In a House Foreign Affairs Committee hearing for the Department of State’s Fiscal Year 2027 Budget Request, Secretary of State Marco Rubio testified before the committee on “how the Department is realigning programs and bureaucracy to support the president’s America First policy agenda.”
During the hearing, Secretary Rubio discussed several matters, including Iran, Venezuela, Cuba, and the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID).
In his opening statement, Secretary Rubio characterized his and the State Department’s role since the start of the second Trump administration as “a history of tremendous successes combined with ongoing and difficult challenges.”
Secretary Rubio cited the U.S.’s role in the conflict between India and Pakistan, Thailand and Cambodia, the war in Gaza, and Armenia vs. Azerbaijan – a conflict for which he signed a Memorandum of Understanding the day before the hearing –, the Shield of the Americas, Pax Silica, and Venezuela as examples of the triumphs he has led during his tenure.
Heated Exchange During the Beginning of the Hearing
Rep. Gregory Meeks (D-NY) and Secretary Rubio shared a heated exchange as the congressman asked whether Secretary Rubio warned President Donald Trump about the potential rise in the cost of gas, food, travel, and shipments.
“The president and the full administration was aware that there would be consequences to action, but the consequences of Iran having a nuclear weapon were worse,” Secretary Rubio affirmed.
Rep. Meeks, citing President Trump’s previous comment that he doesn’t think about Americans’ financial situation and the president’s financial trades and profits throughout the course of the war in Iran, asked Secretary Rubio: “Did you warn the president that the personal stock purchases and companies profiting from the war that he launched could present a conflict of interest?”
“I’m not aware of the president’s stock purchases… I don’t even know if what you’re saying is true," Secretary Rubio responded.
Congressman Meeks used Cuba and the Cuban mega conglomerate owned and operated by Cuba’s Revolutionary Armed Forces, GAESA, to draw comparisons between the Trump administration and the president’s allies’ ability to make billions while the American people suffer economically.
