Marco Rubio comes out on top in a strangely 'cordial' confirmation hearing

Sen. Marco Rubio (R-FL), President-elect Donald Trump's nominee for secretary of state, had an unusually "cordial" confirmation hearing in which both Democrats and Republicans appeared to back him for the nation's top foreign policy post.

During a lengthy hearing, which lasted more than five hours, Rubio, a veteran senator who boasts a record of pushing dozens of bipartisan bills, spoke about top threats to the national security and economic future of the United States, taking particular aim at China-major trade rival-and Iran, an Islamic theocracy that the senator identified as a dangerous actor operating in the United States' backyard, taking advantage of its affinity with socialist dictatorships like Venezuela.

"If we don’t change course, we are going to live in the world where much of what matters to us on a daily basis from our security to our health will be dependent on whether the Chinese allow us to have it or not," a convinced Rubio told the Senate Foreign Relations Committee.

Rubio and his main points against the enemies of the U.S.

The senator also referred to China, Russia, Iran and North Korea in his opening remarks, posing these countries as an adversarial axis that represent a challenge to the U.S.

"They sow chaos and instability and align with and fund radical terror groups, then hide behind their veto power at the United Nations and the threat of nuclear war," Rubio said.

Taking aim at Iran and its relations with the Chavista regime in Venezuela, Rubio expressed concern that the Venezuelan migration crisis will deepen with dictator Maduro in power. The United States just recently raised the price on his head along with other regime hierarchs.

"Unfortunately, Venezuela is not governed by a government. It is governed by a drug trafficking organization that has taken over the nation state, and we have seen, I think, that more than 7, 8 or 9 million Venezuelans have left the country. And more are expected to leave the country," Rubio said during the hearing.

The senator also questioned the Biden administration for negotiating the lifting of sanctions and granting oil licenses to the Maduro dictatorship, explaining the strong Iranian presence in Venezuela.

"The regime did not fulfill any of the promises it made, so all of that needs to be re-explored because in Venezuela you have the Russian presence, you have a very strong Iranian presence," Rubio warned. "In fact, the Iranians are exploring or, in fact, are beginning to build Iranian drone factories in our own hemisphere, not to mention the Venezuelan regime's longstanding practice of providing real but illegitimate passports to Hezbollah agents in our own hemisphere."

Rubio, whose parents fled Cuba at the height of the socialist revolution led by Fidel Castro, also took aim at the Biden administration for removing Cuba from the list of state sponsors of terrorism.

When Senator Ted Cruz, also a Cuban-American, asked Rubio about whether he considered Cuba a state sponsor of terrorism, the Florida senator said, "without a doubt."

Rubio said the Castro regime, now led by dictator Miguel Diaz-Canel, is allied with Hamas and Hezbollah, hosts spy stations for two countries hostile to the United States, has ties to Iran and harbors fugitives from the U.S. Justice system.

"So there is zero doubt in my mind that they meet all the qualifications for being a state sponsor of terrorism," Rubio sentenced.

Rubio on Ukraine-Russia war

Trump's nominee for secretary of state was asked about the foreign policy of the incoming administration in regards to the war between Ukraine and Russia, which in addition to generating havoc in Europe, has also directly affected the wallets of Americans due to the amount of aid Washington has sent to Kiev to try to curb Putin.

Rubio was clear: the U.S. will seek an agreement to end the war and said that both Putin and Zelensky will have to make concessions to reach a ceasefire.

Asked why he changed his stance on full support for Ukraine, Rubio said everything changed when the Russia-Ukraine war became "a conflict of attrition" or "stalemate."

"This war has to end," he insisted.

What did he say about U.S. allies?

In particular, Rubio, considered a hawk on foreign policy, unequivocally backed Israel during the hearing, criticizing Hamas for using Gazans as "human shields" in a war that began with the Oct. 7, 2023, massacre.

Rubio also spoke about the security threats Israel has, referring specifically to Hamas.

"You cannot coexist with armed elements at your border who seek your destruction and evisceration, as a state. You just can’t," he said.

In regards to NATO, the world's most important military alliance, Rubio acknowledged that it is an important and key body for the US, but agreed with President Trump's position that all member states must pay their fair share.