Rubio testifies on Iran war, State Department budget cuts

WASHINGTON (Gray DC) – Secretary of State Marco Rubio spent nearly three hours before the Senate Foreign Relations Committee on Tuesday defending both the Trump administration’s proposed State Department budget and its handling of the war with Iran.

The hearing marked Rubio’s first public appearance before Congress since the conflict with Iran began earlier this year. He appeared before the Senate Foreign Relations Committee to defend the administration’s $33.6 billion State Department budget request, but faced extensive questioning about the war as well.

Democratic lawmakers repeatedly challenged Rubio over the administration’s foreign policy priorities, arguing Congress has not received enough information about the conflict and questioning the proposed reductions in diplomatic spending.

Sen. Tammy Duckworth, D-Illinois, contrasted the administration’s military spending in Iran with its budget proposal for diplomacy.

“In just 14 weeks, President Trump will have blown through as much, if not more money in Iran than he thinks Congress should spend on U.S. diplomacy for the entirety of the next fiscal year,” Duckworth said.

Sen. Jeanne Shaheen of New Hampshire, the committee’s top Democrat, accused the administration of keeping lawmakers in the dark.

“Congress cannot be a partner if it’s kept in the dark,” Shaheen said. “When you do notify Congress, it’s to inform us of decisions you have already made. That is not consultation. As you well know.”

Several senators pressed Rubio over the legal justification for the conflict and questioned why Congress had not received a formal opinion from the Justice Department’s Office of Legal Counsel.

The hearing also offered a glimpse into the administration’s negotiating position with Iran.

Rubio rejected suggestions that the White House has offered sanctions relief in exchange for reopening the Strait of Hormuz, a critical global shipping route that has remained disrupted during the conflict. Instead, he said any sanctions relief would be tied to complete deal that include Iran abandoning its nuclear activities.

Asked by Sen. Chris Murphy, D-Connecticut, what would be required to reopen the waterway, Rubio said Iran must first stop threatening commercial shipping.

“What needs to happen is very simple,” Rubio said. “They need to announce that they will no longer fire on commercial ships that are going through.”

Rubio added that any broader agreement would require Iran to negotiate the disposition of its stockpile of highly enriched uranium, and forgo plans to create a nuclear weapon.

One of the sharpest exchanges of the hearing came when Sen. Cory Booker, D-New Jersey, argued the administration appeared to be moving toward an agreement similar to the nuclear deal negotiated under former President Barack Obama — an agreement Trump withdrew from during his first term.

“We are the strongest nation on the planet Earth and we’re in a stalemate with Iran,” Booker said. “And now we’re begging to get back into a deal that you all trashed in the first place.”

“We’re not begging. There’s no one begging,” Rubio replied before Booker’s time expired.

The administration has maintained that any future agreement.

Beyond Iran, senators questioned Rubio about China, Ukraine, Venezuela and the Ebola outbreak in Central Africa. Rubio is scheduled to appear before additional congressional committees later this week as lawmakers continue examining the administration’s foreign policy agenda and budget request.