You can watch the full interaction HERE

November 15, 2026 - WASHINGTON, DC – During a Senate Foreign Relations Committee hearing, U.S. Senator Jacky Rosen (D-NV), Ranking Member of the Near East Subcommittee, pressed Congressman Wesley Hunt (R-TX-38), Donald Trump’s nominee to be Ambassador to Saudi Arabia, on the importance of the normalization between Saudi Arabia and Israel amid discussions of the nuclear agreement signed between the United States and Saudi Arabia. The Trump Administration recently presented Congress with the proposed civil nuclear cooperation agreement that did not include Saudi Arabia joining the Abraham Accords as a requirement, despite President Trump’s public commitments.

Below is an excerpt from the hearing:

Senator Rosen: “A day after the nuclear deal between the U.S. and Saudi Arabia was signed, President Trump said the deal is, and I’m gonna quote, ‘totally subject to Saudi Arabia joining the Abraham Accords,’ unquote. So Congress has been notified of the agreement, which makes no mention of the Abraham Accords, something I’m the co-chair, co-founder, and one of the chairs of the Abraham Accords [Caucus] here in the United States Senate. You know how this works; we only have a few minutes. Is it your understanding that the Saudis must normalize relations with Israel before the U.S. Will move forward with the nuclear agreement?”

Rep. Hunt: “I think that is actually a part of the negotiation process.” 

Sen. Rosen: “Given Saudi Arabia has publicly ruled out normalization with Israel until a two-state solution is reached, how are you going to approach the issue with the Saudi government?” 

Rep. Hunt: “That is actually part of the negotiation process as well. We have to start at one place until we reach the finish line. I think we already had the Abraham Accords under Trump’s first administration, and it is time to get back to that standard. We are living in a time where there’s a lot of unrest; we are all under attack, and I do believe normalizing relations with Israel has got to be paramount to getting back to where we were in 2016. I’m not so naïve to think that we are going to be the panacea to fix this in [perpetuity]. These factions have been warring for generations, but it is my job for the next two years, if graciously confirmed, it is my job to get as close to that as possible and that is what I’m fighting for.”

Source: Senator Jacky Rosen