Rep. Michael McCaul, R-Texas, told Newsmax on Wednesday that it is a secret in Washington, D.C., that the United States has significant problems meeting defense production standards.
On "Rob Schmitt Tonight," the House Foreign Affairs Committee's top-ranked Republican outlined the domestic issues resulting from diminishing U.S. military capabilities and problems defending allies abroad.
"I think it's a sort of secret in Washington our defense industrial base is broken," McCaul stated. "The system is broken. We can't manufacture weapons fast enough."
McCaul said the U.S. has a three-year backlog in providing weapons to Taiwan for its defense against mainland China. In addition, high mobility artillery rocket systems [HIMARS] sent to Ukraine have a two-year backlog.
"A lot of it has to do with production," he said. "They don't have the parts to, say, go to SpaceX or go to make F-35s or to make our advanced weapon systems. It's a real problem right now.
"The military sale issue is probably the biggest threat to our national security right now," the congressman added.
Speaking on the potential of Chinese aggression, McCaul said he believed Taiwan would not be able to defend itself against Beijing alone, saying, "If the American people thought it was fit to do so, the United States would have to get involved.
"The first wave of this conflict, if it happens, would be a major cyberattack on the United States and Taiwan," the congressman said. "And they would do it primarily to hit the will of the American people."
McCaul also said the U.S. ambassador to China believes "the better Ukraine does against Russia — that will provide the biggest deterrence against China invading Taiwan."
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