Marco Rubio, the Republican senator from Florida nominated by Donald J. Trump to be the next secretary of state, was welcomed by senators from both parties at his confirmation hearing on Wednesday. He has served for many years on the Senate Foreign Relations and Intelligence Committee, and is known as a lawmaker devoted to the details of foreign policy.
“I believe you have the skills and qualifications to be secretary of state,” Sen. Jeanne Shaheen, Democrat of Hampshire, said in her opening remarks.
The lack of tension at the hearing indicated that Mr. Rubio was certain to be confirmed quickly.
Republican and Democratic senators agree on America’s biggest challenge.
From the line of questioning, it was clear where the senator wanted Mr. Rubio and the Trump administration to focus: China, Russia, North Korea and Iran. Mr. Rubio himself referred to these four powers — which some call the “axis” — in his inaugural address.
“They sow chaos and instability and align and finance radical terrorist groups, then hide behind their UN veto power and the threat of nuclear war,” he said. As permanent members of the UN Security Council, China and Russia have veto power over UN resolutions.
Mr. Rubio has repeatedly singled out the Chinese Communist Party for criticism, and, unlike Mr. Trump, he had no admiration for the autocrats who run these countries.
He did say that the administration’s official policy on Ukraine is to try to end the war that President Vladimir V. Putin started with Russia, and that leaders in Kyiv and Moscow need to make concessions. US officials say Russia has drawn its allies and partners into the war, relying on North Korea for troops and weapons, Iran for arms and training, and China in rebuilding the Russian defense industrial base.
Rubio’s stance on Israel and Gaza is part of Washington’s foreign policy consensus.
Mr Rubio defended Israel’s handling of the Gaza war, accused Hamas of using civilians as human shields and called the deaths of tens of thousands of Palestinians in Gaza, most of them non-combatants, “one of the things terrible about war”.
He expressed concern about threats to Israel’s security. “You cannot live with armed elements in your borders who seek your destruction and expulsion, as a state. You just can’t do it,” he said.
Asked if he believed Israel’s annexation of Palestinian land would be a threat to peace and security in the Middle East, Mr. Rubio did not directly answer, calling it a “very difficult issue.”
Mr. Rubio’s hearing was about two hours long when the committee chairman announced that Israel and Hamas had sealed an agreement to begin a temporary ceasefire and partial release of hostages in Gaza. An initial hostage and ceasefire agreement, signed in November 2023, collapsed after a week.
Rubio supports American unity, despite Trump’s constant attacks on them.
Mr. Rubio called the North Atlantic Treaty Organization, which Mr. Trump has repeatedly criticized, “a very important alliance” and insisted that Mr. Trump was a supporter of NATO. Trump. But he also supported Mr Trump’s argument that a stronger NATO would require Europe to spend more on its collective defence.
The United States, he said, must choose whether to play a “primary role or retreat” for an independent Europe.
Although many of his colleagues in the Senate have praised him, Rubio has his detractors.
Some of Trump’s most prominent supporters remain distrustful of Mr. Rubio. They remember his vote to confirm the results of the 2020 election despite Mr. Trump’s claims of voter fraud. And they think that Mr. Rubio on foreign policy.
Mr. Rubio has long been a hawkish voice on national security issues, often in a way that contradicts Mr. Trump’s views, although the views are common among Republican and Democratic politicians.
Earlier, Senator Rand Paul, Republican of Kentucky, criticized Mr. Rubio for aggressive American intervention overseas. Mr. Paul has been outspoken in his push for a smaller use of the US military abroad and doubts whether economic sanctions would be effective.
On Wednesday, Mr. Mr. Rubio asked Paul if he could find a way to work with China instead of insisting on attacking Beijing, and he also questioned the wisdom of many American and European politicians who insisted that it must be included in the Ukraine is NATO.
