(Headline USA) Florida Sen. Marco Rubio received a warm welcome from Senate colleagues Wednesday as he sketched out his plans for implementing President-elect Donald Trump’s “America First” vision as secretary of state.
“I hope I can earn your support, whether it’s because you believe I would do a good job, or because you want to get rid of me,” Rubio joked in testimony the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, where he served for 14 years.
But in between the niceties, Rubio painted a dark image of the dangers of facing the U.S., most specifically from China, who he said is America’s “biggest threat.”
He blamed this growing risk on America’s shift to globalism, which he says “is now a weapon being used against us.”
He said the U.S. must begin placing “our core national interests above all else.”
The confirmation hearing begins a new chapter in the political career of the 53-year-old Florida Republican, whose relationship with Trump has evolved over the last decade.
Unlike many of Trump’s Cabinet selections, Rubio is expected to easily win confirmation, notching support not only from Republicans but also Democrats.
Many expect he will be among the first of Trump’s Cabinet picks approved.
Democratic Sen. Brian Schatz, who served alongside Rubio on the Foreign Relations Committee, said he has high hopes for the Florida Republican.
“I think Marco is a hawk, but he’s also an internationalist, and I think the challenge for him will be to maintain the long bipartisan tradition of America being indispensable in world affairs,” the Hawaii lawmaker told The Associated Press. “And there are people in the Trump world who want us to run away from being the leaders of the free world. And I’m hoping that Marco’s instincts towards American strength will win the day.”
Rubio’s approach to foreign affairs is grounded in his years of service on the Foreign Relations committee and the Senate Intelligence panel.
In his speeches and writings, he’s delivered increasingly stern warnings about growing military and economic threats to the United States, particularly from China, which he says has benefited from a “global world order” that he characterizes as obsolete.
China, Rubio told the committee, has “lied, cheated, hacked, and stolen their way to global superpower status, at our expense.”
The Chinese Foreign Ministry on Wednesday declined to comment on Rubio’s remarks.
Adapted from reporting by the Associated Press
