Washington — Secretary of State Marco Rubio is set to face a series of questions Tuesday about the Trump administration’s fragile or stalled diplomatic efforts around the world when he appears at back-to-back hearings on Capitol Hill for the first time since. Iran war He started.
The former Republican senator will sit before House and Senate committees to present the State Department’s annual budget request. But the focus is likely to quickly shift to the already unstable ceasefire between Washington and Tehran More testing In recent days through mutual attacks.
Cabinet members, including Rubio, defended President Donald Trump’s decision to launch the conflict despite promises over the years not to engage in “forever wars” in the Middle East. This work has been made more difficult by Trump’s work – Changing the goals of the conflict.
While Rubio testifies before Congress for the first time since then The Iran War began on February 28He participated in a secret briefing for lawmakers days after the first US and Israeli strikes. He faced the wrath of Democrats over Congress’ lack of approval but strong support from most Republicans for taking action against one of America’s oldest adversaries.
But in the two months since the war began, a small but growing group of Republicans has joined Democrats in questioning the viability of the war. An astronomical price And in general Economic consequences of conflict as they head to the midterm elections in the fall.
last month, The Senate was able to advance the legislation For the first time, this would have forced Trump to withdraw from the conflict after Republican Senator Bill Cassidy – who was recently… Losing the primary election In which Trump endorsed his opponent — and joined Democrats in pushing him forward.
The House of Representatives had set a date to vote on a resolution on war powers, but The GOP leadership prevented him from getting on the floor After it became clear that the majority party would not have enough numbers to defeat him.
These actions show that the GOP is struggling to maintain political support for Trump’s handling of the war, as rank-and-file Republicans grow increasingly willing to challenge the president over the conflict.
After appearing Tuesday before the Senate Foreign Relations Committee and the House Appropriations Subcommittee responsible for the State Department, Rubio will return to the Hill on Wednesday to testify before the House Foreign Affairs Committee and the Senate Appropriations Subcommittee.
Rubio – the son of Cuban immigrants – is also likely to be questioned about the administration’s escalatory behavior toward Cuba, with Trump hinting that the small island nation… He could be the next American target After the end of operations in Iran.
Although a A series of meetings Between American and Cuban officials Trump and Rubio renewed the threats Against the island’s government, which has more weight after the administration Criminal charges announced Against former President Raul Castro.
During his career in Congress and now as America’s top diplomat, Rubio has maintained that Cuba poses a national security threat because of its ties to US adversaries and that Trump is determined to confront it.
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Amiri reported from New York.