Rubio tells lawmakers that U.S. foreign policy should benefit America first

Secretary of State Marco Rubio told a House panel in a sometimes-testy hearing Wednesday that U.S. foreign policy should serve America’s interests, not necessarily what is good for the global order.

In a hearing on the Trump administration’s proposed State Department budget, Mr. Rubio said the department’s “America first” foreign policy will keep the U.S. safe.

“In many cases, the U.S. engaged in the world on the basis of what was good for the global order or the international community. And for about 30 years, that made a lot of sense,” Mr. Rubio told the committee. “We have to have a State Department that can deliver on a foreign policy that is rooted in the national interest of the United States.”

Mr. Rubio’s comments echo statements he made yesterday before the Senate Committee on Foreign Relations, where he defended the Trump administration’s plans to cut $26 billion, or 46%, of the State Department’s budget.

Mr. Rubio said his new proposed State Department budget will ensure that every dollar spent by the agency will either make the U.S. safer or more prosperous.

“To defend the national interests of the United States requires us, number one, to make sure that every dollar that we spend and every action we take has to have measurable outcomes that deliver for the American people,” Mr. Rubio continued.

The secretary also criticized those who claimed the U.S. was retreating from the world stage, saying that while the U.S. cannot solve every problem, it will continue to be the world’s largest to foreign assistance donor.

“We will still remain the largest contributor of foreign aid and humanitarian assistance on this planet, by far,” he said. “The United States, even under the budget that is before you today and the changes we have made, will still contribute more in foreign aid than the next ten countries combined.

During the hearing, Democratic representatives challenged Mr. Rubio on his position on Russian war crimes, President Trump’s immigration crackdown, allowing humanitarian aid into Gaza, and the dismantling of USAID.

Most Democrats questioned how the State Department could maintain U.S. interests abroad with such severe cuts in funding.

“As secretary, we’ve seen you defend or be complicit in reckless foreign policy that Sen. Rubio once warned against, like strategically incoherent tariffs that alienate our allies, alliance-breaking decisions that weaken our national security, partnership neglect that isolates us, abandoned commitments that shred our credibiliity and hand China easy propaganda wins,” said Rep. Greg Stanton, Arizona Democrat.

Republicans also questioned how the U.S. could compete with China in foreign investment under the proposed budget cuts.

Rep. Darrell Issa, California Republican, pressed Mr. Rubio on how the State Department hopes to counter China’s sprawling Belt and Road investment program in the developing world.

Mr. Rubio said that, while aid agencies like USAID are a part of countering China’s influence abroad, the Development Finance Corporation and the Millennium Challenge Corporation are better equipped to stand as alternatives to China’s Belt and Road initiative.