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State Department spokesman touts 100 days of Secretary Rubio's foreign policy, cites designations and large investments
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Summary
A State Department spokesperson summarized Secretary of State Marco Rubio's first 100 days in office, highlighting diplomatic travel, designations of terrorist organizations and state sponsors, repatriations, and cited multibillion-dollar investment commitments from Gulf partners.
A State Department spokesperson said Tuesday that Secretary of State Marco Rubio completed his first 100 days in office having "returned the department to the fundamentals of diplomacy" and pursued a series of policy actions the spokesperson described as "decisive, accountable." The briefing highlighted diplomatic travel, counterterrorism designations, repatriations of U.S. citizens and major investment commitments from Gulf partners.
The spokesperson said Rubio was confirmed by the Senate "in a historic bipartisan vote of 99 to 0" and "has traveled extensively... to 15 countries, deepening U.S. diplomatic ties and securing major foreign policy wins." The spokesperson credited the secretary with work ranging from persuading Panama to withdraw from China's Belt and Road initiative to facilitating talks between Ukraine and Russia.
On counterterrorism steps, the spokesperson said the department had designated multiple groups as foreign terrorist organizations and that the administration had "reinstated Cuba as a state sponsor of terrorism," sanctioned Iran's shadow oil fleet and Houthi financiers, and designated the Houthis as a foreign terrorist organization. The spokesperson also said the department and USAID had "saved the American taxpayers billions of dollars by ending outdated and misaligned foreign aid programs," adding the administration was "rewarding performance based on merit, demanding accountability for every tax dollar spent." The briefing credited diplomacy with bringing "dozens of unjustly detained U.S. citizens" home.
The spokesperson highlighted a global health response in Uganda, saying "more than 75 American experts worked hand in hand with local officials to officially end Uganda's 2025 Ebola outbreak." The briefing also cited two large investment commitments from the United Arab Emirates and Saudi Arabia for technology, defense and infrastructure, which the spokesperson quantified as "$2,000,000,000,000 in investments." The spokesperson did not provide supporting documents for that figure during the briefing.
The briefing closed with the spokesperson noting ongoing work on ceasefires and reconstruction in Gaza, efforts to counter trafficking and narcotics flows, and reiterated that the department is "committed to deepening and broadening" bilateral ties where possible.
The remarks reflected the spokesperson's summary of Secretary Rubio's first 100 days; the secretary did not speak during the session and the spokesperson did not supply documentation for every claim made during the remarks.
