Marco Rubio appeared on Tuesday before the Senate Foreign Relations Committee to advocate for the State Department's budget for fiscal year 2027. He took the opportunity during the hearing to clearly outline the Trump administration's foreign policy doctrine with absolute priority given to national interests, with no concessions or philanthropy.
It was also his first appearance before Congress since the onset of the war with Iran, which turned the session into a highly charged political stage.
"Our foreign policy is focused exclusively on the national interests of the United States of America, on the defense of our country, both in its military defense and in our security, but also in our economic security and the strength of our economy, our sovereignty, and our future," Rubio stated in his opening remarks.
The Secretary of State was direct in rejecting any supportive role of the federal government on the international stage.
"The government of the United States is not a charity. We are not here to act as social workers; we are here to win. We are here to win on behalf of the American people and in defense of the national interest," he stated.
Rubio also asserted the global power of the United States, but with a warning: “We remain the only global superpower in the world, the most powerful country on Earth. We have the largest economy and the most formidable and powerful armed forces that humanity has ever known. But all of this means very little if that power is not used to protect the people who built it.”
In hemispheric matters, the secretary presented as a historic achievement the consolidation of a coalition of more than a dozen friendly countries in the Western Hemisphere, aligned with Washington in both security and economic prosperity.
"It is an extraordinary story," said Rubio, although he explicitly pointed out the exceptions: Nicaragua, Cuba, and Venezuela are excluded from that coalition, while Brazil —in the midst of an election cycle— and the president of Colombia were described as problematic cases.
The secretary warned that this positive reality in the region comes after two decades of neglect that allowed China and other global powers to gain a foothold in the hemisphere, "to the detriment not only of the national interests of the United States but also of the peoples of those countries."
The hearing revolves around the defense of a budget that proposes cuts of approximately 12 billion dollars compared to what was approved for the fiscal year 2026, including reductions in humanitarian aid, funds for the UN, and development programs. As a countermeasure, the administration proposes a "America First Opportunity Fund" of 5 billion dollars for strategic investments aligned with national interests.
Rubio today holds two of the most influential positions in American foreign policy: Secretary of State and Acting National Security Advisor, a role to which he was appointed by Trump in May 2025. Cuba occupies a central place in his agenda as he has accumulated over 240 sanctions against the island since January 2026 and has stated that the fall of the regime is the legacy that would define his career.
The day before, Democratic Senator Rubén Gallego stated in Madrid that Rubio has "an obsession with Cuba" and that the Trump administration is seeking a change of government on the island.
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