Washington — Sen. Marco Rubio, President-elect Donald Trump’s pick to lead the State Department as secretary of state, is facing questions from his Senate colleagues on Wednesday morning in what is expected to be one of the least contentious confirmation hearings this week.
Rubio’s confirmation hearing occurred as Israel and Hamas reached a ceasefire and hostage release deal, U.S. officials said. During the hearing, Senate Foreign Relations chair Jim Risch announced that he had been advised that a deal had been reached, with Rubio commenting all those involved “deserve credit for the deal.”
Rubio, who has extensive foreign policy experience, is likely to sail through the confirmation process to become the nation’s top diplomat. Questioning, however, could get awkward if Democrats on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee emphasize his potential foreign policy differences with Trump, his former rival whom he now has to defend.
“President Trump returns to office with an unmistakable mandate from the voters,” Rubio said. “They want a strong America, a strong America engaged in the world, but guided by a clear objective — to promote peace abroad and security and prosperity here at home. That is the promise that President Trump was elected to keep. And if I am confirmed, keeping that promise will be the core mission of the United States Department of State.”
Rubio said he is “certain” he will be asked about the array of programs the State Department carries out to address atrocities and tragedies across the world, and the U.S. will “never be indifferent to the suffering of our fellow man.”
Kevin Dietsch / Getty Images
“But ultimately, under President Trump, the top priority of the United States Department of State will be the United States,” he said.
Like during and after the first World War, Rubio declared that the U.S. is once again “called to create a free world out of the chaos.”
“And this will not be easy,” Rubio continued. “And it will be impossible without a strong and a confident America that engages in the world, putting our core national interests, once again, above all else.”
As Rubio launched into his opening remarks, a protester blasting “forever war” briefly interrupted the hearing, calling the senator “little Marco,” Trump’s nickname for him during the 2016 campaign.
Rubio posed for friendly photos with some members of the committee before the hearing began, shaking some hands as well. As a senior member of the very committee which he is before, Rubio was welcomed by his colleagues. Sen. Rick Scott, Rubio’s fellow senator from Florida, introduced Rubio. Scott called him the “perfect” person to carry out Trump’s agenda and to bring back peace to the western hemisphere.
Risch opened the hearing by praising Rubio, and laid out the threats the U.S. faces. Risch said China remains the most concerning long-term threat to the United States.
“Unfortunately, we meet at a time when America faces threats from nearly every corner of the world. It’s no secret that hostile powers, from China to Russia, from North Korea to Iran, have formed an authoritarian axis bent on weakening the United States,” Risch said.
Sen. Jeanne Shaheen, the top Democrat on the committee, called Rubio “well qualified to serve as secretary of state,” but said she wants to “find out a little more about what this administration is thinking about American foreign policy and the State Department in particular.” Specifically, Shaheen said she wants to hear about Rubio’s efforts to address Russia’s aggression in Ukraine, as well as the United States’ relationship with NATO.
Rubio, who has taken hard-line positions on China, Iran, Venezuela and Cuba, will inherit the position facing a number of global challenges, including Russia’s war in Ukraine, persistent violence in the Middle East, China’s aggression against Taiwan and its tense relationship with the U.S. Trump has also suggested using military force or coercion to gain control of Greenland and the Panama Canal. He’s floated annexing Canada as the 51st state and has threatened trade wars with U.S. allies.
Rubio on Ukraine and NATO
Sen. Jeanne Shaheen, the top Democrat on the committee, called Rubio “well qualified to serve as secretary of state,” but said she wants to “find out a little more about what this administration is thinking about American foreign policy and the State Department in particular.” Specifically, Shaheen said she wants to hear about Rubio’s efforts to address Russia’s aggression in Ukraine, as well as the United States’ relationship with NATO.
Shaheen asked Rubio about his seeming shift in what was once full-throated support for Ukraine in its defense against Russia. Rubio voted against the most recent aid package for Ukraine, despite his earlier support for the country. During the 2024 campaign, Trump criticized the Biden administration for sending billions to Ukraine in aid.
“I voted against that bill because I said I would not vote for a bill unless it addressed the crisis at our southern border as part of the overall arrangement,” Rubio said. “That was not done, and so I voted against it. That said, here’s my view of the situation: Once this war became what we now know it is, and that is, a war of attrition, a stalemate, a protracted conflict, the dynamic on that situation has changed. It has.”
Rubio on China
Republican Sen. Pete Ricketts of Nebraska asked Rubio if the People’s Republic of China is the greatest threat facing the United States.
“The Communist Party of China that leads the PRC is the most potent and dangerous near-peer adversary this nation has ever confronted,” Rubio said. “They have elements that the Soviet Union never possessed,” Rubio said. “They are a technological adversary and competitor, an industrial competitor, an economic competitor, a geopolitical competitor, a scientific competitor now. In every realm. It is an extraordinary challenge. It is one that I believe will define the 21st Century.”
Rubio said the bulk of the book about the 21st Century will be not just about China, but about the relationship between the U.S. and China and where it went.
In the Senate, Rubio has been among the most outspoken on China, saying the nation is the “threat that will define this century.” Members of both parties have since adopted his positions on China.
As well as warning about the national security risks, Rubio has also sought to hold China accountable for human rights abuses. In 2020, Beijing responded to Rubio’s criticisms by banning him from the country. It’s unclear what will become of that ban once he takes office and is tasked with carrying out Trump’s foreign policy goals.
Trump’s potential foreign conflicts of interest
Democratic Sen. Chris Murphy of Connecticut grilled Rubio on the potential foreign conflicts of interest that may arise between the United States’ national interests and the Trump Organization’s foreign business dealings.
Murphy said Trump and his family have become “more deeply dependent on revenue from governments in the Middle East,” pointing to specific business deals.
“The Trump Organization is going to be signing new business deals in the Middle East with private companies that have connections to foreign governments at the very moment that you are going to be conducting sensitive diplomacy in these countries. That’s just extraordinary,” Murphy said. “Never before in the history of this country has a president been I mean literally receiving cash from foreign governments and from foreign companies that are backed by foreign governments in the middle of their term. If you or I had done this as senators, we would be in violent violation of Senate Ethics Rules. That’s not permitted on the Foreign Relations Committee.
Murphy asked Rubio if he views profiting from Middle East deals as a potential conflict of interest, and whether he will bring that up with Trump.
Rubio said he isn’t a participant of or very familiar with Trump’s overseas business deals, saying Trump’s family members who are private citizens are running those companies.
“All I can tell you is that what I’ve said from the very beginning from the opening statement and that is our foreign policy is going to be driven,a s the president’s made abundantly clear, by whether some action is in the good of the United States and our national security,” Rubio said.
Pressed further, Rubio specifically said Trump’s family members have a right to conduct business deals abroad, and he doesn’t believe Trump will allow personal business deals to adversely affect U.S. interests.
“The president doesn’t manage that company,” Rubio responded. “His family members do, and they have a right to be in the business. I mean, that’s the business that they’re in. They’re in the real estate business, they’ve been for a very long time, both domestically and abroad. They have properties in multiple countries. So, at the end of the day, his family is entitled to continue to operate their business.”
“The fundamental question is not whether his family is involved in business. The fundamental question is whether that is in any way impacting the conduct of our foreign policy in a way that’s counter to our national interest. And the preisdent’s made it abundantly clear that every decision he makes and every decision we are to make at the State Department should be driven by whether or not it serves the core national interests of the United States.”
Who is Marco Rubio?
Kevin Dietsch/Getty Images
Rubio, 53, was born in Miami to Cuban immigrants who arrived in the U.S. in May 1956. His father was a banquet bartender and his mother worked as a hotel maid. According to his Senate website, Rubio “was drawn to public service in large part because of his grandfather, who saw his homeland destroyed by communism.”
Rubio’s long political career began when he served as city commissioner in West Miami after he earned degrees from the University of Florida and the University of Miami Law School. He was elected to the Florida House of Representatives in 2000, where he served until 2008, including two years as speaker.
The Florida Republican was first elected to the Senate in 2010 and won his third six-year term in 2022. He has served on both the Senate Foreign Relations Committee and as vice chair on the Senate Intelligence Committee.
Rubio was among a crowded field of GOP candidates running for president in 2016. He ended his campaign after losing the primary to Trump in his home state of Florida. The two verbally sparred during the campaign, with Rubio calling Trump “a con artist” who was hijacking the Republican Party and “the most vulgar person” to ever run for president. Trump sought to diminish his rival by nicknaming him “Little Marco.”
Still, Rubio endorsed Trump for president after dropping out of the race and two formed a pragmatic relationship in the years since. Trump eyed Rubio as a possible running mate in the 2024 race, but settled on Sen. JD Vance of Ohio instead.
Does Marco Rubio have the votes to be confirmed?
Rubio is all but certain to be confirmed with bipartisan support. A number of Senate Democrats have praised Trump’s choice and have pledged to support his nomination on the floor, giving him many more than the 50 votes he needs for confirmation, barring something unforeseen.
Democratic Sen. Dick Durbin of Illinois, who met with Rubio on Monday, called the Florida Republican “a good choice” and said he “has a thorough understanding of the United States’ role on an international scale.”
“I plan to vote yes on his nomination when it comes before the Senate,” Durbin, a top Senate Democrat, said in a statement.
