Marco Rubio was in familiar territory on Wednesday, January 28, during his hearing before the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, where he served for 14 years. The secretary of state, who also serves as national security adviser, had not taken part in such an exercise for some time. The Trump administration has refused to be accountable to Congress on the most sensitive foreign policy matters, even stripping lawmakers of some of their prerogatives, such as oversight of tariffs. Nevertheless, Rubio presented a conciliatory and courteous demeanor to the senators. While China and Russia were scarcely mentioned and the Middle East was only briefly discussed, Venezuela was at the heart of the exchanges.
The secretary of state painted a picture of a country in transition, welcoming the “substantial progress” achieved in just a few weeks since the removal of Nicolas Maduro on January 3. He urged patience during this transitional phase so that all elements of civil society and the political spectrum could be reintegrated into the national dialogue. “This is not a frozen dinner you put in a microwave and in two and a half minutes it comes out ready to eat,” he remarked.
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