Rubio, who is President-elect Donald Trump‘s pick for secretary of state, sought to characterize established geopolitics as a failing system in his first appearance sitting before the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, a body he was once a member of.

“Out of the triumphalism of the end of the long Cold War emerged a bipartisan consensus that we had reached ‘the end of history.’ That all the nations of Earth would become members of the democratic Western-led community,” Rubio said in his opening testimony. “That a foreign policy that served the national interest could now be replaced by one that served the ‘liberal world order.’ And that all mankind was now destined to abandon national identity, and we would become ‘one human family’ and ‘citizens of the world.’”

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“This wasn’t just a fantasy; it was a dangerous delusion,” he added.

Rubio, often described as a hawk, was in some ways a surprise choice for Trump, who has made disentangling the U.S. from foreign conflicts a priority of his second administration.

He promised to hold closely to Trump’s foreign policy agenda if confirmed to head the State Department, stating that “under President Trump, the dollars of hardworking American taxpayers will always be spent wisely, and our power will always be yielded prudently, and toward what is best for America and Americans above all else.”

A veteran of the Foreign Relations Committee and the Senate intelligence panel, Rubio is widely seen as one of Trump’s least controversial Cabinet picks and is expected to sail through the nomination process.

“President Trump returns to office with an unmistakable mandate from the voters,” Rubio told the Senate committee. “They want a strong America. Engaged in the world. But guided by a clear objective, to promote peace abroad, and security and prosperity here at home.”

“That is the promise President Trump was elected to keep,” he continued. “And if I am confirmed, keeping that promise will be the core mission of the United States Department of State.”

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US-China rivalry will define 21st century

Rubio believes the 21st century will be defined by the competition and possible conflict between the U.S. and China, dismissing Russian President Vladimir Putin and the Islamic regime of Iran as important but ultimately secondary adversaries in the fight for continued U.S. hegemony.

“The Communist Party of China is the most potent and dangerous near-peer adversary this country has ever confronted,” Rubio told the committee.

The senator recounted how, in his mind, the U.S. allowed the Chinese Communist Party to exploit global institutions and regulatory bodies to bolster their economic position — particularly, by convincing its rival powers to classify it as a “developing country.”

That designation has historically allowed China to circumvent or ignore international responsibilities such as ecological standards and worker rights protections that first-world economies must deal with.

“Instead of folding into the post-Cold War global order, they have manipulated it to serve their interest at the expense of ours,” Rubio said in his opening testimony. “We welcomed the Chinese Communist Party into this global order. And they took advantage of all its benefits.”

He continued, “But they ignored all its obligations and responsibilities. Instead, they have lied, cheated, hacked, and stolen their way to global superpower status, at our expense.”

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The senator said he believes the Chinese Communist Party will attempt to launch an invasion of Taiwan “by the end of the decade.”

Rubio endorsed a “porcupine strategy” of bolstering Taiwanese defense infrastructure and national security resources to make sure the “price would be too high to pay” for an armed invasion.

Future of Russian invasion of Ukraine

On the topic of Ukraine, Rubio reiterated the incoming Trump administration’s commitment to ending Russia’s invasion as quickly as possible.

“There is no way Russia takes all of Ukraine. The Ukrainians are too brave and fight too hard and the country is too big. That’s not going to happen,” Rubio told the committee.

At the same time, he admitted that “no matter how incompetent and no matter how much damage the Russian Federation has suffered as a result of this invasion — there’s no way Ukraine is also going to push these people all the way back to where they were on the eve of the invasion, just given the size dynamic.”

A peace deal would require “balances” and “concessions on both sides” — an arrangement the senator said must ensure the future safety of the Ukrainian state.

Rubio made clear that any peace arrangement must guarantee that Putin is not capable of resuming the invasion in a few years after Russia recovers from its losses.

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Iran’s ‘two schools of thought’

Rubio speculated that members of the Islamic Republic of Iran’s regime are divided on how to move forward following its collapsing economic and political power in the Middle East.

“I imagine that within that regime […] there are two schools of thought,” Rubio said — “We’re really in trouble here, we need an off-ramp” versus “Now is the time to prove we are a nuclear power.”

Rubio said the U.S. government should be “open to any arrangement” that leads to “safety and security in the region,” but must be “clear-eyed” about what kind of regime is being dealt with when negotiating.

If confirmed, Rubio will be the first Latino to hold the office of secretary of state.

A series of disruptions stalled the beginning of Rubio’s hearing.

Individual protesters and a uniform group clad in pink headbands thrice interrupted the proceedings to shout down the nominee for everything from the war in Gaza to the need for free healthcare.

One protester was shouting in Spanish as they were hauled out of the room.

Rubio joked about the “bilingual” aspect of his protesters, drawing laughter from the committee.

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Rubio has had a rollercoaster relationship with the president-elect over the past nine years.

Rubio and Trump ran against each other during the 2016 Republican primary. At the time, Rubio characterized the business mogul as a “con artist” who has “spent his entire career sticking it to the little guy.”

Trump regularly mocked Rubio in return, branding him with the nickname “Little Marco” and calling him a “liar” who is not “presidential material.”

Following Trump’s victory in the primary and subsequent election as the 45th president, Rubio changed gears. He became a close ally of Trump’s first administration and endorsed his 2024 Republican primary campaign.