US is not withdrawing from the world, says Rubio during testy hearings in Congress

WASHINGTON - Secretary of State Marco Rubio on May 20 insisted that the United States is not withdrawing from the world, as he batted away criticism towards cuts to aid and diplomatic budgets from former colleagues in Congress, some of whom regret voting to confirm him because he has not stood up to President Donald Trump.

In his sometimes feisty first testimony as the country’s top diplomat, Mr Rubio was challenged over his role in the administration’s crackdown on immigration, Mr Trump’s engagement with Russian President Vladimir Putin, and the decision to prioritise the resettlement in the US of white South Africans over refugees from elsewhere.

Mr Rubio said the intent of the changes he is overseeing is “not to dismantle American foreign policy, and it is not to withdraw us from the world”, citing his travelling schedule since taking office.

“I just hit 18 countries in 18 weeks,” he told the Senate Foreign Relations Committee. “That doesn’t sound like much of a withdrawal.”

Mr Trump’s administration has blocked mostly non-white refugee admissions from the rest of the world but has begun to resettle Afrikaners, the descendants of mostly Dutch settlers in South Africa, saying they faced discrimination and even genocide. The South African government denies the allegation of genocide.

“While you’ve turned away from a genocide in Sudan and invented one in South Africa, you’ve teamed up with President Trump to throw the Ukrainian people under the bus, and have been played like a fiddle by Vladimir Putin,” Democratic Senator Chris Van Hollen of Maryland said, in a blistering critique of Mr Rubio’s about-face on issues he embraced as a senator, adding that he regretted his vote for Mr Rubio’s nomination.

Mr Rubio retorted: “First of all, your regret for voting for me confirms I’m doing a good job.” The hearing then devolved into a shouting exchange, something unusual for a committee long known for bipartisanship.

On Russia, Mr Rubio said Mr Putin had not received any real concessions in the US effort to initiate talks to end the war in Ukraine, and Russia sanctions remain in place.

During a second hearing, several Republicans voiced support for aid and other forms of soft power. Republican Senator Lindsey Graham, chairman of the Senate appropriations foreign affairs subcommittee, said: “This, to me, is national security in another form. And to the people who don’t get that, you’re missing a lot.”

Mr Rubio insisted that many of the programmes he has cut did not serve US interests, and that Washington would remain the world’s most generous donor of humanitarian aid.

The administration proposed a new US$2.9 billion (S$3.75 billion) America First Opportunity Fund that would take on foreign aid, building on “lessons we learnt from USAid (US Agency for International Development)”, Mr Rubio said.

Aid cuts

He said the US$28.5 billion budget request by the Trump administration for the 2025/2026 fiscal year will allow the State Department to continue enacting Mr Trump’s vision while cutting US$20 billion of “duplicative, wasteful and ideologically driven programmes”.

Mr Rubio defended the cuts to foreign aid – he was an advocate of such aid during his 14 years in the Senate – while slashing State Department staff and USAid, which used to spend roughly US$40 billion a year and is being folded into the State Department.

Senators also asked Mr Rubio about Mr Trump’s plans to unwind sanctions on Syria, Mr Rubio’s role in the administration’s immigration crackdown, the delivery of humanitarian assistance to Palestinians in Gaza, and efforts to end the war in Ukraine.

“I believe (Israel) can achieve their objective of defeating Hamas while still allowing aid to enter in sufficient quantities,” Mr Rubio said.

He added that the State Department would allow staff in Turkey, including the ambassador there, to work with local officials in Syria. He said his objective over time was to change Syria’s state sponsor of terrorism designation, “if they meet the standard”.

A few protesters interrupted the hearings with shouts of “Stop the genocide”, before police bundled them out of the hearing rooms. Protesters have been regularly interrupting congressional hearings during Israel’s war in Gaza.

Mr Rubio welcomed Israel’s decision to let in some humanitarian aid after a weeks-long blockade, and said he sees Israel’s actions in Gaza as targeting Hamas militants.

Washington has asked other countries in the region if they would be open to accepting Palestinians from Gaza who want to move voluntarily, Mr Rubio said, although he denied reports there were talks for Libya to take in Gazans.

Republicans praised Mr Rubio, who has become a crucial figure in the Trump administration. He is also serving as Mr Trump’s acting national security adviser, USAid administrator, and acting archivist of the United States.

Mr Rubio is the first person since Dr Henry Kissinger in the 1970s to hold the secretary of state and national security adviser positions simultaneously. Mr Trump has said: “When I have a problem, I call up Marco. He gets it solved.”

On May 21, Mr Rubio is due to testify at two more hearings, both in the House of Representatives. REUTERS