United States Senator Marco Rubio has pledged to advance President-elect Donald Trump’s “America First” foreign policy during a Senate confirmation hearing to become the country’s next secretary of state.

Speaking before the Senate Foreign Relations Committee on Wednesday, Rubio said that, under Trump’s leadership, the US Department of State’s “top priority … will be the United States”.

“Under President Trump, the dollars of hardworking American taxpayers will always be spent wisely, and our power will also be wielded prudently and towards what is best for America — and Americans — before anything and everything else,” he said.

“For our country, placing the interests of America and Americans above all else has never been more relevant or more necessary than it is right now.”

The hearing — which was interrupted several times by protesters — comes as lawmakers in Washington, DC are questioning a slew of Trump’s cabinet picks just days before the Republican leader’s inauguration next week.

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The first such hearing on Tuesday saw US legislators grill Trump’s nominee to lead the Pentagon, former Fox News host Pete Hegseth, over a series of controversies, including allegations of sexual assault that he has denied.

Rubio is expected to be confirmed more comfortably by the full Senate after his committee hearing, where he received the backing of top Democratic Senator Jeanne Shaheen.

“I believe you have the skills and are well suited to serve as US secretary of state,” Shaheen said at the start of Wednesday’s session.

Reporting from Capitol Hill on Wednesday, Al Jazeera’s Mike Hanna said Rubio’s confirmation “is probably going to be the easiest of hearings for Trump’s nominees”.

“Certainly, he has all the experience that is needed,” said Hanna, though he added that questions have come up around Rubio’s “somewhat hawkish stance with regards to international relations”.

“Rubio himself drove this home in his opening statement, in which he made very clear his belief in what he describes as an ‘America First’ agenda,” Hanna reported. “Once again, he’s aligning himself very carefully with Trump’s basic premise. And that is ‘America First’.”

If confirmed, Rubio — born in Miami, Florida, to Cuban immigrant parents — would become the first Latino ever to serve as the nation’s top diplomat and lead US foreign policy.

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He was first elected to the Senate in 2011. In the years since, the 53-year-old has earned a reputation for bipartisanship on national security issues as a longtime member of both the Senate foreign relations and intelligence committees.

A staunch supporter of Israel, he also has become known for his hawkish views on US adversaries including China, Iran, Venezuela and Cuba.

On Wednesday, he said Beijing has “repressed and lied and cheated and hacked and stolen [its] way into global superpower status”.

Rubio also has expressed strong backing for Israel’s war in Gaza, telling a peace activist in late 2023 that the Palestinian group Hamas was “100 percent to blame” for the deaths of Palestinians in the enclave.

“I want them to destroy every element of Hamas they can get their hands on,” Rubio said in that exchange in December 2023. “These people are vicious animals who did horrifying crimes, and I hope you guys post that because that’s my position.”

In April of last year, Rubio was one of 15 Republican senators to vote against a big military aid package to help Ukraine resist Russia’s invasion, although he voted in favour of aid to Ukraine in May 2022.

Trump has been critical of Democratic President Joe Biden’s continuing military assistance for Kyiv.

Rubio has said Ukraine needs to seek a negotiated settlement with Russia rather than focus on regaining all territory Moscow has taken in the last decade.

Rubio’s relationship with Trump has changed over the years, with the pair facing off as rivals during the 2016 race for the Republican presidential nomination. Trump eventually won that GOP contest in his successful campaign for the White House.

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In 2016, Trump infamously mocked Rubio’s physical stature, branding him “Little Marco”. Rubio responded by labelling his rival “Small Hands Trump”.

But as Trump’s grip on the Republican Party solidified, Rubio joined other GOP lawmakers in supporting the businessman-turned-president.

For his part, the US president-elect hailed Rubio as a “Highly Respected Leader, and a very powerful Voice for Freedom” when he announced him as his nominee for secretary of state in November.

“He will be a strong Advocate for our Nation, a true friend to our Allies, and a fearless Warrior who will never back down to our adversaries,” Trump said at the time.

While Rubio will lead US foreign policy if confirmed as secretary of state, his role will likely remain secondary to Trump, who relishes the global stage and frequently uses the bully pulpit against the country’s allies.

Trump notably had an acrimonious relationship with his first secretary of state, Rex Tillerson: Trump fired Tillerson via a social media post less than two years into his term.