Secretary of state nominee Marco Rubio defends Trump’s foreign policy vision

Marco Rubio has offered a full-throated defense of Donald Trump’s vision for America’s role around the world – and his own hawkish record on foreign policy – as the Florida senator faced questions by the Senate foreign relations committee as Trump’s nominee for secretary of state.

Rubio’s opening remarks were disrupted several times by protestors from leftwing activist groups who called him a “war hawk” and decried his record of support for sanctions abroad before being dragged out of the hearing room.

In his opening remarks, Rubio sought to defend a muscular US foreign policy while also tailoring his views to a more Trump-friendly vision that matches the president-elect’s “America First” policy, which has called on less US involvement abroad in Ukraine and Nato, in a sharp departure from the position of the Biden administration and many Republican lawmakers.

“Prudence in the conduct of foreign policy is not an abandonment of our values,” Rubio said in his opening remarks. “It’s the common-sense understanding that while we remain the wealthiest and the most powerful nation on the Earth, our wealth has never been unlimited … Placing our core national interest above all else is not isolation.” It is a “common-sense realization”, he added.

“While America has far too often prioritized the global order above national interest, other nations continue to act as they will,” he also said. “Nations proceed in their own best interest.”

Rubio’s nomination is expected to be less contentious than those of other Trump appointments, including Pete Hegseth, Trump’s nominee for defense secretary who had been sharply criticised for his lack of experience and allegations of troubling behaviour, including sexual assault and excessive alcohol consumption.

Rubio’s opening remarks were disrupted three times by protestors who yelled that he had supported US military actions abroad and called him a “warmonger”. A sergeant-at-arms warned that protestors could be arrested and several of the protestors were forcibly removed from the hall by Capitol police.

Medea Benjamin, an organiser for the activist group Code Pink who attended the hearing, said that the protestors were concerned that Trump was “surrounding himself with all of these war hawks, and Marco Rubio is one of them”.

“A lot of us are upset with the Democrats and the Republicans, and we think that we’re being run by two parties that are very pro-war and giving almost a trillion dollars to the Pentagon when we have so many needs here at home … I think left and right come together, because that is the general sentiment in this country,” she said.

In his opening remarks, the Senate foreign relations committee chair, Jim Risch, called Rubio his “great friend” and praised his record on foreign policy, including his aggressive stance on China and Cuba in holding them “accountable for their oppressive tyranny”.

“Senator Rubio, there is a long laundry list of crises,” said Risch. “You’ve earned yourself one of the hardest jobs in America. But after serving with you for so many years. I’m confident you are the right person to take on the threats we face.”

The New Hampshire senator Jeanne Shaheen pointed to Rubio’s previous support for Ukraine but said that “the path forward is uncertain, and I hope today you will lay out some of the administration’s plans for Ukraine”.

She also asked about the administration’s policy on Syria and plans for the state department, where many have worried that Trump would plan to defund or potentially abolish certain divisions, including the office of global women’s Issues.