Marco Rubio defends Russia talks amid Democratic onslaught

Secretary of State Marco Rubio on Tuesday defended the Trump administration — and himself — from accusations that the United States is pulling back from the global stage and is empowering Russian President Vladimir Putin.

“I just hit 18 countries in 18 weeks — that doesn’t sound like much of a withdrawal,” Rubio told members of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee. “We have the same leverage today than we had under the previous administration.”