Sen. Rand Paul (R-KY) is demanding answers from Joel Rayburn, President Donald Trump’s nominee to be Assistant Secretary of State for Near Eastern Affairs, over his former boss’s controversial admission to lying to the president over the number of troops in Syria.
Former Ambassador James Jeffrey, who served as the special envoy to Syria in Trump’s first administration, revealed in a 2020 interview with Defense One that there were “a lot more than” the approximately 200 troops the president initially agreed to leave there in 2019.
“We were always playing shell games to not make clear to our leadership how many troops we had there,” the then-outgoing ambassador said.
Trump selected Jeffrey to serve as an envoy to Syria despite his signing of an infamous 2016 “Never Trump” letter from other members of the U.S. intelligence community that argued he “would be a dangerous President and would put at risk our country’s national security and well-being”:
Most fundamentally, Mr. Trump lacks the character, values, and experience to be President. He weakens U.S. moral authority as the leader of the free world. He appears to lack basic knowledge about and belief in the U.S. Constitution, U.S. laws, and U.S. institutions, including religious tolerance, freedom of the press, and an independent judiciary.
In addition, Mr. Trump has demonstrated repeatedly that he has little understanding of America’s vital national interests, its complex diplomatic challenges, its indispensable alliances, and the democratic values on which U.S. foreign policy must be based. At the same time, he persistently compliments our adversaries and threatens our allies and friends. Unlike previous Presidents who had limited experience in foreign affairs, Mr. Trump has shown no interest in educating himself. He continues to display an alarming ignorance of basic facts of contemporary international politics. Despite his lack of knowledge, Mr. Trump claims that he understands foreign affairs and “knows more about ISIS than the generals do.
Jeffrey defended the controversial letter in the Defense One interview, saying, “I know what I did in 2016, I do not disagree with that.”
“I was following closely the situation with Iran, Iraq, and Syria, and I was appalled that we didn’t have a more coherent policy. This wasn’t a political decision,” he stated, noting that he did give Trump credit for influencing a “stalemate” in the Middle East instead of all-out war.
Jeffrey also called Trump’s December 2018 announcement to withdraw U.S. troops from Syria, a decision that led to the resignation of former Defense Secretary Jim Mattis, “the most controversial thing in my fifty years in government.”
Even with Jeffrey’s repeated jabs at Trump, including a serious lie about the number of American troops stationed in Syria, the president recently picked Rayburn — the former Deputy Assistant Secretary for Levant Affairs and Special Envoy for Syria under Jeffrey himself.
Rand called out Rayburn during a Thursday Senate Foreign Relations Committee confirmation and did not appear to believe him when he denied that a cover-up took place:
“When President Trump asked that the troops be removed after the defeat of ISIS, James Jeffrey has admitted that ‘we were always playing shell games to not make it clear to our leadership how many troops we had there,’” the Kentucky Republican said. “Were you aware of that at the time?”
Rayburn replied, “Senator, I remember the incident you’re talking about, he gave an interview to the media shortly after he left office, and he made some comments that were inaccurate. They were not correct.”
The foreign affairs official went on to call Jeffrey’s admission a “very unfortunate comment,” adding that his office had “no role in reporting troop numbers to the president.”
Paul continued, “Were you aware of any deception on the part of James Jeffrey or others or complicit in that deception as to how many troops there were in Syria?”
“Absolutely not. Senator, absolutely not,” Rayburn asserted. “Never participated in any such thing. Never would have participated in any such thing. I never saw it.”
The senator continued to ask Rayburn if he had ever seen or participated in conversations on the subject, to which the former official answered in the negative.
Paul did not let up, likening Jeffrey’s alleged actions “tantamount to treason” and bringing up the infamous 2016 letter:
It bothers me, you know, quite a bit. I think what James Jeffrey did is, you know, tantamount to treason… I think this wasn’t the first time he had displayed his colors. He signed a statement saying that Donald Trump was not qualified to be president. ‘Would be dangerous, lacks character, values, and experience, continues to display an alarming ignorance of international politics and lacks the temperament to be president.’ It’s amazing that he was still there, but also amazing that you still consider him to be a close colleague, so that does disturb me. And when he made these comments in ’20, did you make any public comments disavowing what he said, or saying that it was untrue — his comments regarding hiding troop levels from Donald Trump?
Rayburn again claimed that any cover-up of how many troops were in Syria “didn’t happen,” and that his former boss “unfortunately mischaracterized in a media interview.”
Paul was not convinced, however, writing on X that Rayburn’s “evasiveness raises serious concerns.”
“We need leaders that prioritize transparency and America First — not more endless wars,” the senator added.
