WASHINGTON – In an appearance on CNN’s “New Day” Wednesday morning, U.S. Sen. Ron Johnson (R-Wis.), chairman of the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee, discussed the recent chemical attack in Syria and the upcoming confirmation hearing for Mike Pompeo to become secretary of state.

Excerpts from Senator Johnson’s appearance are below, and video can be found here.

On Syria

“I wish Russia were no worse than a friendly rival as opposed to an unfriendly adversary. What they are doing around the world, including Syria, is not helpful. So, how do you deal with Russia? You have to deal with strength and resolve. You have to deal with them through our multilateral institutions like the U.N., through NATO with our allies. We have got to do this as the democracies of the world pushing back on their aggression.”

“I think if we're going to strike, we first need to verify exactly what happened so that we're almost certain that we know who is responsible. And then I think we strike without warning. We’ve given them warning — the world has given them warning that this is unacceptable behavior, the use of chemical weapons.”

On Secretary of State Nomination

“Mike Pompeo, I think, is a person of real integrity. He is a brilliant man. Now he’s got the experience not only in Congress, but in the military, but now as CIA director. He knows his stuff. I think he will make an excellent secretary of state.”