Sen. Marco Rubio (R-Fla.), the ranking member of the Senate Intelligence Committee, said early Wednesday the U.S. is entering a period of “pragmatic foreign policy,” following former President Trump’s victory in the presidential election.
Rubio, in an interview on CNN, said the U.S. needs to be “very pragmatic and wise in how we invest overseas and what we do, how we approach things,” citing threats from the closer ties of Russia, North Korea, Iran and China.
Rubio’s comments serve as an early window into how Republicans, who will take control of the Senate in January, will prioritize foreign policy threats in a second Trump administration and amid anxiety among America’s allies in Europe and Asia that the U.S. under Trump will retreat from its leadership position on the international stage in standing up against adversaries.
The Florida senator on CNN did not address reports that Moscow is behind a plot that sought to send explosive devices through air mail, but said one of the first priorities for a Trump administration is to address Russian hybrid warfare that is occurring on European and NATO territory.
“We know that the Russians have been involved in attempted sabotage operations throughout Europe as a way of inflicting costs on nations in Europe that are assisting Ukraine and I think that’s an area we need to focus on and that the Trump Administration would make a priority in my opinion,” he said.
Rubio, a former member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, did not address whether he would serve in a Trump administration; his name has been floated as a possible option of secretary of State.
“I haven’t had any such conversations with anybody in the Trump Administration and either way I plan to work with them whether it’s in the Senate, which is an important place to be, or in some other capacity,” he said.
