Summarize this content to 2000 words in 6 paragraphs Washington — Sen. Marco Rubio, President-elect Donald Trump’s pick to lead the State Department as secretary of state, called China “the most potent and dangerous near-peer adversary this nation has ever confronted” during his confirmation hearing Wednesday that largely focused on U.S. relations with the nation. “The 21st Century will be defined by what happens between the United States and China,” Rubio told his Senate colleagues, reiterating his long-held belief that the U.S. must push back on China’s influence more forcefully. “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.” Rubio is likely to sail through the confirmation process to become the nation’s top diplomat. He received a warm reception from members of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, of which he is a member, who praised his extensive foreign policy experience.The confirmation hearing occurred as Israel and Hamas reached a ceasefire and hostage release deal, U.S. officials said. Senate Foreign Relations chair Jim Risch, an Idaho Republican, announced at the hearing that he had been advised that a deal had been reached, with Rubio commenting that all those involved “deserve credit for the deal.”
Rubio likely to have easy confirmation process for secretary of state
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At times throughout the hearing, Rubio defended the decisions of his former rival, Trump, as he faced questions about the incoming president’s potential conflicts of interest abroad and offered a strong defense of NATO despite Trump’s past criticism of the defense alliance.
“Under President Trump, the top priority of the United States Department of State will be the United States,” Rubio 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.” Rubio, who has taken hardline 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.
U.S. President-elect Donald Trump’s nominee for Secretary of State, Sen. Marco Rubio (R-FL) arrives to testify during his Senate Foreign Relations confirmation hearing at Dirksen Senate Office Building on January 15, 2025 in Washington, DC.
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Rubio on China 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. Rubio told senators that much of China’s growth has come at the expense of the U.S. and “in less than 10 years, virtually everything that matters to us in life will depend on whether China will allow us to have it or not.” “Indeed, I’ve been strongly worded in my views of China. Let me just point out they’ve said mean things about me, too,” Rubio said Wednesday. “My role now as a secretary of state is to lead the diplomatic wing of the country and that will involve engaging them.” Rubio said it was in the interest of both countries to be able to communicate to avoid an armed conflict. “Never in the history of mankind have two powers like the United States and China ever faced off in a global conflict, and the outcome would be catastrophic, and we should want to avoid it, and so should they,” he said. Rubio on Ukraine and NATOThe Florida Republican called for an end to the war in Ukraine, which has carried on for nearly three years since Russia invaded its neighbor in February 2022. “This war has to end,” he said, adding that there should be a “ceasefire.”
Sen. Jeanne Shaheen of New Hampshire, the top Democrat on the committee, asked Rubio about his seeming shift in what was once full-throated support for Ukraine in its defense against Russia. Rubio voted against a foreign aid package last April that included assistance 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 says Cuba a state sponsor of terrorism Republican Sen. Ted Cruz of Texas, whose father fled Cuba, asked Rubio whether he believes Cuba is a state sponsor of terrorism. “Without a question,” Rubio responded. A day before Rubio’s confirmation hearing, the Biden administration announced it is moving to remove Cuba from the U.S. list of state sponsors of terrorism and ease economic restrictions as part of a deal for the release of political prisoners. Rubio, a supporter of strong sanctions on Havana’s Communist regime, said it has been friendly towards Hamas and Hezbollah, hosts espionage stations for two countries hostile to the U.S., has strong ties to Iran and harbors fugitives from the American justice system. “So there is zero doubt in my mind that they meet all the qualifications for being a state sponsor of terrorism,” he said.
Asked whether he would reverse the Biden administration’s determination, Rubio said that was ultimately Trump’s call but said “nothing that was agreed to is irreversible or binding on the new administration.”Panama Canal and Greenland The Panama Canal and Greenland, which have both received recent attention from Trump, were also topics of interest during the hearing. “President Trump is not inventing this,” Rubio said of questions about whether the canal remains neutral. “This is something that’s existed now for at least a decade.” During a trip to Panama in 2017, Rubio said Chinese companies’ control of port facilities on either end of the canal was “the central issue” discussed. “This is a legitimate issue that needs to be confronted,” he said. On Greenland, Rubio said the Denmark-owned territory has been “strategically important” to the U.S. for decades. 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, as 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 president’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,” he said.
Who is Marco Rubio?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 the 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, even with some Democratic 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. At Wednesday’s hearing, Sen. Tim Kaine of Virginia was among the Democrats to compliment Rubio, saying he was “extremely well-prepared.”
“He’s not talking out of a briefing book. He’s not having to thumb through a binder to decide how to answer a particular question,” Kaine said. Others spoke about their personal relationships with Rubio. Democratic Sen. Tammy Duckworth of Illinois recalled how Rubio helped push for Senate rules to be amended so that she could bring her newborn daughter with her on the floor to votes. “What’s the big deal? This place is already full of babies,” Rubio remembered saying. 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.
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Caitlin Yilek
Caitlin Yilek is a politics reporter at CBSNews.com, based in Washington, D.C. She previously worked for the Washington Examiner and The Hill, and was a member of the 2022 Paul Miller Washington Reporting Fellowship with the National Press Foundation.
