Rubio to Testify Before Congress       06/02 06:22

   Secretary of State Marco Rubio is set to face a litany of questions Tuesday 
about the Trump administration's fragile or stalling diplomatic efforts around 
the world when he appears for back-to-back hearings on Capitol Hill for the 
first time since the Iran war began.

   WASHINGTON (AP) -- Secretary of State Marco Rubio is set to face a litany of 
questions Tuesday about the Trump administration's fragile or stalling 
diplomatic efforts around the world when he appears for back-to-back hearings 
on Capitol Hill for the first time since the Iran war began.

   The Republican former senator will sit before House and Senate committees to 
make the State Department's annual budget request. But the focus is likely to 
shift quickly to the already unsteady ceasefire between Washington and Tehran, 
which has been further tested in recent days by back-and-forth attacks.

   Cabinet members, including Rubio, have defended President Donald Trump's 
decision to launch the conflict despite promises over the years not to engage 
in "forever wars" in the Middle East. That work has been made more difficult by 
Trump's shifting goals for the conflict.

   While Rubio is testifying before Congress for the first time since the Iran 
war started on Feb. 28, he took part in a classified briefing for lawmakers 
days after the first U.S. and Israeli strikes. He faced Democrats' anger over 
the lack of congressional approval but strong support from most Republicans for 
taking action against one of America's oldest adversaries.

   In the two months since the war began, however, a small but growing faction 
of Republicans have joined Democrats in questioning the astronomical price tag 
and overall economic consequences of the conflict as they head into midterm 
elections in the fall. The war has cut tanker traffic in the Strait of Hormuz, 
a critical waterway through which 20% of the world's traded oil and natural gas 
passes in peacetime, spiking gas prices.

   Last month, the Senate advanced legislation for the first time that would 
have forced Trump to withdraw from the conflict after GOP Sen. Bill Cassidy of 
Louisiana -- fresh off a primary election loss in which Trump endorsed his 
opponent -- joined Democrats in pushing it forward.

   The House also had scheduled a vote on a war powers resolution, but GOP 
leadership kept it from coming to the floor after it became clear that the 
majority party would not have the numbers to defeat it.

   The actions show the GOP is struggling to maintain political backing for 
Trump's handling of the war as rank-and-file Republicans are increasingly 
willing to defy the president over the conflict.

   Following his appearances Tuesday before the Senate Foreign Relations 
Committee and House Appropriations subcommittee responsible for the State 
Department, Rubio will return to the Hill on Wednesday to testify before the 
House Foreign Affairs Committee and equivalent Senate Appropriations 
subcommittee.

   Rubio, the son of Cuban immigrants, also is likely to be questioned about 
the Trump administration's escalatory behavior toward Cuba, as Trump has hinted 
that the small island country could be the next U.S. target after operations in 
Iran are wrapped up.

   Despite a series of meetings between U.S. and Cuban officials, Trump and 
Rubio have renewed threats against the island's government, which take on 
greater weight after the administration announced criminal charges against 
former President Ral Castro. Cuban President Miguel Daz-Canel condemned the 
indictment as a political stunt that sought only to "justify the folly of a 
military aggression against Cuba."

   Over his congressional career and now as America's top diplomat, Rubio has 
maintained that Cuba is a national security threat because of its ties to U.S. 
adversaries and that Trump is intent on addressing it.