WATCH: Rubio sees 'utility' of NATO but being denied use of bases calls alliance 'into question'

Sen. Chris Coons, D-Del., asked Secretary of State Marco Rubio whether he still agreed with legislation he introduced and passed in 2023 prohibiting a president from unilaterally withdrawing from NATO.

“You're right, I have throughout my entire career in the Senate, and through much of my time now in this administration, been a supporter of NATO. I see its utility,” Rubio said. “One of the key arguments that I would always use on behalf of NATO is the fact that it allows basing rights that we could use in a contingency operation in a time of conflict.”

Rubio said some countries, such as Spain, “openly brag about how they've denied us the use of these bases.”

“If what we get out of NATO is the ability to use bases, and then we have members of that alliance that are basically denying the use of those bases in a contingency, it calls into question the entire thing,” Rubio said.

Coons asked Rubio whether he agrees that U.S. challenges with NATO came after President Donald Trump threatened to seize Greenland from member country Denmark. Rubio said he disagreed with Coons’ analysis, saying the U.S. has debated its membership in NATO for decades.

Rubio faces back-to-back hearings before Senate and House committees on Tuesday, his first since the Iran war started at the end of February.

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