Editor’s note: This piece is part of a series presenting questions for Senators and journalists to ask President-elect Trump’s nominees for senior government positions.
U.S. Senator Marco Rubio will testify Wednesday morning before the Senate Foreign Relations Committee for his confirmation hearing as President-elect Donald Trump’s nominee to be secretary of state. Rubio has represented Florida in the U.S. Senate since 2011, serving on the Foreign Relations Committee and as vice chairman of the Select Committee on Intelligence. In 2016, he faced off against Trump in a crowded primary race for the Republican presidential nomination, bowing out after losing to Trump in his home state of Florida.
As secretary of state, Rubio would lead the State Department and advise the president on foreign policy and U.S. diplomacy. Among many other global challenges, he would inherit a complex set of wars in the Middle East, Russia’s ongoing war in Ukraine, a genocide and the world’s worst humanitarian crisis in Sudan, a tense relationship with China, the global response to climate change, and rising authoritarianism and repression of human rights in allied and adversarial countries.
We asked former diplomats, international relations and legal experts what members of the committee should focus on in Rubio’s confirmation hearing on Wednesday, starting at 10 a.m. A livestream of the hearing will be available here.
Use of Force, War Powers, and International Law
- Past administrations have sometimes shared their thinking on the circumstances under which the United States would use military force. For example, in 2013, President Obama told the U.N. General Assembly that his administration would use force in the Middle East to protect allies and partners against aggression, keep energy supplies freely flowing, counter terrorism, and prevent the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction. What do you think of President Obama’s list? In advising President Trump, are there situations you would encourage him to add to or subtract from the list – whether in the Middle East or in other regions? (Stephen Pomper)
- Are you prepared to recognize that there are legal constraints on President Trump’s authority to use military force? For example, do you believe that there are situations where congressional authorization is required as a constitutional or statutory matter, and if so what are they? Does international law play a role in determining when the United States can go to war, and if so what is it? (Stephen Pomper)
- Senator Rubio, as you know, it can sometimes be challenging for this Committee to ensure we are able to perform our Constitutional role in deciding when and against whom the nation will go to war, given a lack of transparency on the part of the Executive branch. Will you commit to us that you will promptly inform this Committee of any new Executive branch interpretations of existing force authorizations with respect to the groups they cover, the purposes for which force is authorized, or the locations in which use of military force is authorized? (Tess Bridgeman)
- Will you commit to coming to Congress for authorization before relying on any interpretation of an existing authorization for use of military force (AUMF) that would apply it to a nation not explicitly named in that authorization? (Tess Bridgeman)
Russia and Russia’s War in Ukraine
- President Putin and his associates have rejected President Trump’s interest in a just and lasting settlement of the Russia-Ukraine War. If this remains their position, will the United States put additional pressure on Russia to achieve such a settlement? (Ambassador Daniel Fried)
- How does the Trump administration plan to promote a timely end to the conflict in Ukraine, while staying true to American values and interests? (Harold Hongju Koh)
- What should the United States seek in encouraging a “negotiated settlement” to the Ukraine conflict? (Brian Egan)
- Senator Rubio, as you know, annexation by force of another State’s territory is an act of aggression, and deviation from that principle would threaten to erode the very foundations of the international order. Will you commit to upholding the sovereignty and territorial integrity of Ukraine – as protected by the bedrock rules of our global system – in any negotiations to end the conflict? (Tess Bridgeman)
- The United States and European countries suspect Russia of multiple cases of sabotage of various kinds across Europe, including in NATO countries, in recent years. The incidents include repeated damage to undersea cables in the Baltic Sea, an alleged plot to attack U.S. military bases in Germany, an alleged assassination attempt targeting the CEO of a German weapons manufacturer supporting Ukraine, and many more. What specifically do you believe the United States should do in response? (Viola Gienger)
Middle East Wars
- How will the Trump administration prevent a wider war in the Mideast, and what will it do to ensure that any conflict in the Mideast with which the U.S. is involved is conducted consistently with Congress’ constitutional power to declare war? (Harold Hongju Koh)
- Are you committed to bringing home Americans and their families from conflict areas abroad, like northeast Syria, where Americans are among the tens of thousands of children living in camps housing families displaced after the territorial defeat of ISIS? (Former senior State Department official)
Allies, Sovereignty, and Gunboat Diplomacy
- President-elect Trump has expressed a desire for the United States to acquire territory that is not currently under its sovereignty – including the Panama Canal, Greenland, and Canada — to meet “national security” needs. In the first two cases he has refused to rule out the use of military force to achieve his aims. What is the difference between his threats and what is often called “gunboat diplomacy,” which the world’s nations agreed to outlaw following the last century’s world wars? Putting aside the legalities, would you endorse the use of similar tactics by other countries to acquire territory that they consider necessary for national security purposes, whether that be Ukraine in Russia’s case, or Taiwan in China’s? (Stephen Pomper)
- What possible U.S. interest would be advanced by threatening or actually attacking Denmark, a NATO ally? What U.S. interest in Greenland is not being met now or could not be met by simply asking the governments of Greenland and Denmark? (Ambassador Daniel Fried)
- Senator Rubio, you co-sponsored legislation to prohibit the U.S. president from unilaterally withdrawing from NATO. Do you think it is lawful and appropriate for a U.S. president to threaten the use of military force against a NATO ally like Denmark? (Brian Finucane)
- Does the Trump team believe the United States is better off with or without allies? Does it prefer allies that are democratic rather than authoritarian? Or is that an irrelevant distinction? (Ambassador Daniel Fried)
- President-elect Trump has repeatedly expressed disdain for Canadian sovereignty, suggesting, for example, that Canada should be the 51st U.S. state and referring to the U.S.-Canadian border as “an artificially drawn line.” He has made similar comments recently related to Greenland and the Panama Canal. Is President-elect Trump serious about these statements? Does he – and do you – believe that it might be desirable foreign policy to take action toward such positions? And how do these statements differ from claims that Vladimir Putin has made regarding Ukraine and the stance that China has taken toward Taiwan? (Laura Rozen)
Iran
- Senator Rubio, the United States and its allies have options for pursuing hard-nosed diplomacy to ensure Iran can never obtain a nuclear weapon, and built-in leverage to do so before October when the possibility of reimposing multilateral sanctions on Iran through the UN Security Council snapback mechanism expires. It is in the U.S. national interest, and the interest of our allies and the global nonproliferation regime, to commit to a diplomatic resolution of this issue. Will you commit to us that you will pursue all feasible diplomatic options to prevent Iran from obtaining a nuclear weapon? (Tess Bridgeman)
- Would you support the negotiation of a more rigorous, legally binding nuclear deal with Iran? (Brian Egan)
- President-elect Trump has said he would be interested in negotiating a new deal with Iran, and that he’s not interested in another war in the Middle East. But his first administration’s actions seemed to shun diplomacy and seemed more geared toward a de facto regime-change policy against Iran. Senator Rubio, you also, in your long career, have staked out positions on Iran that seem to oppose compromise and even diplomacy with Iran. Which direction do you plan to pursue on Iran, should you be confirmed? What posture would you advise President-elect Trump take toward Iran? (Laura Rozen)
- Within days of Italian Prime Minister Meloni’s meeting with President-elect Trump at Mar-a-Lago last week, Italy released an Iranian engineer it had arrested on a U.S. warrant alleging he provided technology that Iran’s Revolutionary Guard Corps used in a drone strike last year that killed three U.S. military service members in Jordan. Italy released this Iranian individual just days after Iran released an Italian journalist it had detained shortly after the Iranian engineer’s arrest in Italy. Senator Rubio, you were at Mar-a-Lago the evening Prime Minister Meloni visited. Did the incoming administration signal in any way its approval of such a swap (even though Italy denies it was an exchange)? And does the incoming administration plan to pursue a new “maximum pressure” campaign against Iran, as it did during the first Trump administration? In either case, what principles will guide requests to an allied nation such as Italy on whether to honor a U.S. arrest warrant and extradition treaty? Or should they all be negotiable when the allied country has other, competing interests? (Laura Rozen)
China and Human Rights
- Senator Rubio, you have been a staunch advocate for the rights of Uyghurs in China’s Xinjiang Province, including the previous Trump administration’s decision to declare their systematic repression a genocide and even upbraiding the owner of Tesla Motors for opening a showroom in the region and doing business with China. In response to your persistent criticism, China has banned you from the country. How do you plan to conduct diplomacy with China, should you be confirmed, and what would your posture be toward China, given its human rights abuses and cyber warfare against the West on the one hand and the West’s trade dependence on China on the other? (Viola Gienger)
Sanctions and FTO Designations
- The first Trump administration relied heavily on sanctions as a tool of its “maximum pressure” policies in Iran, North Korea, and Venezuela. Do you agree that in order for sanctions to motivate constructive behavior, the United States has to be ready to ease them when its goals are achieved or when good policy otherwise requires it? For example, in Syria, former al-Qaeda affiliate Hei’at Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) broke ties to the global jihadi movement and deposed the dictator Bashar al-Assad, but the group remains designated as a “Foreign Terrorist Organization.” Experts suggest that this status could greatly complicate efforts by outside actors to aid Syria’s economic recovery — to the detriment of the Syrian people and to efforts to build a more secure, stable, and prosperous Syria.
- Would you support laying out a roadmap with benchmarks designed to prove the organization’s complete repudiation of terrorism that, if achieved, would open the door to rescinding the group’s FTO designation?
- Similarly, under what circumstances would you be prepared to recommend the rescission of Syria’s status as a state sponsor of terrorism, a status that also carries far-reaching sanctions? (Stephen Pomper)
Role of the State Department and Oversight
- In recent years, there is a perception that the real work of foreign policy has increasingly moved away from the State Department and toward the White House, with the National Security Council (NSC) gobbling up much of the high profile decision-making and the National Security Adviser now occupying a public role that was previously that of the Secretary of State. Do you foresee bringing foreign policy decisionmaking back to the State Department and if so, how? (Rebecca Ingber)
- Senator, with so many private citizens being empowered to conduct foreign policy in this administration, how will you, as Secretary of State, ensure that the Trump administration’s foreign policy discussions with foreign counterparts will be fully and accurately reported to Congress for its crucial oversight? (Harold Hongju Koh)
- Elon Musk and Vivek Ramaswamy’s non-governmental “Department of Government Efficiency” aims to send representatives to all government agencies in a search for ways to cut costs. Do you plan to work with them related to cuts in the Department of State? Under what authority would they be operating if they are not government employees, contractors, or part of an official advisory committee? (Viola Gienger)
Immigration and Refugee Law and Policy
- What is your view on U.S. refugee policy? Do you support a return to the historically low ceilings for refugee admissions set during the first Trump administration? (Brian Egan)
- Senator Rubio, will you commit to us that you will uphold U.S. protection obligations for refugees, as enshrined in domestic and international law (including the Refugee Act of 1980, the 1967 Refugee Protocol incorporating relevant provisions of the 1951 Refugee Convention, and the Convention Against Torture)? (Tess Bridgeman)
- The incoming Trump administration has made clear that reducing migration across the U.S. southern border is a top priority. Doing so will likely require the cooperation of Mexico and Panama (where the Darien Gap is located). How does the Trump administration reconcile the need for Mexican and Panamanian cooperation on immigration with proposals to conduct missile strikes on Mexican territory and threats to seize the Panama Canal? (Brian Finucane)
Presidential Immunity and Unlawful Conduct
- The Supreme Court has ruled that the President is immune from criminal prosecution for a wide scope of official conduct. Will you commit that you will not carry out any unlawful orders you receive from President Trump or otherwise engage in any unlawful conduct at his behest? (Tess Bridgeman)
Spyware
- Commercial spyware threatens U.S. national security, including via the unlawful targeting of U.S. officials. Dozens of U.S. government officials have been targeted with commercial spyware, including U.S. diplomats, whose devices were hacked using this technology. At least 65 countries have procured spyware technology, including China, Iran, and Russia. The State Department has imposed visa restrictions on the purveyors of spyware and those who profit from its use. Will you commit, as Secretary of State, to continuing and expanding these efforts, and to protecting State Department personnel and other U.S. officials by ensuring the development of and adherence to robust standards for cybersecurity? (Carrie DeCell)
Violent Extremism
- What will you do to address the transnational threat of white identity terrorism and racially or ethnically motivated violent extremism (REMVE), ideologies which frequently are exported from the United States? (Former senior State Department official)