Live confirmation hearings: Trump cabinet chooses Marco Rubio and Pam Bondi in the face of senators’ grilling

If you’re joining us, we’re covering some of Donald Trump’s incoming cabinet confirmation hearings.

We are currently focused on Marco Rubio, the President-elect’s pick for Secretary of State (America’s top diplomat), who has discussed his stance on the NATO military alliance and the war in Ukraine .

He calls NATO a “very important alliance”, but stresses that there must be strong and competent partners who do not use it as an excuse to spend less at home.

Regarding Ukraine, Rubio echoed a previous statement by Trump, saying he “wants the killing to stop.”

“I think the official position of the United States should be to end this war,” he says.

Rubio says he hopes it can start with some sort of ceasefire agreement, without detailing how that might be achieved.

For context: Trump promised to negotiate an end to the war in Ukraine shortly after taking office on January 20 and expressed skepticism about U.S. military and financial support for kyiv.