Trump to appoint 'hawks' Rubio and Waltz to head foreign policy (reports)

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United States President-elect Donald Trump has chosen to nominate Marco Rubio and Mike Waltz as his secretary of state and national security adviser, according to preliminary reports that also suggest the president-elect could yet change his mind at the latest minute.

These two choices, however, are indicative of Mr. Trump's foreign policy priorities, as they pushed the United States to turn inward and criticized the fact that European countries are not spending enough on their defense , particularly in the context of the NATO alliance.

Mr. Rubio notably affirmed that European countries should “take the lead” in matters of defense on the continent. “Germany, France and the United Kingdom are fully capable of managing their relations with the nuclear belligerent to their east,” Rubio wrote in the American Conservative last year.

Furthermore, he promoted a tough approach towards Iran, China and Cuba.

When it comes to Beijing, Rubio argued for greater scrutiny of Beijing's influence over U.S. technology, calling on the Treasury Department to launch a national security review into Chinese social media app TikTok in 2019.

In a report written in September, Rubio called China “the most powerful adversary the United States has faced in living memory.” China, for its part, sanctioned Rubio last year.

Regarding Ukraine, he said that while he supports the country still fighting against Russia's massive invasion, the current conflict between Moscow and Kyiv should be brought to its “term.”

Regarding the Middle East crisis, Rubio strongly supported Israel, calling Hamas militants “vicious animals” and accusing U.S. officials who supported a ceasefire in Gaza of subordination, indicating that It would also encourage a tough approach in the region.

In April, Mr. Rubio voted against a $95 billion (€89.4 billion) aid bill for Israel, Ukraine and Taiwan, which passed a unanimous vote. overwhelming majority by the Senate despite its resistance.

Rubio explained that while he supports aid in principle, he would not support the bill because the United States is not doing enough to combat domestic problems, including investing in national security. borders, which shows that he is in favor, like Trump, of the United States becoming more and more isolationist.

Recently, he has largely supported Mr. Trump's views on NATO, co-sponsoring a bill that would make it harder for the former president to withdraw from the alliance during his first term.

The waltz of national security

Mr. Trump's other announced choice, Republican Congressman Mike Waltz, was also tough on China and skeptical about the ability of European allies to achieve their defense goals under the NATO.

Mr Waltz called it “pathetic” that less than half of NATO allies had met their defense spending targets and, like the president-elect, questioned the open-ended nature of US support for Ukraine.

In April, Mr. Waltz said a “tyranny of low expectations” had infected NATO and openly questioned whether it was viable for the United States to provide the majority of weapons.

On Ukraine, Mr. Waltz previously favored Mr. Biden supplying weapons to the war-torn country, but he has increasingly adopted Mr. Trump's approach and questioned why the other countries were not doing enough to counter Russia and strengthen their defenses themselves.

He presented China as one of the biggest winners abroad and warned the United States that it must prepare for war in the region.

The retired special forces officer has also advocated for increased U.S. military involvement in Afghanistan in the past and, having been deployed to the country several times, has sharply criticized Kabul's withdrawal from outgoing President Joe Biden.