U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio testifies at a U.S. House Foreign Affairs Committee on Capitol Hill in Washington, D.C., U.S., June 3, 2026. REUTERS/Evelyn Hockstein
Secretary of State Marco Rubio appeared before the House Foreign Affairs Committee on Wednesday to address the 2027 budget demands from his department. However, many of the questions dealt with more than the budget.
At one point, Rep. Sarah McBride (D-Del.) addressed President Donald Trump's attitudes toward NATO. She brought up one of his comments from earlier this year, in which Trump claimed NATO had never done anything for the United States. She asked whether Rubio agreed with the sentiment.
Rubio replied, "I think what the president was speaking to at that moment was that in the past NATO has allowed the U.S. to use the bases and airspace for whatever purposes it needed. That is no longer the case." Trump likely wasn't talking about that at the time, as the war with Iran didn't begin for several months later. McBride pointed out that fact.
She repeated the question, asking once more whether Rubio agreed that NATO had never done anything for the U.S.
Rubio tried to dodge the question before McBride said she was reclaiming her time.
McBride rattled off some of the facts about how NATO has stepped up to help the U.S., particularly after the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks. Many soldiers from around Europe died as part of the "War on Terror" that lasted 19 years.
But Rubio got coy when McBride asked about Greenland. "I assume you are aware that the ally that lost more [soldiers] per capita is Denmark?
"Denmark?" Rubio asked. "I thought it was — I thought the U.K. had suffered more."
McBride explained, "per capita." The U.K. has about 11 times as many people as Denmark.
"You are aware that Greenland is part of Denmark?" she asked.
"For now," Rubio quipped.
She continued the conversation, asking more about Trump's efforts to seize the island. Rubio said the president believes the U.S. must have "complete control" of the area for military purposes. There's already a shared airbase on Greenland.