The nominee for U.S. Secretary of State under President-elect Donald Trump faced questions from lawmakers during his confirmation hearing in the U.S. Senate on Wednesday.
As reported by VOA, Republican Marco Rubio told his Senate colleagues that if confirmed, he would place the national interest of the United States first.
Senator Marco Rubio pledged to put America first as the chief diplomat in President-elect Donald Trump’s cabinet.
“Placing our core national interest above everything else is not isolationism. It is reaching the conclusion that a foreign policy focused on our national interest is not an outdated relic,” Senator Rubio said.
Senator Rubio was warmly welcomed by both sides of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, where he has served for the past 14 years.
“President-elect Trump and Senator Rubio understand clearly that where there is freedom and democracy, America has strong allies and trusted trade partners. Marco has a distinguished record of holding communist regimes accountable in China, Cuba, Venezuela, and Nicaragua for their oppression and tyranny. He will work with President Trump to hold communist regimes accountable for their crimes,” said Senator Rick Scott.
Trump has stated that he will end the war in Ukraine once he takes office. Democratic senators asked Mr. Rubio to explain what the deal would look like.
“What do you think is important for us to do in order to have the strongest possible negotiating position if Ukraine and Russia sit down at the negotiating table?” asked Democratic Senator Jeanne Shaheen.
“I think the official position of the United States should be that this war must come to an end. The question is, what role can we play? First, this needs to be made very clear. My differences with the Biden administration throughout this process have been that they never clearly defined what the final outcome of the conflict would be,” Rubio said.
He also spoke about the opportunities created by the ceasefire in Gaza.
“In the Middle East, there are now tangible opportunities that didn’t exist 90 days ago, whether those that occurred in Lebanon or Syria, or what we hope will happen with the ceasefire and the release of hostages after the horrific kidnappings and unjustifiable actions of Hamas. Whether it is one of these three things or a combination of all of them, there are now factors in motion in the Middle East that I think we can build on, and that could open the door to extraordinary and historic opportunities.”
Trump’s nominee to lead U.S. foreign policy said that the Chinese Communist Party posed the greatest threat to the United States.
“They have elements that the Soviet Union never had. They are competitors in technology, industry, economy, geopolitics, science, and currently in every field. It is an extraordinary challenge that I believe will define the 21st century.”
