Welcome to Hard Talk on the BBC World Service with me, Stephen Sacker.

My guest today is one of the most influential Republican Party voices on foreign affairs in the US Congress.

Michael McCall has represented Texas's 10th district for almost two decades.

He is the top-ranking Republican on the House Foreign Affairs Committee, and he leads the party's

China Strategy Group too. Right now, of course, it is the Ukraine crisis, which is dominating geopolitics.

The Biden administration continues to suggest that a major Russian military offensive in Ukraine

could come at any time. Washington is sending more

weapons to Kiev and is boosting troop numbers in neighboring NATO member states. The hope is that

those moves, coupled with loud declarations about the scale of crippling economic sanctions

that Russia would face, should an invasion go ahead, will persuade Putin to step

back from the brink. But Putin is adept at exploiting weakness in adversaries. The Biden administration

has poor approval rating is at home, and the Democrats are painfully aware that they could

lose both houses of Congress in midterm elections later this year.

The Republicans see an opportunity to portray the president as weak, not just on Russia, but a range of geopolitical

challenges. But is the party of Donald Trump really in any position to lecture the current president on the dangers of foreign

policy failure.

Well, Congressman Michael McCall joins me now on the line from Washington.

Welcome to Hard Talk.

Oh, Stephen, thanks for having me.

It's a pleasure, Congressman.

Now, you get classified intelligence briefings on a very regular

basis from the White House. Give me your reading of the current situation in Ukraine.

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