Florida Senator Marco Rubio appeared in a Senate confirmation hearing Wednesday for U.S. secretary of state, where he said that American voters expressed a clear preference on U.S. foreign policy when they chose Donald Trump to return to the White House.
"They want a strong America that is engaged in the world but guided by a clear objective to promote peace abroad, and security and prosperity at home," he stated.
The 53-year-old Republican spoke about how under his leadership, the United States would confront a wide range of foreign policy challenges at a time when Republicans are focused on curtailing U.S. government spending.
Rubio said every dollar the U.S. spends and every policy it pursues will be assessed on whether it makes America safer, stronger and/or more prosperous.
"Prudence in the conduct of foreign policy is not an abandonment of our values. It is the common sense understanding that while we remain the wealthiest and the most powerful nation on the Earth, our wealth has never been unlimited, and placing our core national interest above all else is not isolationism," Rubio affirmed.
Path forward for Gaza
The hearing included brief interruptions by hecklers, which Rubio brushed off. Almost two hours into his testimony, news broke that Israel and Hamas had accepted a truce proposal, brokered by the U.S., Qatar and Egypt.
Rubio, who supports the deal, expressed full support for Israel’s right to defend itself and acknowledged the humanitarian toll of the war launched after the Hamas terror attack on Oct. 7, 2023.
He also pointed out that there are opportunities available now in the Middle East that did not exist 90 days ago.
"Whether it's what's happened in Lebanon, whether it's what's happened in Syria, whether it's what hopefully will happen with this ceasefire and the release of hostages after horrifying detention and unjustifiable actions by Hamas, whether it's any of these things, are all in combination, there are now factors at play in the Middle East that I think we can build upon and may open the door to extraordinary and historic opportunities," he said.
Ukraine-Russia war
Democratic Senator Jeanne Shaheen was among the legislators who questioned Rubio about his planned approach to the Ukraine-Russia war.
"What you think is important for us to do in order to ensure that there is the strongest possible negotiating position if Ukraine and Russia do get to the negotiating table?" Shaheen asked.
Rubio said, "I think it should be the official position of the United States that this war should be brought to an end."
But he cautioned it will require bold diplomacy. "My hope is that it could begin with some ceasefire. It is important for everyone to be realistic. There will have to be concessions made by the Russian Federation, but also by the Ukrainians, and the United States lends itself there."
China’s ambitions
Republican Senator Pete Ricketts asked Rubio how he sees the threat from Beijing.
"Since the election in November. So, this is over the last two months, the PRC has hacked our Treasury Department, including CFIUS, what has been described as the worst telecom hack in U.S. history, sabotaged important undersea communication cables in Asia and Europe, deployed ships to the South China Sea to harass our allies," Rickett said. "It's time for us to go on the offensive and abandon illusions about what kind of adversary we're faced [with]."
Rubio agreed and described the Communist Party of China as "the most potent and dangerous near peer adversary this nation has ever confronted." He further noted, "They have elements that the Soviet Union never possessed. They are a technological adversary and competitor, an industrial competitor, an economic competitor, a geopolitical competitor, a scientific competitor."
Much of what the United States needs to do to confront China is not abroad but at home, Rubio said.
"We have to rebuild our domestic industrial capacity, and we have to make sure that the United States is not reliant on any single other nation, for any of our critical supply chains," he said.
US-Mexico cooperation
Republican Senator Steve Daines asked Rubio what he envisions for the U.S. relationship with Mexico.
"Look, Mexico's economy, in many ways, is a very vibrant one, and has made tremendous advances and continues to be a very strong regional power," Rubio replied.
He also pointed out three areas of friction: "The first is on trade and violations of trade agreements." The second is the security situation at the border, he continued: "I think there's great interest and should be on the part of the Mexicans to bring this migratory problem at the border under control."
The violence and flow of illegal drugs such as Fentanyl trafficked by criminal transnational groups, also needs to be addressed, Rubio warned.
"It is in their interest, as well as ours, that we work cooperatively to take these groups apart and not allow them to continue the reign of terror, not just in the border region of Mexico, but spilling over into the United States," he said.
Rubio is the son of Cuban immigrants and has served in the U.S. Senate since 2011. With mostly nods from Republican and Democratic legislators during Tuesday’s confirmation hearing, Rubio could become the first secretary of state of Latino origin, as soon as Jan. 20.