WASHINGTON – Congressman Mike Rogers is ready to focus on China, Russia and investing in defense capabilities as chair of the House Armed Services Committee in the 119th Congress.
Rogers, R-Saks, is the first Armed Services Committee chair from Alabama after assuming the role in 2023.
“I’m very honored to have that privilege to be the first chairman from Alabama, but we have big tasks ahead of us,” Rogers told Alabama Daily News.
The committee oversees funding and oversight of the military and U.S. Department of Defense. It is responsible for crafting the National Defense Authorization Act, which provides the budget and policy for the DOD. The FY2025 NDAA included a pay increase for junior enlisted service members, funding for Redstone Arsenal and new resources for child care and housing for military families.
Rogers said the world is dangerous right now and as chairman he will work on efforts to thwart America’s adversaries.
“We’ve seen that with not just the Russian aggression in Ukraine, but what China is doing globally,” Rogers said. “They’re rattling their sabers around Taiwan, but you’re also seeing this new axis of evil that’s been forming, this partnership between Russia, China, North Korea and Iran, and we’ve got to get ready for that.”
Rogers said he expects the new Trump administration will be aggressive along with Congress to take on that axis.
In the committee’s organizational meeting, Rogers said that in the next few weeks, the committee will hold hearings and briefings on threats from adversaries, especially China, and challenges facing the defense industrial base. He said these actions along with hearings with Pentagon leaders will lead them to start working on next year’s NDAA.
Rogers said at the meeting he expects to find savings at the Pentagon, but also hopes to get “defense spending back above 4% of GDP.”
He emphasized the need to invest in new technologies, paying overdue bills and helping service members.
Rogers also told Alabama Daily News that he is supportive of Trump’s interest in buying Greenland for its strategic location, especially as temperatures rise and snow and ice melt, potentially increasing access to valuable minerals.
“I applaud the president for revisiting it,” Rogers said. “We’ve had previous administrations over history have flirted with the idea. He seems more serious. And I like that.”
He said he also pays attention to Greenland because it has a U.S. Space Force base located there.
At the moment, Rogers is the only member of the Alabama delegation on the House Armed Services Committee for the 119th Congress. Sen. Tommy Tuberville, R-Ala, is a member of the Senate Armed Services Committee.