In contrast to Defense Secretary nominee Pete Hegseth’s contentious confirmation hearing Tuesday, there were few fireworks Wednesday as former Sen. Marco Rubio, R-Fla., faced his colleagues and friends on the Senate Foreign Relations committee.

While Rubio’s opening statement was interrupted by protesters who were quickly removed from the room, his confirmation hearing to be secretary of state was expected to be one of the smoothest of President-elect Donald Trump’s nominees.

“Placing our core national interests above all else is not isolationism,” Rubio said, speaking to Trump’s America first agenda. “It is the common-sense realization that a foreign policy centered on our national interest is not some outdated relic.

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