Secretary of State Marco Rubio found himself in a fiery exchange with Senator Chris Van Hollen (D-Md.) during a Senate Foreign Relations Committee hearing on Tuesday, according to the New York Post. The confrontation, during which Rubio stood his ground, centered on the Trump administration’s tough stance on criminal migrants and recent visa revocations.
Senator Van Hollen, a vocal critic of the administration’s deportation of Kilmar Abrego Garcia, an alleged MS-13 gang member, used his time to express regret for supporting Rubio’s confirmation as Secretary of State. He accused Rubio and the administration of fostering a “campaign of fear and repression” that, in his view, undermines democratic values. Van Hollen even compared the administration’s tactics against illegal immigrants and anti-Israel student visa holders to the Red Scare of the 1950s.
And I have to tell you directly and personally that I regret voting for you for secretary of state,” Van Hollen said in an apparent effort to upset the Secretary of State, which backfired as Rubio took it as a compliment.
Rubio was quick to fire back, remarking, “Your regret for voting for me confirms I’m doing a good job, based on what I know about your record and what you stand for.”
When Van Hollen attempted to respond, Committee Chairman Jim Risch (R-Idaho) denied his request for more time, saying the senator had “woefully used” his allotted minutes.
Rubio then defended his record, highlighting his decisions at USAID, including cutting $10 million from male circumcision programs in Mozambique, which he argued did not benefit U.S. interests.
The discussion soon returned to the case of Abrego Garcia. Rubio referenced Van Hollen’s recent meeting with the Maryland man in El Salvador, saying, “In the case of El Salvador, absolutely, absolutely, we deported gang members — gang members including the one you had a margarita with,” the secretary of state told Van Hollen. “And that guy is a human trafficker, and that guy is a gangbanger, and the evidence is going to be clear in the days to come.”
Van Hollen objected strongly, insisting, “He can’t make unsubstantiated comments like that!” The committee chairman responded by striking his gavel to restore order.
“Secretary Rubio should take that testimony to the federal court of the United States because he hasn’t done it under oath,” the senator added.
Rubio maintained that the judiciary should not intervene in foreign policy decisions and said he was “under no obligation” to disclose discussions with foreign leaders, such as Salvadoran President Nayib Bukele, regarding Abrego Garcia.
On the subject of student visas, Rubio clarified, “I don’t deport anybody and I don’t snatch anybody,” adding that “the State Department does not have officers in the streets snatching everybody. What I do is revoke visas. And it’s very simple. A visa is not a right. It is a privilege.”
He added, “If you tell me that you’re coming to the United States to lead campus crusades to take over libraries and burn down, try to burn down buildings, and acts of violence — we’re not going to give you a visa.”
Van Hollen dismissed Rubio’s explanation, but Rubio stood firm, promising further visa revocations are coming for those “who are here as guests and are disrupting our higher education.”