President-elect Donald Trump's nominee for secretary of state faced questions from lawmakers during his confirmation hearing Wednesday in the U.S. Senate. As VOA's Katherine Gypson reports, Republican Marco Rubio told his Senate colleagues that, if confirmed, he would put the national interest of the United States first.
Senator Marco Rubio vowed to put America first as the top diplomat in President-elect Donald Trump's cabinet.
“Putting our core national interest above all else is not isolationism. It is coming to the conclusion that a foreign policy focused on our national interest is not an outdated relic ,” said Senator Rubio.
The Republican Rubio was warmly received 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 and recognize that where freedom and democracy exist, America has strong allies and trusted trading partners. Marco has a distinguished record of holding communist regimes in China, Cuba, Venezuela and Nicaragua accountable for their oppression and tyranny. He will work with President Trump to hold communist regimes accountable for their crimes ,” said Senator Rick Scott.
Mr. Trump has said he would end the war in Ukraine as soon as he takes office. Democratic senators asked Mr. Rubio to explain what the deal would look like.
“What do you think is important to do to have the strongest possible negotiating position if Ukraine and Russia come to the table?” asked Democratic Senator Jeanne Shaheen.
“I think the official position of the United States should be that this war should end. The question is what role can we play? That needs to be made very clear at the outset. My differences with the Biden administration throughout this process are that they never clearly defined what the ultimate outcome of the conflict would be ,” Mr. Rubio said.
He also spoke of the opportunities created by the ceasefire in Gaza.
“In the Middle East now, there are opportunities that were not there 90 days ago, whether it was what happened in Lebanon or Syria, or what we hope will happen with the ceasefire and the release of hostages after the horrific kidnappings and the unjustifiable actions of Hamas. Whether it’s any one of those three things, or a combination of all of them, there are factors at play in the Middle East right now that I think we can build on and that can open the door to extraordinary and historic opportunities.”
Mr. Trump’s nominee to lead American foreign policy said 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, economics, geopolitics, science, and actually in every field. It’s an extraordinary challenge that I believe will define the 21st century.”
The son of Cuban immigrants, if confirmed, Mr. Rubio would become the first secretary of state of Latin American descent. The chances of confirmation are high and a vote by the full Senate is expected in the coming days./ Voice of America (A2 Televizion)
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