Yesterday, amid the momentous news of a ceasefire agreement finally being reached in Gaza, right-wing Senator Marco Rubio was confirmed as Trump’s Secretary of State by the United States Senate. To some, Rubio’s confirmation, given his reputation as a warhawk known for promoting an aggressive approach against countries that do not tip-toe around the US line on foreign policy, contradicts Trump’s campaign promise of “preventing World War III.”
Rubio’s role as Secretary of State signals that Trump may immediately relist Cuba as a State Sponsor of Terrorism. This week, in his final days as President, Biden removed Cuba from the SSoT list, a designation which has resulted in multiple humanitarian crises on the island.
During Rubio’s confirmation hearing, when asked about Biden’s delisting of Cuba as a State Sponsor of Terrorism, the Florida Senator responded, “Nothing that the Biden administration has agreed to in the last 12 or 18 hours binds the next administration, which starts on Monday.”
Rubio is notorious for his promotion of a hostile foreign policy against countries such as Iran, China, Russia, and Venezuela. Rubio has also attacked left-wing social movements within the domestic context, attempting to use the power of the state to harshly sanction the BDS movement and pro-Palestine and leftist organizations within the United States.
A protester with anti-war organization CODEPINK was arrested after disrupting Rubio’s Senate confirmation hearing. While under arrest, the protester shouted “you can’t be a warmonger and a diplomat!”
“He’s taken over one million dollars from the Israel lobby!” The protester, Adnaan, shouted. “He wants the US fighting in China, in Iran, in Russia, he wants them fighting in Gaza. He’s gonna cost the lives of millions of people around the world.”
Stumo, who is CODEPINK’s Washington DC Coordinator, told Peoples Dispatch, “We disrupted Marco Rubio’s confirmation hearing yesterday because his appointment as Secretary of State would be a slap in the face to the American people. We want no more endless wars, and Rubio is such a warhawk that he cannot represent our interests…Countless lives are at stake based on U.S. government policy in the next four years, and it is necessary to highlight our government’s disloyalty to the people – by disrupting the theatrical fait accompli of a hearing, if necessary.”