Florida Republican Sen. Marco Rubio, nominated by President Donald J. Trump to be the next Secretary of State, received a warm welcome from senators from both parties during his confirmation hearing Wednesday. He is a longtime member of the Senate Foreign Relations and Intelligence Committees, and is known for his dedication to the details of foreign policy.
“I believe you are capable and well qualified to serve as Secretary of State,” Sen. Jeanne Shaheen, D-Hampshire, said in her opening remarks.
A notable lack of tension during the hearing indicated that Mr. Rubio was almost certain to be confirmed quickly.
Republican and Democratic senators agree on America’s biggest challenges.
The line of questioning made it clear what senators wanted Rubio and the Trump administration to focus on: China, Russia, North Korea and Iran. Mr. Rubio himself pointed to these four forces — what some have called the “axis” — in his opening remarks.
They “create chaos and instability, collaborate with and finance radical terrorist organizations, and then hide behind a veto at the United Nations and the threat of nuclear war,” he said. As permanent members of the UN Security Council, China and Russia have the power to veto UN resolutions.
Mr. Rubio repeatedly criticized the Chinese Communist Party by name and, unlike Mr. Trump, never praised the dictators who run it.
He said the administration’s official policy regarding Ukraine is to try to end the war started by Russian President Vladimir V. Putin, and that leaders in both Kiev and Moscow need to make concessions. U.S. officials said Russia has drawn allies and partners into war, relying on North Korea for troops and weapons, Iran for weapons and training and China to rebuild Russia’s defense industrial base.
Mr. Rubio’s positions on Israel and Gaza are firmly within Washington’s foreign policy consensus.
Rubio defended Israel’s actions in the Gaza war, accusing Hamas of using civilians as human shields, and calling the deaths of tens of thousands of Palestinians in Gaza, most of them non-combatants, “an act of war.” “It’s one of the scariest things.”
He expressed concern about threats to Israel’s security. “As a nation, you cannot coexist with armed groups on your borders who seek your destruction and evisceration. It is impossible,” he said.
Asked whether he believed Israel’s annexation of Palestinian territory would be contrary to peace and security in the Middle East, Rubio did not give a direct answer, saying it was a “very complex issue.”
Rubio’s hearing lasted about two hours, and he announced that Israel and Hamas had signed an agreement to begin a temporary ceasefire in Gaza and the partial release of hostages. An initial hostage and ceasefire agreement reached in November 2023 collapsed a week later.
Mr. Rubio supports the U.S. alliance despite President Trump’s persistent attacks on it.
Rubio called the North Atlantic Treaty Organization, which Trump has repeatedly criticized, a “very important alliance” and insisted that Trump is a supporter of NATO. But he also backed Trump’s argument that a strong NATO requires Europe to spend more on collective defense.
He said the United States must choose between “playing a leading defense role or a retreating role” toward an independent Europe.
Many senators praised Rubio, but others detracted him.
Some prominent Trump supporters remain distrustful of Mr. Rubio. They recall that he voted to certify the 2020 election results despite Trump’s false claims of election fraud. And they believe Mr. Rubio’s foreign policy record is dangerously interventionist.
Mr. Rubio has long been a hawk on national security issues, often echoing Mr. Trump’s views even though his views are traditional among centrist Republican and Democratic politicians. It appeared in the form of a conflict.
Sen. Rand Paul, Republican of Kentucky, has criticized Rubio in the past for advocating aggressive U.S. intervention abroad. Mr. Paul is an outspoken advocate of reducing the use of U.S. troops overseas and is skeptical that economic sanctions will lead to positive results.
On Wednesday, Mr. Paul pointedly asked Mr. Rubio whether there was a way to work with China instead of continuing to attack Beijing, and he also asked Mr. Rubio whether there was a way to work with China instead of continuing to attack Beijing, and he also asked Mr. Rubio if there was a way to work with China instead of continuing to attack Beijing. It also questioned the wisdom of European policymakers.
