Sen. James Lankford, R-Okla., looks forward to the Senate Intelligence Committee hearing with five intelligence heads from the FBI (Director Chris Wray), National Security Agency (Gen. Paul Nakasone), Office of the Director of National Intelligence (Avril Haines), Defense Intelligence Agency (Lt. Gen. Scott Berrier), and CIA (Director William Burns).
But this week's Senate hearing, addressing worldwide threats to U.S. national security, could take on a greater significance given the Russia-Ukraine war and the continued unrest between China and Taiwan.
And do not forget about Iran, which remains "focused on destabilizing the region" in the Middle East, Lankford told Newsmax's "Spicer & Co." co-hosts Sean Spicer and Lyndsay Keith.
"A lot of folks," according to Lankford, "are ignoring the very-real threat" from Iran.
The tangible worries involve Iran threatening other countries with nuclear weapons, sending weapons-defense systems to Russia, forecasting assassinations of world leaders, and carrying out acts of terrorism, Lankford added.
Lankford said the five intelligence heads have listed "climate change" as first-tier threats throughout the globe, along with China, Russia, Iran, and North Korea.
"I want to be able to look at [the priorities list] and say, 'OK, what's the spending from [the Biden] administration on climate-change issues, versus all the other issues,'" Lankford said.
The Oklahoma Republican wants to see how the intelligence heads' priorities really stack up, in terms of spending commitments for handling high-level threats.
The Chinese-controlled TikTok also remains a credible threat to U.S. national security, Lankford said, even if some people view the social app as harmless.
"This is not about censorship. It's about dealing with a foreign adversary that is directly using information and taking data from American citizens," said Lankford, while adding the Chinese are "affecting the algorithm of what the American people see and try to influence Americans."
Through TikTok, the Chinese government is also harvesting data from people's smartphones, Lankford warned.
"This is a Chinese entity that's actively spying on America," he concluded.
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