Rubio vows to place US interests ‘above all else’ as Trump’s top diplomat

Florida senator Marco Rubio has promised to implement President-elect Donald Trump’s “America First” vision as secretary of state, vowing in his confirmation hearing that the incoming administration will forge a new path by placing American interests “above all else”.

“Placing our core national interests above all else is not isolationism,” Mr Rubio told the Senate Foreign Relations Committee.

“It is the commonsense realisation that a foreign policy centred on our national interest is not some outdated relic.”

“The postwar global order is not just obsolete; it is now a weapon being used against us,” Mr Rubio said.

It is a remarkable opening salvo from Mr Rubio, who was born in Miami to Cuban immigrants and who, if confirmed, would become the first Latino to serve as the nation’s top diplomat.

The confirmation hearing begins a new chapter in the political career of the 53-year-old Florida Republican, whose relationship with Mr Trump has evolved over the last decade.

Once rivals trading schoolyard insults as they campaigned for president in 2016, the two men became close allies as Mr Trump campaigned for another White House term last year.

Mr Rubio first came to Washington as part of the “tea party” wave in 2010 and once advocated for allowing a path to citizenship for immigrants in the country illegally.

But like other Republicans, Mr Rubio’s views on immigration have shifted toward the hardline stance of Mr Trump, who has pledged to aggressively pursue deportations once he takes office on Monday.

Unlike many of Mr Trump’s cabinet selections, Mr Rubio is expected to easily win confirmation, notching support not only from Republicans but also Democrats who endorse him as a “responsible” pick to represent the US abroad.

Many expect he will be among the first of Mr Trump’s cabinet picks approved.

Democratic senator Brian Schatz, who served alongside Mr Rubio on the Foreign Relations Committee, said he has high hopes that the Florida Republican will reject the isolationist approach of other Trump allies.

“I think Marco is a hawk, but he’s also an internationalist, and I think the challenge for him will be to maintain the long bipartisan tradition of America being indispensable in world affairs,” the Hawaii politician told The Associated Press.

“And there are people in the Trump world who want us to run away from being the leaders of the free world. And I’m hoping that Marco’s instincts towards American strength will win the day.”

Mr Rubio’s approach to foreign affairs is grounded in his years of service on the Foreign Relations committee and the Senate Intelligence panel.

In his speeches and writings, he has delivered increasingly stern warnings about growing military and economic threats to the United States, particularly from China, which he says has benefited from a “global world order” that he characterises as obsolete.

China, Mr Rubio told the committee, has “lied, cheated, hacked, and stolen their way to global superpower status, at our expense”.

The Chinese Foreign Ministry on Wednesday declined to comment on Mr Rubio’s remarks.

If confirmed, Mr Rubio will become the leader of US foreign policy — though his role will surely remain secondary to Mr Trump, who relishes the global stage and frequently uses the bully pulpit against America’s allies.