Members of the U.S. Senate and House of Representatives get a rare chance this week to question Secretary of State Marco Rubio in public about President Donald Trump’s foreign policy, as his fellow Republicans have been showing signs of concern about the Iran war.
Rubio, who also serves as Trump’s national security adviser, will testify on the State Department’s budget request to the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, House of Representatives Foreign Affairs Committee and House and Senate appropriations subcommittees at two hearings over two days.
The Republican former senator will sit before House and Senate committees to make the State Department’s annual budget request. But the focus is likely to shift quickly to the already unsteady ceasefire between Washington and Tehran, which has been further tested in recent days by back-and-forth attacks.
Cabinet members, including Rubio, have 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. That work has been made more difficult by Trump’s shifting goals for the conflict.
While Rubio is testifying before Congress for the first time since the Iran war started on Feb. 28, he took part in a classified briefing for lawmakers days after the first U.S. and Israeli strikes. He faced Democrats’ anger over the lack of congressional approval but strong support from most Republicans for taking action against one of America’s oldest adversaries. In the two months since the war began, however, a small but growing faction of Republicans have joined Democrats in questioning the astronomical price tag and overall economic consequences of the conflict as they head into midterm elections in the fall. The war has cut tanker traffic in the Strait of Hormuz, a critical waterway through which 20% of the world’s traded oil and natural gas passes in peacetime, spiking gas prices.
Last month, the Senate advanced legislation for the first time that would have forced Trump to withdraw from the conflict after GOP Sen. Bill Cassidy of Louisiana — fresh off a primary election loss in which Trump endorsed his opponent — joined Democrats in pushing it forward.
The House also had scheduled a vote on a war powers resolution, but GOP leadership kept it from coming to the floor after it became clear that the majority party would not have the numbers to defeat it.
The actions show the GOP is struggling to maintain political backing for Trump’s handling of the war as rank-and-file Republicans are increasingly willing to defy the president over the conflict.
Following his appearances Tuesday before the Senate Foreign Relations Committee and 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 equivalent Senate Appropriations subcommittee.
Rubio, the son of Cuban immigrants, also is likely to be questioned about the Trump administration’s escalatory behavior toward Cuba, as Trump has hinted that the small island country could be the next U.S. target after operations in Iran are wrapped up.
