomatic action and taxpayer dollar serves American interests.

“Every diplomat and every dollar that we authorize will be to put America first,” he stated emphatically. “If it does not meet that bar, we will not be authorizing it.”

Key to this agenda, he explained, will be asking critical questions about the U.S.’s relationships with foreign nations, including: “What does America need from each country or region that we are involved in? What do … they want from the United States? And … does what we offer … get us what we need?” 

These questions, he argued, will form the foundation of a revamped approach to U.S. diplomacy, which he suggested has too often left America “being played for suckers.”

Mast also pledged to conduct a “granular” review of State Department programs, promising to eliminate wasteful spending and controversial initiatives. 

“We are going to give the State Department a colonoscopy,” he asserted.

He specifically called out funding for cultural programs abroad, such as staging drag shows and promoting atheism, as examples of “unacceptable misuse” of taxpayer dollars:

We are going to make sure that our State Department is not building stages for drag shows in other countries and then calling that “infrastructure.” We are gonna make sure that our State Department is not saying “well, we’re looking to do international religious freedom” and going out there and spending half $1 million of your money on expanding atheism in Nepal and other countries. That will be the stuff that we will be rooting out of the State Department and so much more.

Following his selection to chair the House Foreign Affairs Committee last week, Mast expressed feeling “grateful and humbled by the trust my peers within the Republican Conference have placed in me by electing me…” 

“Under my leadership, our committee will have a clear mission statement: Every dollar and every diplomat will put America First,” he added. “I look forward to working with President Donald Trump, National Security Advisor Mike Waltz, future Secretary of State Marco Rubio, Chairman Mario Diaz-Balart, and Speaker Mike Johnson to repair our broken foreign policy through a comprehensive State Department reauthorization.”

Mast’s selection as the chairman of the House Foreign Affairs Committee underscores the Republican Party’s broader focus on reshaping foreign policy under their leadership.

Joshua Klein is a reporter for Breitbart News. Email him at jklein@breitbart.com. Follow him on Twitter @JoshuaKlein.