President Donald Trump cut short Kristi Noem’s tenure at the Department of Homeland Security after weeks of internal turmoil. Now headed to a new envoy post, the onetime conservative star faces a pressing question: Can she stage a political comeback?

Noem was fired as the nation’s immigration chief after a turbulent stretch marked by internal clashes and two contentious congressional hearings where even some Republicans pressed her over leadership missteps. Trump announced on Truth Social that Sen. Markwayne Mullin, R-Okla., will replace her effective March 31, while Noem shifts to a newly created envoy role the president says he’ll detail this weekend.

An administration source told Fox News “it was time” to move on from Noem, citing internal feuding, staff mismanagement and controversies — including a $200 million ad campaign and fallout in Minnesota — that “overshadowed” Trump’s immigration agenda.

“Kristi’s drama sadly overshadowed and distracted from the Administration’s extremely popular immigration agenda, which will continue full force,” the source said. 

KRISTI NOEM OUSTED FROM HOMELAND SECURITY POST AMID RECENT TURMOIL

Trump said Noem will be named “Special Envoy for The Shield of the Americas,” a newly created role he described as part of a broader Western Hemisphere security initiative. The White House has not yet detailed the scope of the position.

The reassignment comes as speculation grows in South Dakota over whether Noem could mount a primary challenge against Sen. Mike Rounds in 2026 — a move that would test whether her standing with Trump and GOP voters has truly eroded. 

Rounds, who is seeking a third term, secured Trump’s “complete and total endorsement” last year and is backed by Senate Republican leadership — a formidable barrier to any challenger. “He will never let you down,” Trump wrote in his endorsement, calling Rounds an “America First Patriot.”

Fox News Digital reached out to Rounds’ office for comment.

Noem would enter any race with statewide name recognition and a deep political network, having served eight years in Congress before winning two terms as governor.

But some Republican operatives question whether her abrupt exit from DHS weakened her standing within Trump’s inner circle at a critical political moment. One GOP strategist involved in Senate races, who acknowledged that Noem was once a MAGA rock star, described a potential Senate bid at this time as a “suicide mission.”

The clock is already ticking. South Dakota’s filing deadline is March 31 at 5 p.m. CT, and candidates must gather roughly 2,200 petition signatures in just over three weeks to qualify for a June 2 primary. 

NOEM SLAMS DEMS BLOCKING DHS FUNDING BILL CITING TSA, FEMA, COAST GUARD: ‘I HOPE THEY COME TO THEIR SENSES’

The speculation has drawn national attention. The Atlantic reported that pollsters in South Dakota were surveying a potential Rounds-Noem matchup, with one Republican source telling the magazine that the senator would “handily win” if challenged.

Rapid City’s ABC affiliate reported on the rumors of Noem’s ambitions in February, saying Republicans in her home state are watching to see if she would challenge Rounds.

Still, Noem has a fair share of powerful allies back home. Gov. Larry Rhoden, Noem’s successor in Pierre, commented Thursday that “Kristi is a dear friend and the toughest person I know.”

“When she shut down the border in record time, others were shocked, but I wasn’t. I knew what she was capable of.”

“She’ll deliver in her next role just as capably. I thank her for everything she’s done to keep South Dakota — and all America — strong, safe, and free,” Rhoden said.

As governor, Rhoden worked with Noem’s DHS to make South Dakota one of the first states to enter a 287(g) agreement allowing state-level cooperation with ICE. Under the arrangement, the South Dakota Highway Patrol has been authorized to assist with immigration enforcement, and National Guard personnel have supported administrative functions — a record that could bolster her standing with conservative primary voters as speculation about her next move intensifies.

Fox News’ Peter Doocy contributed to this report.

Debate on Capitol Hill continues to rage over whether President Donald Trump started a “war” with the strikes he carried out against Iran last weekend, a key consideration for whether the president must look to Congress for authority to continue Operation Epic Fury.

Where Republicans see a narrowly-tailored attack designed to prevent a U.S. adversary from securing nuclear capabilities, Democrats see a conflict that could easily spill into a broader conflict.

“Congress is not supposed to be an after-the-fact spectator, the Constitution makes plain,” Sen. Tim Kaine, D-Va., told Fox News Digital.

“President Trump has not said, like in Venezuela, ‘this is a police operation,’ that it’s ‘an arrest,’” Kaine said, comparing the strikes to the January capture of Nicolás Maduro.

OPERATION EPIC FURY SURVIVES SENATE CHALLENGE AS REPUBLICANS CLOSE RANKS BEHIND TRUMP

Democrats like Kaine have blasted Trump for dragging the U.S. into a conflict that, in their view, looks a lot like a war — something only Congress has the power to declare. It is that determination that makes them believe lawmakers should use the War Powers Act of 1973 to curb Trump’s powers in Iran.

That law prevents the president from continuing hostilities against a foreign power that extends past 60 days.

Republicans like Sen. Josh Hawley, R-Mo., see no reason to invoke the War Powers Act, given the scope of the current conflict.

A measure to kill a Democrat-led war powers resolution aimed at handcuffing Trump’s military operations in Iran passed on Wednesday in a 53-47 Senate vote.

“I mean, even if you disagree with this, I just don’t think you can dispute [that] they’re complying with the statute. The president has the authority under Article II to do what he has done so far,” Hawley said, referring to the Constitution’s military power granted to the country’s commander in chief.

Last Saturday, the U.S. conducted a series of strikes in collaboration with Israel, targeting the country’s military leadership and killing the country’s supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. The Trump administration has framed the attack as a necessary campaign to halt Iran’s work towards obtaining a nuclear weapon.

Although Hawley supports the administration’s work so far, he has a firm red line in mind for where the conflict would require Congressional say-so.

“Ground troops would be a different deal,” Hawley said. “But [Trump] just said, ‘We’re not going to do ground troops,’ so, I just say to my Democrat friends — I think they’re just looking for something to vote against the president on.”

REPUBLICANS HAND TRUMP THE WHEEL ON IRAN — BUT ONE RED LINE EMERGES

Democrats remain unconvinced.

Some Democrats noted that the language the administration has used suggests it views the conflict as something more than isolated strikes.

“The president and the secretary of state have called it a war. So have the generals. If we’re at war, Congress has to provide authorization,” Sen. Richard Blumenthal, D-Conn., said.

Other Democrats, like Sen. Mark Warner, D-Va., attacked the administration’s stated reason for the attack.

“There was no imminent threat to the United States. There were threats to Israel, but in terms of an imminent threat, there was not one.  Consequently, this is the president’s war of choice,” Warner said.

NIKKI HALEY SLAMS DEMOCRATS WHO SAY IRANIAN REGIME ‘WAS NO THREAT TO AMERICA’: ‘ABSURD’

“You have to come before Congress,” Warner added.

To Sen. Dick Durbin, D-Ill., the consideration should deal less with technicalities and more with consideration of the cost that could come with Trump’s attacks.

“The American people make the decision on going to war because it’s their sons and daughters that will lose their lives. I still think that’s the case, regardless of who the president might be,” Durbin said.

FIRST ON FOX: A new report is raising fresh questions about whether billions in federal transit spending are delivering results, as funding climbs to record highs while bus and rail commuting remains below pre-pandemic levels.

Released by the Committee to Unleash Prosperity, the analysis argues the disconnect reflects structural flaws in how federal transit dollars are allocated — particularly as remote work reshapes commuting patterns and budget pressures intensify.

Wendell Cox, a senior fellow with the group and the report’s author, traces the federal transit program to its 1960s origins, when it was intended to expand mobility for low-income residents and reduce traffic congestion and air pollution.

AMTRAK ADDING OVER 80 NEW TRAINS IN MASSIVE OVERHAUL OF FLEET; TRAVELERS REACT

Since then, federal support has grown steadily — but transit’s commuter share has moved in the opposite direction, according to the report.

“Transit’s commute market share in the U.S. has dropped from 12% in 1960 to under 4% in 2024,” Cox told Fox News Digital.

Today, roughly 3.8% of American workers — about one in 25 — commute by mass transit, according to Cox’s analysis of federal data. By comparison, three times as many Americans now work from home.

While transit use has edged down, 88 million more Americans drive to work than in 1960, the report notes, alongside a 17 million increase in remote workers.

SEAN DUFFY: THIS TRANSPORTATION CRISIS WAS FORESEEABLE

Cox argues transit struggles to compete with the automobile on speed and access. “Generally, transit travel times are slower than commuting by car,” he said. The average one-way commute is about 26 minutes by car, compared with 48 minutes by transit.

The report also highlights disparities in job access.

Researchers examined how many workplaces a person could physically reach in a 30-minute commute. Because cars offer direct, door-to-door travel, drivers can typically access far more job locations than transit riders, whose trips may involve walking to stops, waiting, and making transfers.

Across the nation’s 50 largest metropolitan areas, workers can reach 58 times as many jobs by car as by transit, the report finds — a gap that persists even in New York, which has the country’s most extensive public transport network.

Those findings, Cox writes, underscore what he sees as a need for a broader reassessment of federal transit policy.

With federal debt at historic highs and remote work reshaping how Americans commute, Cox argues it may be time to rethink how Washington funds public transit. The question, he suggests, is not whether public transport has a role — but whether federal spending is aligned with how Americans actually travel today.

U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio signed a civil nuclear cooperation agreement involving the U.S. and Hungary on Monday.

During remarks at the signing ceremony, Rubio indicated that the U.S.-Hungary relationship, and the relationship between President Donald Trump and Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán, is very close.

The American diplomat described the relationship between the two nations as being “as close as I can possibly imagine it being.”

RUBIO BLASTS ‘WORLD WITHOUT BORDERS’ FANTASY, WARNS MASS MIGRATION THREATENS WESTERN CIVILIZATION

Rubio, during remarks delivered alongside Orbán, asserted, “Your success is our success.” 

He noted that if Hungary ever faces financial problems, impediments to growth or threats to national stability, he knows “President Trump will be very interested” in “finding ways” to help.

HUNGARY’S ORBAN SAYS BUDAPEST IS EUROPE’S SAFEST CITY FOR JEWS AS ANTISEMITISM SURGES

Trump has praised Orbán and backed him for re-election.

“Highly Respected Prime Minister of Hungary, Viktor Orbán, is a truly strong and powerful Leader, with a proven track record of delivering phenomenal results. He fights tirelessly for, and loves, his Great Country and People, just like I do for the United States of America. Viktor works hard to Protect Hungary, Grow the Economy, Create Jobs, Promote Trade, Stop Illegal Immigration, and Ensure LAW AND ORDER!” Trump declared on Truth Social this month. 

THE ONE SENTENCE IN RUBIO’S MUNICH SPEECH THAT REVEALED TRUMP’S RED LINE FOR EUROPE

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“Relations between Hungary and the United States have reached new heights of cooperation and spectacular achievement under my Administration, thanks largely to Prime Minister Orbán. I look forward to continuing working closely with him so that both of our Countries can further advance this tremendous path to SUCCESS and cooperation. I was proud to ENDORSE Viktor for Re-Election in 2022, and am honored to do so again. Viktor Orbán is a true friend, fighter, and WINNER, and has my Complete and Total Endorsement for Re-Election as Prime Minister of Hungary — HE WILL NEVER LET THE GREAT PEOPLE OF HUNGARY DOWN!” Trump added.

Republican Rep. Nancy Mace of South Carolina has introduced legislation that would make illegal immigrants who engage in animal cruelty inadmissible to the United States and subject to deportation.

The measure is called the “Illegal Alien Animal Abuser Removal Act of 2026.”

“If you come here illegally, you’re already a criminal. Add animal cruelty to the list and you’re on the next flight back to where you came from,” Mace said, according to a press release. 

NANCY MACE RIPS TRANS ATHLETE’S ATTORNEY FOR REFUSING TO DEFINE SEX AT SCOTUS WOMEN’S SPORTS HEARING

“We have a duty to protect the voiceless from torture and abuse. Animal cruelty is a proven red flag for violence against people. These criminals escalate. Our bill makes it crystal clear: commit these sick acts and you’re deported. Immediately. No second chances,” she added.

Mace, who has served in the House since 2021, is currently running for South Carolina governor.

REP NANCY MACE SLAPS DOWN EARLY RETIREMENT RUMOR: ‘BIG FAT NO FROM ME’

“The message is clear: abuse animals, get deported. America will not be a sanctuary for animal abusers, especially ones who broke into our country illegally in the first place. Pack your bags,” she noted, according to the release.

Under the legislation, an alien convicted under state, tribal or local laws related to animal cruelty, abuse or animal fighting would be deemed inadmissible and deportable. The bill also specifies that convictions under certain federal animal welfare statutes would carry the same immigration consequences.

‘TR*NSGENDER ANTIFA’ EXTREMIST CHARGED WITH ATTEMPTED MURDER AFTER SKATING ON DEATH THREAT, REP MACE SAYS

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The proposal further states that an alien who admits to committing acts that constitute such offenses could also be deemed inadmissible.

The partial government shutdown stretched into another week after negotiators failed to reach a deal to fund the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) over the weekend.

Congress is on a weeklong recess and is not scheduled to return to Washington, D.C., until next week, leaving the shutdown’s end in limbo as both parties remain far apart on key provisions.

Senate Democrats are demanding a series of reforms to Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), a position they have maintained since the fatal shootings of Alex Pretti and Renee Nicole Good during ICE operations in Minnesota.

FETTERMAN BUCKS DEMOCRATS, SAYS PARTY PUT POLITICS OVER COUNTRY IN DHS SHUTDOWN STANDOFF

Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., and his caucus are standing by a list of 10 proposed reforms, including requiring ICE agents to obtain judicial warrants and limiting the use of face coverings — proposals Republicans have described as red lines.

“Americans are tired of masked agents conducting warrantless operations in their communities — secret police,” Schumer said. “They’re tired of chaos, secrecy and zero accountability. That is not what law and order looks like, and Republicans simply cannot pretend that this outrage does not exist.”

However, ICE received additional funding under previously passed legislation, and core enforcement operations are expected to continue. Other DHS agencies, including the Transportation Security Administration (TSA), the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) and the Coast Guard, remain affected by the shutdown.

GOVERNMENT TO SHUT DOWN AT MIDNIGHT AFTER DEMS, WHITE HOUSE FAIL TO STRIKE DHS DEAL

The White House has led negotiations for Senate Republicans and offered Senate Democrats a proposal that they have rejected. Details of that proposal have not been made public.

“This is a Democrat-driven shutdown caused by their intransigence and desire to use government funding for services all Americans rely on as a hostage in order to achieve an unrelated political goal,” a senior White House official said.

Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R-S.D., said lawmakers would receive 24 hours’ notice to return if a deal is reached.

DHS SHUTDOWN EXPLAINED: WHO WORKS WITHOUT PAY, WHAT HAPPENS TO AIRPORTS AND DISASTER RESPONSE

“I think all those reasonable efforts and requests have been overshadowed by the fact that the Democrats don’t seem to want to play ball,” Thune said.

On the House side, Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., told lawmakers they would receive 48 hours’ notice to return if the Senate passes a bill. The House is also in recess until Feb. 23.

Johnson and other Republicans have expressed support for the original DHS funding bill crafted by House and Senate appropriators, but the speaker said he does not want further delays in DHS funding to be attributed to the House.

House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, D-N.Y., has said Democrats will not accept a funding bill that does not include significant reforms to ICE.

The Department of War on Sunday transported a next-generation nuclear reactor aboard a C-17 from California to Utah, advancing President Donald Trump’s executive order to modernize America’s nuclear energy infrastructure and strengthen U.S. national security.

The reactor was flown from March Air Reserve Base in California to Hill Air Force Base in Utah and is expected to be transported to the Utah San Rafael Energy Lab in Orangeville for testing and evaluation – a key step in assessing how advanced nuclear systems could support military installations and remote defense operations.

The Department of War shared images on X showing the reactor loaded onto the C-17 aircraft.

“We’re advancing President Trump’s executive order on nuclear energy,” the post read. “Moments from now, we will airlift a next-generation nuclear reactor.”

TRUMP ADMIN POURS $1B INTO MASSIVE EFFORT TO RESTART NUCLEAR REACTOR AT HISTORIC MELTDOWN SITE

The Department of War said the successful delivery and installation of the reactor will open new possibilities for energy resilience and strategic independence for the nation’s defense, highlighting what officials described as an agile, innovative and commercial-first approach to addressing critical infrastructure challenges.

“By harnessing the power of advanced nuclear technology, we are not only enhancing our national security but championing a future of American energy dominance,” the agency said in a press release. “This event is a testament to the ingenuity of the American spirit and a critical advancement in securing our nation’s freedom and strength for generations to come.”

Fox News Digital has reached out to the Department of War for additional comment.

THREE MILE ISLAND NUCLEAR PLANT MAKES COMEBACK WITH $1B IN FEDERAL BACKING TO MEET INCREASING ENERGY DEMANDS

In May, President Donald Trump signed several executive orders aimed at expanding domestic nuclear energy development. At the time, Interior Secretary Doug Burgum said America led the postwar world on “all things nuclear” until it “stagnated” and was “choked with overregulation.”

War Secretary Pete Hegseth added that the U.S. was “going to have the lights on and AI operating when others are not because of our nuclear capabilities.”

One of Trump’s nuclear directives called for reforming Energy Department research and development, accelerating reactor testing at national laboratories and establishing a pilot program for new construction.

ENERGY SECRETARY REVEALS HOW US NUCLEAR TESTS WILL WORK

Nuclear energy, the White House said in the order, “is necessary to power the next generation technologies that secure our global industrial, digital, and economic dominance, achieve energy independence, and protect our national security.”

The nuclear expansion effort is part of a broader administration push to reinforce domestic energy production and grid reliability across multiple sectors.

Days later, Trump signed another executive order directing the Department of War to work directly with coal-fired power plants on new long-term power purchasing agreements, arguing the move would ensure “more reliable power and stronger and more resilient grid power.”

The order, “Strengthening United States National Defense with America’s Beautiful Clean Coal Power Generation Fleet,” states, “The United States must ensure that our electric grid … remains resilient and reliable, and not reliant on intermittent energy sources,” calling the grid “the foundation of our national defense as well as our economic stability.”

“It is the policy of the United States that coal is essential to our national and economic security,” the order adds.

Fox News Digital’s Jasmine Baehr and Charles Creitz contributed to this report.

Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., vowed Sunday that Senate Democrats will block the latest GOP-backed effort to require proof of citizenship to vote.

“We will not let it pass in the Senate,” Schumer told CNN’s Jake Tapper. “We are fighting it tooth and nail. It’s an outrageous proposal that is, you know, that shows the sort of political bias of the MAGA right. They don’t want poor people to vote. They don’t want people of color to vote because they often don’t vote for them.”

Schumer’s comments came after Tapper pressed him on his opposition, noting that polling shows roughly 83% of Americans support some form of voter identification. That figure comes from a Pew Research poll published last year that found 71% of Democratic voters surveyed supported presenting an ID to vote.

COLLINS BOOSTS REPUBLICAN VOTER ID EFFORT, BUT WON’T SCRAP FILIBUSTER

Still, Schumer and most Senate Democrats have criticized the Safeguarding American Voter Eligibility (SAVE) America Act, which passed the House last week and is expected to face a vote in the Senate.

The bill would require proof of citizenship to register to vote and would establish a system for state election officials to share information with federal authorities to verify voter rolls. It would also allow the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) to pursue immigration cases if noncitizens are found listed as eligible voters.

Schumer and his caucus have panned the bill as voter suppression targeting poorer Americans and minority groups.

FETTERMAN SLAMS DEMOCRATS’ ‘JIM CROW 2.0’ VOTER ID RHETORIC AS PARTY UNITY FRACTURES

“What they are proposing in this so-called SAVE Act is like Jim Crow 2.0,” Schumer said. “They make it so hard to get any kind of voter ID that more than 20 million legitimate people, mainly poorer people and people of color, will not be able to vote under this law.”

Without support from Senate Democrats — save for a possible defection from Sen. John Fetterman, D-Pa. — the bill is likely to fail.

The only way around that would be eliminating the Senate’s 60-vote filibuster threshold — a move Republicans oppose — or forcing a so-called talking filibuster that could require hours of debate and stall other Senate business.

HARDLINE CONSERVATIVES DOUBLE DOWN TO SAVE THE SAVE ACT

Schumer also pushed back on comments from DHS Secretary Kristi Noem, who earlier this week said elections “may be one of the most important things that we need to make sure we trust, is reliable, and that when it gets to Election Day that we’ve been proactive to make sure that we have the right people voting, electing the right leaders to lead this country.”

The comments come as Senate Democrats and the White House negotiate funding for DHS, which has been shut down since midnight Friday.

Part of those negotiations includes Democrats’ demand that Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents be kept away from several areas, including schools and polling places.

“That’s a load of bull,” Schumer said. “They show no evidence of voter fraud. They show there’s so little in the country. And to have ICE agents, these thugs, be by the polling places, that just flies in the face of how democracy works, of how we’ve had elections for hundreds of years, very successfully.”

Former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton clashed with a Czech political leader at the Munich Security Conference in Germany on Saturday.

Clinton was speaking during a panel on the state of the West where she heavily criticized President Donald Trump for his dealings with Europe. Petr Macinka, a Czech deputy prime minister, defended the Trump administration as Clinton repeatedly mocked his statements and tried to speak over him.

“First, I think you really don’t like him,” Macinka said as he began to respond to Clinton’s Trump-bashing.

“You know, that is absolutely true,” Clinton said. “But not only do I not like him, but I don’t like what he’s actually doing to the United States and the world, and I think you should take a hard look at it if you think there is something good that will come of it.”

TRUMP RIPS EUROPE AT DAVOS FOR WRONG ‘DIRECTION,’ POINTS TO MIGRATION AND SPENDING

“Well, what Trump is doing in America, I think that it is a reaction. Reaction for some policies that really went too far, too far from the regular people,” Macinka said as Clinton interjected to ask for examples.

Macinka referenced “woke” ideologies, gender theories and cancel culture that ran rampant throughout the U.S. in recent years.

Clinton then mocked him, suggesting he was opposed to “women getting their rights.”

THE ONE SENTENCE IN RUBIO’S MUNICH SPEECH THAT REVEALED TRUMP’S RED LINE FOR EUROPE

Macinka then rebuffed her hostility, saying he can tell he was making her “nervous.”

The exchange came during the same panel where Clinton discussed immigration in the U.S., admitting that it had gone “too far.”

“It went too far, it’s been disruptive and destabilizing, and it needs to be fixed in a humane way with secure borders that don’t torture and kill people and how we’re going to have a strong family structure because it is at the base of civilization,” she added.

Clinton acknowledged that there are places where a physical barrier is appropriate but opposed large-scale expansion of a border wall during her 2016 presidential campaign.

At the time, she supported then-President Barack Obama’s executive actions that deferred immigration enforcement against millions of children and parents in the country illegally and wanted to end the practice of family detention.

Clinton also planned on continuing Obama’s policy of deporting violent criminals, but wanted to scale back immigration raids, which she said at the time produced “unnecessary fear and disruption in communities,” Fox News Digital previously reported.

Fox News’ Ashley DiMella contributed to this report.

Standing in Germany, whose Cold War fault line once symbolized the division of a continent, Secretary of State Marco Rubio delivered President Donald Trump’s red line for Europe.

“We in America have no interest in being polite and orderly caretakers of the West’s managed decline,” Rubio said during his Friday remarks before the Munich Security Conference.

America’s top diplomat called for tighter borders, revived industry and a reassertion of national sovereignty, arguing that the West’s drift was not inevitable but the result of policy choices the Trump administration now intends to reverse.

RUBIO STEPS INTO MUNICH SPOTLIGHT AS TRUMP LEANS ON HIM TO CARRY VANCE’S POPULIST MESSAGE ABROAD

“We do not seek to separate, but to revitalize an old friendship and renew the greatest civilization in human history,” he added, urging an alliance that “boldly races into the future.”

Rubio’s 3,000-word address marked one of the clearest articulations yet of Trump’s break with the global status quo. It underscored a broader shift in transatlantic ties, with Washington pressing European allies to shoulder more of their own defense and elevate national sovereignty.

He described the erosion of manufacturing, porous borders and dependence on global institutions as symptoms of Western complacency.

RUBIO BLASTS ‘WORLD WITHOUT BORDERS’ FANTASY, WARNS MASS MIGRATION THREATENS WESTERN CIVILIZATION

Reclaiming supply chain independence, enforcing immigration limits and rebuilding defense capabilities, he said, would be key to reversing course.

His remarks landed before an audience of European leaders who have long relied on U.S. security guarantees and remain wary of a more transactional Washington. 

The shift was striking in a forum that has traditionally served as a showcase for transatlantic unity, where U.S. officials in previous years stressed multilateral cooperation and institutional continuity.

Whether European capitals embrace that vision remains to be seen. But Rubio made clear that, under Trump, the U.S. no longer sees itself as the quiet steward of a fading order.