Washington, Sept. 7 (CNA) United States Senator Jim Inhofe (R-OK), co-chair of the Senate’s Taiwan Caucus, was named chairman of the Senate Armed Services Committee on Thursday, to replace John McCain who passed away from brain cancer on Aug. 25.
Inhofe, a military veteran and an experienced committee member, is a staunch supporter of U.S.-Taiwan relations and is highly regarded by many in U.S. politics.
In March, he and Senator John Cornyn (R-TX) penned a joint letter to President Donald Trump, urging the administration to support Taiwan’s procurement of F-35 fighter jets as soon as possible to boost its national defense capabilities.
Inhofe wrote the letter after a visit to Taiwan in February, during which he met with President Tsai Ing-wen (???) to seek more opportunities for cooperation between the two countries.
Following his new appointment Thursday, Inhofe tweeted that he was looking forward to working with the entire committee to ensure that the U.S. military is ready to defend America, as it faces “new and unprecedented threats different from anything we’ve seen before.”
Source: Focus Taiwan News Channel