Secretary of State Marco Rubio, appearing on CBS’s Face the Nation with Margaret Brennan, doubled down Sunday on President Trump’s military strikes against Yemen’s Houthi rebels, vowing to dismantle their grip on Red Sea shipping lanes.
Speaking from Miami, Rubio framed the campaign as a global necessity, not a fleeting jab, with no end date set.
“This isn’t a message—it’s a mission,” Rubio told Brennan. “The Houthis have attacked the U.S. Navy 174 times and hit commercial shipping 145 times in 18 months. We’re not letting pirates with precision weapons dictate global trade.” He pegged the operation’s duration to stripping the Houthis’ attack capabilities, a shift from what he called Biden’s tit-for-tat “retaliation strikes” that failed to curb the chaos.
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Pressed on ground troops, Rubio waved off the idea—for now. “No talk of that,” he said. “Last night, key Houthi figures and facilities were taken out. That’ll keep going.” He sidestepped specifics on intelligence upgrades, focusing instead on the goal: free navigation for all, not just the U.S. “We’re doing the world a favor,” he insisted.
Iran loomed large in the chat. Rubio tied Tehran’s weapons and intel support to the Houthis’ firepower, calling Trump’s mention a warning: “Don’t back them, or you’re on the hook too.”
On Iran’s nuclear talks, he stayed mum, noting only that Trump’s negotiation offer stands unanswered. Brennan pivoted to trade, grilling Rubio on tariffs rattling Canada and Mexico.
He shot back: “This isn’t leverage—it’s fairness. We’ve been deindustrialized for decades. Trump’s resetting the baseline, then we’ll talk bilateral deals.”
Rubio also tackled a visa revocation at Columbia University, defending it against Wall Street Journal critiques.
READ: US CENTCOM Launches Major Strikes Against Houthis In Yemen, Captures ISIS Operatives In Iraq
“This guy led campus takeovers—vandalism, riots,” he said of the student, accused of pro-Hamas ties. “If he’d told us that’s why he’s coming, no visa. He lied, he’s out.” Evidence of direct terrorism links? Rubio leaned on the student’s role as a protest “spokesperson,” brushing off free speech qualms with a jab at social media censors.
From Houthis to trade to campus unrest, Rubio painted a Trump admin ready to swing hard—and keep swinging—until its goals stick. Brennan wrapped with an invite for round two. For now, Rubio’s message is clear: the U.S. is done playing nice.
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