Trump secretary of state pick Rubio puts China in foreign policy crosshairs

Washington — Two more of US president-elect Donald Trump’s top nominees faced Senate confirmation hearings on Wednesday: Republican senator Marco Rubio for secretary of state and Pam Bondi for US attorney-general.

A China hawk and staunch backer of Israel, Rubio promised a robust foreign policy focused on American interests and at his nomination hearing. The 53-year-old is expected to comfortably win confirmation by the full Senate.

Democrats backed him as soon as Trump announced his nomination to become the top US diplomat, a sharp contrast with some more controversial nominees who drew scepticism even from Trump’s own party.

Rubio addressed major foreign policy issues in a friendly hearing before a committee where he has served for 14 years. He had harsh words for China and said an end to the war in Ukraine was essential with both sides making concessions.

In his opening statement to the Senate foreign relations committee, where he has served for 14 years, Rubio said he sees a world in chaos where it will not be easy to restore order.

“It will be impossible without a strong and a confident America that engages in the world, putting our core national interests once again above all else,” Rubio said.

The son of immigrants from Cuba, Rubio would be the first person of Hispanic origin serving as the top US diplomat.

Rubio’s remarks were briefly interrupted by a handful of protesters. One spoke in Spanish and mentioned Latin American countries that the US has hit with sanctions, including Nicaragua, Venezuela and Cuba.

“I get bilingual protesters,” Rubio joked.

“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. We need to take on these threats,” said senator Jim Risch, the committee’s Republican chair.

“I believe you have the skills and are well qualified to serve as secretary of state,” senator Jeanne Shaheen, the top foreign relations Democrat, said.

Rubio is one of Congress’ leading advocates for strong policies to compete with China. His support for Hong Kong democracy protesters earned him Chinese sanctions in 2020, meaning he could be the first secretary of state under active Chinese travel restrictions.

At the hearing, Rubio said Washington must step up its efforts to compete with Beijing and slammed its government on human rights.

“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,” Rubio said.

Some other Trump nominees have faced strong criticism, with even some Republicans saying they wanted more information about former Fox News host Pete Hegseth, tapped for secretary of defense, and former representative Tulsi Gabbard, Trump’s choice for director of national intelligence. 

Earlier on Wednesday, Trump’s choice for attorney-general, Pam Bondi, vowed not to use the justice department to target people based on their politics, seeking to allay concerns the president-elect will use law enforcement to go after his opponents.

“There will never be an enemies list within the department of justice,” Bondi told the Senate judiciary committee. “I will not politicise that office. I will not target people simply because of their political affiliation.”

Bondi, 59, served as Florida’s attorney-general from 2011 to 2019, and helped defend Trump during his 2019 impeachment trial which ended in his acquittal on charges of pressuring Ukraine to investigate his rival, now-President Joe Biden.

Bondi criticised past investigations and prosecutions of Trump by the justice department, suggesting they were evidence of partisan “weaponisation”.

The department brought two criminal cases against Trump over his attempts to overturn the 2020 election and retaining classified documents. Both have since been dropped.

Trump has threatened to use the US justice system to seek revenge against his political enemies when he returns to power.

“The concern is that weaponisation of the justice department may well occur under your tenure,” Democrat Sheldon Whitehouse told Bondi. “We want to make sure that’s not the case, that you remain independent.”

The Republican-majority Senate is evaluating a wave of cabinet picks, some controversial, ahead of Trump's return to office on Monday. Legislators held a fiery hearing with Trump's pick for defense secretary, Pete Hegseth, on Tuesday, and are due on Thursday to hear from his choice for treasury secretary, Scott Bessent.

Bondi said she would evaluate potential pardons for those accused of taking part in the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the US Capitol on a “case-by-case” basis if asked.

Trump has vowed to pardon at least some of the roughly 1,600 people criminally charged with taking part in the riot, but has suggested that those who were violent may not get a reprieve.

Bondi pledged to prioritise prosecuting violent crime, gangs, child sex abusers and drug traffickers, protecting the country from “terrorists and other foreign threats” and addressing “the overwhelming crisis at the border.”

She added that she also will focus on protecting free speech, religious freedom and “the right to bear arms,” and work to fix the Federal Bureau of Prisons which she said has suffered from “years of mismanagement, lack of funding, and low morale.”

Top committee Republican Senator Chuck Grassley praised Bondi's experience.

“The Justice Department’s infected with political decision-making, while its leaders refuse to acknowledge that reality,” Grassley said in his prepared opening statement. “Should you be confirmed, the actions you take to change the Department’s course must be for accountability, so that the conduct I just described never happens again.

In 2013, while serving as Florida attorney-general, Bondi declined to join with other states to investigate Trump University shortly after a political action committee supporting her campaign received a $25,000 donation from the Trump Foundation.

That for-profit Trump venture closed and in 2018 a federal judge signed off on a $25 million settlement to close lawsuits brought by former students claiming they were lured by false promises.

Bondi denied any connection between the donation and her decision not to investigate Trump University.

Following Trump's 2020 election defeat, she appeared at press conferences and on television shows where she echoed some of Trump's false claims about election fraud.

Bondi has also worked as a lobbyist for Ballard Partners since 2019.

Federal ethics rules generally require government employees to recuse themselves from participating in matters that could have a direct financial impact on them and for a period of time to recuse themselves from working on cases involving parties with whom they have personal or business relationships.

Bondi's current or former lobbying clients include the Dominican Republic, Qatar, Zimbabwe’s foreign affairs minister and Kosovo, as well as Amazon.com, Fidelity, Carnival North America, Uber Technologies, Major League Baseball, General Motors, The GEO Group, Alden Torch Financial and the Major County Sheriffs of America.

Several of the companies, such as Uber, Amazon, Carnival and General Motors have been in the crosshairs of various justice department investigations during Biden’s administration.

The GEO Group, a private prison company, has some outstanding contracts with the department, federal spending records show. Some of the law enforcement groups Bondi has lobbied for as recently as 2024 have members whose offices receive department grant funds.

Reuters