🚨Rubio FOLDS under AGGRESSIVE CROSS-EXAM at Hearing

Senator Tammy Duckworth cross-examined Rubio about the Trump administration's invocation of the Alien Enemies Act against Venezuela, a law historically used during declared wars (e.g., War of 1812, WWI, WWII). Duckworth pressed Rubio on whether the US was 'at war' with Venezuela, highlighting the contradiction of using a wartime power without a declared war.

Duckworth stated the act was last used for Japanese internment and asked if Rubio would advise rescinding its invocation if the US was not at war with Venezuela. Rubio responded by framing it as a mechanism to remove dangerous individuals like gang members, avoiding a direct answer on the 'state of war' with Venezuela.

Senator Brian Schatz questioned Rubio on whether the Trump administration planned for regime change in Cuba, asking for a public commitment to rule it out. Rubio expressed a desire for a change in the Cuban regime but distinguished it from active US-precipitated regime change, citing the Helms-Burton Act's codification of requiring regime change to lift the embargo.

Schatz asked, 'Will you make a public commitment today to rule out US regime change in Cuba?' Rubio responded, 'Regime change? Yes. Oh, no. I think we would love to see the regime there change... That doesn't mean that we're going to make a change, but we would love to see a change.'

Senator Chris Van Hollen grilled Rubio about President Trump's public statements that he informed oil executives about the Venezuela invasion before Congress. Rubio denied this, claiming it 'never happened' and that oil executives learned about the operation at the same time as everyone else, directly contradicting Trump's own public remarks.

Van Hollen stated, 'President Trump has said publicly that he had communications with folks from the oil industry about going into Venezuela before anyone here in Congress was notified.' Rubio replied, 'That never happened. I couldn't be with him because it never happened. The oil executives were not involved whatsoever in any of the planning on this matter.' Van Hollen countered, 'President Trump has said the opposite in public.'

Senator Tammy Duckworth challenged Rubio on President Trump's statements about NATO allies not fighting alongside American soldiers, highlighting the sacrifices made by allies. Rubio attempted to reframe Trump's comments as a desire for allies to have more capabilities, rather than a dismissal of their contributions.

Duckworth recounted her experience serving with Polish, British, and Spanish forces in Iraq and noted Polish troops died in Afghanistan. Rubio responded, 'the president just wants our allies to have more capabilities to to be involved in operations like that... That's not what the president said.'

Senator Jacky Rosen questioned Rubio about President Trump's pardon of former Honduran President Juan Orlando Hernandez, who was convicted of trafficking 400 tons of cocaine. Rubio deflected, stating he was not involved in the pardon process and could not opine on the specifics, despite the public record of Hernandez's conviction.

Rosen asked, 'To the best of your knowledge, was Hernandez convicted of trafficking approximately 400 tons of cocaine into the United States?' Rubio replied, 'I'm not involved in the pardon process.' When pressed, he added, 'I can't give you much insight because I'm not involved in the pardon process.'

Senator Brian Schatz questioned Rubio about the statutory authority for holding Venezuelan oil funds in Qatar, rather than depositing them with the US Treasury, and the lack of immediate congressional oversight. Rubio explained it was a temporary measure due to non-recognition of the Venezuelan government and to prevent seizure by creditors, but admitted the audit process for expenditures was not yet finalized.

Schatz asked, 'What is the statutory authority for the administration relying on cutter to hold the funds?' Rubio stated, 'It's not our funds. The funds are in an account that's owned and signed. It's an account that belongs to Venezuela, but it has US sanctions as a blocking mechanism on it.' He later confirmed an audit process 'will be set up' but 'we haven't finalized what that audit process would be.'

Senator Tim Kaine questioned Rubio about President Trump repeatedly mistaking Iceland for Greenland in public statements. Rubio admitted Trump made a 'verbal stumble' and meant Greenland, contrasting with other administration officials who had denied the mistake.

Kaine played a clip of Trump saying, 'I told them about Iceland. They loved me... Iceland has already cost us a lot of money.' Kaine then asked, 'The president just mistook the two countries for each other. Correct.' Rubio responded, 'Yeah, he meant to say Greenland, but I think we're all familiar with presidents that have verbal stumbles.'

Senator Jacky Rosen pressed Rubio on who is actually directing US foreign policy, given the numerous special envoys and advisors operating independently. Rubio asserted that President Donald J. Trump is the ultimate lead, with his role as National Security Advisor and Secretary of State being to coordinate and present options.

Rosen asked, 'Are you the lead for US government on foreign policy?' Rubio replied, 'No. The lead on US foreign policy is named Donald J. Trump, the president of the United States.' He explained his role as National Security Advisor is to 'coordinate the inter agency function of national security and that involves foreign policy.'

Senator Rand Paul challenged Rubio on the administration's expansive view of presidential power to conduct military-like operations without congressional authorization, specifically regarding Venezuela. Paul used a hypothetical scenario of a foreign country attacking the US president to highlight the double standard in defining an 'act of war.'

Paul asked, 'if a foreign country bombed our air defense missiles, captured and removed our president, and blockaded our country, would that be considered an act of war?' Rubio avoided a direct 'yes' or 'no,' stating, 'We just don't believe that this operation comes anywhere close to the constitutional definition of war.' Paul concluded, 'Of course it would be an act of war... One-way arguments that don't rebound... are bad arguments.'

Senator Tim Kaine expressed frustration that the Trump administration had classified details about US military operations off the coast of Venezuela, including strikes on fishing boats and alleged murder of shipwreck survivors. This classification prevented public hearings and congressional oversight on the legality and rationale of these actions.

Kaine stated, 'I'd like to talk about the complete weakness of the legal rationale about the strikes on boats in international waters, but I can't because the administration has only shared it with members in a classified setting.' He encouraged colleagues to ask for briefings on each strike and inquire about evidence of narcotics, suggesting they would be 'very surprised.'