Marco Rubio on track toward Senate confirmation as next secretary of stateExBulletin

U.S. President-elect Donald Trump's nominee for secretary of state, Sen. Marco Rubio (R-FL), testifies during his Senate Foreign Relations confirmation hearing at the Dirksen Senate Office Building, January 15. Kevin Dietsch/Getty Images .

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Who: Marco Rubio

Nominated for: Secretary of State

You may know him: in the Senate and as the top Republican on the Senate Intelligence Committee. He was also a candidate in the 2016 GOP presidential primary, where Trump nicknamed him “Little Marco” and Rubio warned voters not to support Trump, saying “friends don't let friends vote for crooks.” .

Learn more about Rubio:

He would be the first Latino to hold this position. He is known for his hawkish positions towards China, Iran, Cuba and Venezuela. His interventionist foreign policy stances put him at odds with Trump, but he now says he will follow the president's lead.

What this role does: The Secretary of State is fourth in line to the President and the highest Cabinet position. The secretary oversees American foreign policy.

What happened at the hearing:

Secretary of State nominee Marco Rubio won bipartisan support among members of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee at a hearing Wednesday and appears poised to be confirmed under Trump's administration. President-elect Donald Trump.

Committee Chairman Jim Risch, R-Idaho, was among a long list of Republicans who welcomed Rubio's nomination, saying he was confident he was the person the country will need in President-elect Donald's role Trump. For his part, Rubio kept some light-hearted exchanges with senators, but took a serious stance while making his case to become the nation's chief diplomat who will carry out Trump's directives.

“The foreign policy of the United States will be set by the president, and my job is to advise and ultimately execute it,” he told the committee. “I think the president has been very clear: His policies are about making America safer, stronger and more prosperous.”

While Republicans praised Rubio, Democrats also shared their support but simultaneously expressed concerns that his interventionist foreign policy views conflict with Trump's positions. Rubio also faced questions about conflicts of interest between the Trump family's business ties to foreign countries.

The panel's top Democrat, New Hampshire Sen. Jeanne Shaheen, echoed others in her party who said Rubio was well qualified for the new role. However, she asked him about the American alliances with NATO and Ukraine. Although Rubio said he would follow Trump's directives, he nevertheless reiterated his defense of NATO and took aim at Russian President Vladimir Putin.

“There is no doubt about it, but this war must end,” Rubio said of the Russian-Ukrainian conflict. “And I think it should be the official policy of the United States to want this to end.”

He added that Putin's goal now is to have maximum leverage, but Ukraine should have it too. He does not exclude that Ukraine will ultimately have to make some concessions.

“It’s going to be very difficult,” he said. “It won’t be easy.”

Rubio also noted that a new ceasefire agreement between Israel and Hamas was among several positive developments in the region. Rubio argued before the committee that Israel faces a series of existential threats and, in some ways, that is still the case today.

“It's not just about the ceasefire today, although that is very important. The good news is that we have potentially seen a dynamic change in the region that offers a historic opportunity,” he said. he declared. “If this is structured and targeted appropriately, it changes the dynamic of what might be possible.”

He also highlighted in his testimony his concerns that countries like China are encroaching on Latin American countries like Panama, Nicaragua and more. His hopes to also focus on the Western Hemisphere in a new way are unprecedented and, many allies say, welcome.

“I think the 21st century will be defined by what happens between the United States and China,” Rubio said.

He added: “What we cannot ignore is that in the current situation we have an unbalanced relationship.”

Rubio also addressed Trump's recent comments on Greenland and the Panama Canal.

Regarding the Panama Canal, Rubio argued that lawmakers on both sides have raised issues of sovereignty and potential threats.

“In times of conflict, China could use its presence at both ends of the canal as a chokehold against the United States,” he said. Trump suggested that the United States take control of the Panama Canal.

He also added that Greenland remains strategically important to the United States and the West because of its geographic location and access to minerals. And as more navigable space opens up in the Arctic, it could significantly reduce key transit times. Trump has expressed interest in the United States purchasing the island, which the Danish prime minister, who oversees the self-governing territory, has made clear is not for sale.

“We must have partners along the Arctic region who will join us in ensuring that the Arctic region is open to free navigation as these passages open, as global trade will be impacted in many ways” ,” Rubio said.

The hearing was not an entirely smooth meeting for Rubio. At first, the event was punctuated by heavy disruptions from several protesters who stood up and shouted in English and Spanish. One called Rubio “little Marco” and another said in Spanish that children were being murdered in Latin American countries. All protesters were quickly forcibly removed from the room by U.S. Capitol Police.

“I receive bilingual demonstrators!” Rubio joked at one point.

Rubio's confirmation process could be one of Trump's easiest choices

A longtime member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, Rubio is well known to the lawmakers questioning him today. The committee scheduled its next meeting to consider Rubio's confirmation on the day Trump is sworn in, creating the possibility that he could be nominated to the post on the first day of the new administration.

If confirmed, the 53-year-old Florida Republican would be the first Latin American to serve as America's top diplomat. Born in Florida, the son of Cuban immigrants was first elected senator in 2010 and has built a reputation as a hawkish spokesperson in China, Iran, Cuba and Venezuela.

Rubio and Trump launched a series of vicious attacks against each other during the 2016 presidential election. That year, Rubio told voters they should not support Trump as a presidential candidate , claiming that “friends don't let friends vote for crooks.” Trump called him “Little Marco.” However, behind the scenes of this election, the two men had become unlikely allies. In 2024, Rubio has become a campaign staple during Trump's re-election campaign. He was in the running to become vice president before former Senator JD Vance was chosen in his place.

Rubio could still face plenty of challenges, including tough questions about why he voted against aid to Ukraine last year, despite his previous positions on Russia's war there.

China has imposed sanctions on Rubio, which could make his travel difficult. Rubio accused China of a “grotesque campaign of genocide” against Uighur Muslims and authored a law banning imports from the Xinjiang region. This human rights advocacy put him at odds with Trump ally Elon Musk, who opened a Tesla dealership in Xinjiang shortly after the Rubio Uighur Forced Labor Prevention Act was signed into law in 2021.

Rubio also faced death threats after speaking out against the Venezuelan regime in 2017.

The outgoing Biden administration has made it a priority to build alliances in Asia to counter the rise of China. At the State Department, Secretary of State Antony Blinken created “China House,” an office that draws on U.S. government experts to focus on China. This may be a position Rubio will want to keep.

The secretary of state oversees U.S. foreign policy, but Trump has already reduced some of the work of America's top diplomat by bringing in numerous special envoys for Ukraine, Gaza and Lebanon. He also named a longtime foreign policy adviser, Richard Grenell, who was in the running for secretary of state, as envoy for “special missions.” “Ric will work in some of the hottest places on earth, including Venezuela and North Korea,” Trump said in a post on his social media platform Truth Social, announcing his nomination.

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