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A Foreign Policy Good for America and the World


Marco Rubio testifies before a Senate Foreign Relations Committee hearing on his nomination to be Secretary of State in Washington, DC, on January 15, 2025.
Marco Rubio testifies before a Senate Foreign Relations Committee hearing on his nomination to be Secretary of State in Washington, DC, on January 15, 2025.

“For in the end,” said Mr. Rubio, “how can America promote the cause of peace on Earth if it is not first safe at home? What good is America to our allies if it is not strong?"

A Foreign Policy Good for America and the World
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On January 21, Marco Rubio was sworn in as the 72nd United States Secretary of State.

Earlier, at his confirmation hearing, soon-to-be Secretary Rubio outlined his vision for United States’ foreign policy.

At the end of the Cold War, he noted, a mistaken consensus emerged that national interest could be replaced by one that served the liberal world order:

“This wasn’t just a fantasy. We now know it was a dangerous delusion.”

The U.S. industrial capacity collapsed; critical supply chains were pushed into the hands of adversaries; mass migration threatened the stability of societies and governments. While the United States, he said, “too often prioritized the global order above our core national interest, other nations ... manipulated it to serve their interests at the expense of ours.”

“We welcomed the Chinese Communist Party into the global order, and they took advantage of all of its benefits and they ignored all of its obligations and responsibilities,” he said. “[N]arco-terrorists and dictators and despots take advantage of open borders to drive mass migration, to traffic in women and children, and to flood our communities with deadly fentanyl and violent criminals. In Moscow, in Tehran, in Pyongyang, dictators - rogue states – now sow chaos and instability ... and then they hide behind their veto power at the United Nations Security Council or the threats of nuclear war.”

To confront the current geopolitical instability, said Mr. Rubio, what is required is a United States “strong and confident ... that engages in the world, putting our core national interests once again above all else.”

Four years ago, Mr. Rubio noted, “American strength was a deterrent to our adversaries, and it gave us leverage in diplomacy.”

“Now, tragically,” he said, “horrifying atrocities and unimaginable human suffering can be found on virtually every continent.” Because the United States was founded on the “revolutionary truth” that all men are created equal and their rights come from God, “we will never be indifferent to the suffering of our fellow man,” said Mr. Rubio. “But ultimately, under President Trump, the top priority of the United States Department of State will be the United States.”

“For in the end,” Mr. Rubio declared, “how can America promote the cause of peace on Earth if it is not first safe at home? What good is America to our allies if it is not strong? And how can America end the suffering of God’s children across the world if it is not first prosperous here at home?”

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