Five days before the inauguration of Donald Trump as president of the United States, his future designated head of diplomacy, Marc Rubio, was questioned by the Senate during a hearing which will determine whether he will take his post with the new tenant of the White House. A hearing largely focused on China and the war in Ukraine, followed by a call to NATO partners.
If his nomination is confirmed by the Senate, Marco Rubio will lead the world’s leading diplomatic network, with more than 55,000 employees, and will be the face of America abroad. Even before taking office on January 20, Donald Trump is already shaking up the international order by mistreating the allies of the United States. He has already threatened to annex Greenland, an autonomous territory of Denmark, but also the Panama Canal, control of which was ceded by the United States two decades ago.
China, “the most dangerous adversary” of the United States
Before the Foreign Affairs Committee, the 53-year-old probable future Secretary of State affirmed that China was “the most powerful and dangerous adversary that the United States has had to face” in its history, endowed with “elements that the Soviet Union never possessed.” The current senator from Florida has accused China of “cheating” its way to becoming a global superpower. “We welcomed the Chinese Communist Party into this world order” after the Cold War, and “they took advantage of all its benefits, but they ignored all their duties and responsibilities,” he said.
“If we stay on the path we are currently on, in less than 10 years almost everything that matters to us will depend on whether China will allow us to have it or not,” he asserted. “From the blood pressure medications we take, to the movies we can watch, and everything in between, we will depend on China for it,” the senator added. At the same time, he warned against an invasion of Taiwan by China, which he said would take place “within the decade”, “unless there is a spectacular change”.
A “bold diplomacy” towards Russia
The war in Ukraine is expected to be another important part of the next secretary of state’s tenure. Since the election of Donald Trump on November 5, Europeans have feared a disengagement of the United States from this conflict, or even American pressure for an agreement to the detriment of kyiv. During his hearing on Wednesday, Marco Rubio instead called for “bold diplomacy” from the United States to end the war led by Russia. Ukraine’s main problem, he said, is not that it is “running out of money, but rather that it is running out of Ukrainians.”
“The truth is that in this conflict, there is no way Russia can take over all of Ukraine,” the senator added. But “it is also unrealistic to believe that a nation the size of Ukraine, no matter how competent, could push these people back to where they were the day before the invasion” in 2022, added Marco Rubio.
Marco Rubio wants better partners in NATO
According to him, “the role of the United States and NATO in the 21st century” must also be questioned, following on from the statements of Donald Trump, who threatened to no longer guarantee the protection of NATO countries in the face of Russia if they did not devote a sufficient budget to their defense. The senator affirmed that it was important for the United States to not have “just defense allies”, but “competent defense allies, capable of defending their region”, complaining about excessive spending by the United States. United in favor of the rich countries of Europe.
Despite these comments, Marc Rubio “offered a robust defense of NATO” during his hearing, notes the Washington Post“despite President-elect Donald Trump’s harsh criticism of the Alliance” in the past. “Without NATO, it is quite possible that a large part of what we today call Europe would have been the victim of aggression,” declared Marc Rubio. The senator had co-authored a law adopted in 2023 prohibiting any president from unilaterally withdrawing from the alliance – “this law was clearly aimed at allaying fears that Donald Trump would do so if he was re-elected”, points out the Washington Post.
Other hearings besides that of Marco Rubio are taking place on Wednesday in the Senate, notably that of Pam Bondi, chosen by Donald Trump to head the Department of Justice.