Pro-Israel hawk Rubio to become Trump's top diplomat, vows 'America First' Donald Trump News
U.S. Senator Marco Rubio pledged to advance President-elect Donald Trump's “America First” foreign policy during his Senate confirmation hearing as the next U.S. secretary of state.
Speaking before the Senate Foreign Relations Committee on Wednesday, Rubio said that under Trump, the State Department's “first priority … will be America.”
“Under President Trump, hard-working American taxpayers' money will always be spent wisely and our power will be used prudently and prioritized over what is best for America and Americans,” he said. “
“It has never been more important and necessary for our country to put the interests of the United States and Americans above all else.”
The hearing, which was repeatedly interrupted by protesters, comes as lawmakers in Washington, D.C., are questioning a series of Trump's Cabinet picks just days before Trump is inaugurated next week.
In the first hearing of its kind on Tuesday, U.S. lawmakers grilled former Fox News host Pete Hegseth, Trump's nominee for Pentagon leadership, on a range of controversial issues, including sexual assault allegations he denies .
Rubio is expected to have an easier time getting confirmed by the full Senate after committee hearings, where he received support from top Democratic Sen. Jeanne Shaheen.
“I believe you are capable and well qualified to serve as secretary of state of the United States,” Shaheen said at the start of Wednesday's meeting.
Leading the U.S. Department of State is a tremendous responsibility, and I am honored by the trust President Trump has placed in me. As Secretary of State, I will work every day to implement his foreign policy agenda. Under President Trump’s leadership, we will achieve peace…
— Marco Rubio (@marcorubio) November 13, 2024
Al Jazeera's Mike Hanna reported from Capitol Hill on Wednesday that Rubio's confirmation “will probably be the easiest hearing of any Trump nominee.”
“Certainly, he has all the experience he needs,” Hanna said, though he added that questions have arisen surrounding Rubio's “somewhat hard-line stance on international relations.”
“Rubio himself made this clear in his opening remarks, in which he made clear his belief in what he called an 'America First' agenda,” Hanna reported. “He was once again very cautious in his discussions with Trump. The basic premise of President Trump’s policy is “America First.”
If confirmed, Rubio, who was born in Miami, Florida, to Cuban immigrant parents, would be the first Latino to serve as the nation's top diplomat and lead U.S. foreign policy.
He was first elected to the Senate in 2011. In the years since, the 53-year-old has earned a reputation for bipartisanship on national security issues as a longtime member of the Senate Foreign Affairs and Intelligence Committees.
A staunch supporter of Israel, he is also known for his tough views on U.S. adversaries such as China, Iran, Venezuela and Cuba.
On Wednesday, he said Beijing had “achieved its status as a global superpower through repression, lying, cheating, hacking and stealing.”
Rubio has also expressed strong support for Israel's war in Gaza, telling a peace activist in late 2023 that the Palestinian group Hamas was “100 percent responsible” for the deaths of Palestinians in the enclave.
“I want them to destroy every element of Hamas,” Rubio said in the December 2023 exchange. “These are evil animals who committed horrific crimes and I want you to post this because this That’s my stance.”
Last April, Rubio was one of 15 Republican senators to vote against a major military aid package to help Ukraine fend off a Russian invasion, although he voted in favor of aid to Ukraine in May 2022.
Trump has been critical of Democratic President Joe Biden for continuing to send military aid to Kyiv.
Rubio said Ukraine needs to seek a negotiated solution with Russia rather than focusing on regaining all the territory Moscow has seized over the past decade.
Rubio's relationship with Trump has evolved over the years, with the two becoming rivals during the 2016 campaign for the Republican presidential nomination. Trump eventually won the Republican race after successfully winning the White House.
In 2016, Trump infamously mocked Rubio's size, calling him “Little Marco.” Rubio responded by calling his opponent “Trump with small hands.”
But as Trump solidifies his grip on the Republican Party, Rubio has joined other Republican lawmakers in backing the businessman-turned-president.
For his part, the US president-elect praised Rubio as a “well-respected leader and a very powerful voice for freedom” when he announced his nomination for secretary of state in November.
“He will be a powerful advocate for our country, a true friend to our allies, and a fearless fighter who will never back down from our adversaries,” Trump said at the time.
While Rubio will lead U.S. foreign policy if confirmed as secretary of state, his role will likely still be secondary to Trump's, who favors the global stage and often uses the bully pulpit against America's allies.
Trump's relationship with his first secretary of state, Rex Tillerson, was particularly tense: Trump fired Tillerson via social media posts less than two years into the job.