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Secretary of State Marco Rubio is testifying before Congress today. It's the first time he's appeared since the United States grabbed Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro and his wife. Senate Foreign Relations Committee members have questions. And a lot of Rubio's career has led up to this moment. Here's NPR congressional correspondent Claudia Grisales.
CLAUDIA GRISALES, BYLINE: Secretary of State Marco Rubio has long argued for an aggressive U.S. role in the western hemisphere. That includes his earliest days in 2011 as senator from Florida, when Venezuela was run by former President Hugo Chavez.
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MARCO RUBIO: Venezuela, who today is governed by a clown...
GRISALES: That continued with the failed 2019 uprising challenging the man who succeeded Chavez, Nicolás Maduro. During the first Trump administration, Rubio had the president's ear on the regime's abuses. Here's Rubio talking to NPR at that time.
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RUBIO: The bottom line is Venezuela's tragedy can no longer be ignored. It is destabilizing the entire region.
GRISALES: Now as secretary of state, Rubio played a central role pivoting U.S. attention to the Western Hemisphere. Following Maduro's arrest, he was front and center in defending the mission. Here's Rubio on NBC's "Meet The Press" earlier this month, just after the dictator's capture.
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RUBIO: This is the Western Hemisphere. This is where we live. And we're not going to allow the Western Hemisphere to be a base of operation for adversaries, competitors and rivals of the United States.
UNIDENTIFIED PERSON: As...
GRISALES: The issue is personal for the Cuban American, who's taken aim at the dictatorship that took hold of his family's homeland. Rubio argues the Cuban government has provided the match that's helped light Venezuela's authoritarian regime, with protection for Maduro in exchange for discounted oil. Mario Diaz-Balart, a fellow Cuban American and House Republican from Florida, says the new focus provides long-awaited protection for the American people.
MARIO DIAZ-BALART: The president said it. The secretary of state said it. And the secretary of war said it. We are going to take out these narco-terrorists who are responsible for the poisoning of hundreds of thousands of Americans.
GRISALES: For a time, Rubio won praise from Senate Democrats, who unanimously confirmed him to be secretary of state. But in the wake of the Venezuela mission, that shifted. Virginia Democratic Senator Tim Kaine explains why.
TIM KAINE: And I knew when I voted for Rubio, with Rubio as secretary of state, we would finally pay attention to the Americas. Now, I think this is the wrong way to do it.
GRISALES: Kaine is referring to the administration's decision to take military action in Venezuela without authorization from Congress. Earlier this month, Senate Republicans blocked Kaine's bill to limit the president's war powers in Venezuela. Republicans like Indiana Senator Todd Young credited Rubio with assuaging his concerns and securing key commitments from the Trump administration.
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TODD YOUNG: If President Trump were to determine American forces were needed in any major military operations in Venezuela, the administration would come to Congress in advance.
GRISALES: Rubio's approach has spurred President Trump to hand him an even longer list of duties. In addition to secretary of state, Rubio is also the acting national security adviser, national archivist, most recently chair of the U.S. bid to host the World Expo in 2035. His growing portfolio is a measure of Trump's confidence, a point the president underscored at the Davos World Economic Forum.
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PRESIDENT DONALD TRUMP: He's going to go down as the best secretary of state.
GRISALES: Whether that prediction holds true may be decided by what happens in Venezuela in the months and years ahead.
GRISALES: Claudia Grisales, NPR News, the Capitol. Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.
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