“That is a preposterous waste of taxpayer money,” Karoline Leavitt, the White House press secretary, said.

The congresswoman fielded questions about Israel from Senate panel in confirmation hearing to be US ambassador to the United Nations.

President-elect Donald Trump’s defense secretary nominee faced tough questions from Democrats in the more than four-hour confirmation hearing.

“US citizens have a right to be heard and to challenge the government before the government takes action against them.”

“Those responsible will be hit harder than anybody has been hit in the long and storied history of the US,” the president-elect wrote. “Release the hostages now.”

The president-elect’s picks suggest that his administration will “take the region, the Middle East, the threats confronting Israel seriously.”

“A move to downgrade Israel’s status at the United Nations would be a new low, even for an organization that is as rife with antisemites as the UN,” said Sen. Tom Cotton.

“The letter was not meant as a threat,” said John Kirby, the White House national security communications advisor. “We have to follow the law of the land here.”

“We’re working on a joint statement,” the US president said. “There’s going to be some sanctions imposed on Iran.”

“Out of an abundance of caution, we are sending a small number of additional U.S. military personnel forward to augment our forces that are already in the region,” the Pentagon said.