{"id":2556033,"date":"2026-01-28T20:17:01","date_gmt":"2026-01-29T01:17:01","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/this-is-not-a-game-show-marco-rubio-refuses-to-go-along-with-dem-senators-hearing-tactics-5\/"},"modified":"2026-01-28T20:19:05","modified_gmt":"2026-01-29T01:19:05","slug":"this-is-not-a-game-show-marco-rubio-refuses-to-go-along-with-dem-senators-hearing-tactics-5","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/this-is-not-a-game-show-marco-rubio-refuses-to-go-along-with-dem-senators-hearing-tactics-5\/","title":{"rendered":"&#8216;This Is Not a Game Show&#8217;: Marco Rubio Refuses to Go Along with Dem Senator&#8217;s Hearing Tactics"},"content":{"rendered":"<aside class=\"mashsb-container mashsb-main mashsb-stretched\"><div class=\"mashsb-box\"><div class=\"mashsb-count mash-medium\" style=\"&quot;\"><div class=\"counts mashsbcount\">34<\/div><span class=\"mashsb-sharetext\">SHARES<\/span><\/div><div class=\"mashsb-buttons\"><a class=\"mashicon-facebook mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.conservativenewsdaily.net%2Fbreaking-news%2Fthis-is-not-a-game-show-marco-rubio-refuses-to-go-along-with-dem-senators-hearing-tactics-5%2F\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Facebook<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-twitter mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/intent\/tweet?text=&amp;url=https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=2556033&amp;via=ConservNewsDly\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Twitter<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-subscribe mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"#\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Subscribe<\/span><\/a><div class=\"onoffswitch2 mash-medium mashsb-noshadow\" style=\"display:none\"><\/div><\/div>\n            <\/div>\n                <div style=\"clear:both\"><\/div><\/aside>\n            <!-- Share buttons by mashshare.net - Version: 4.0.47--><p>At a Senate Foreign Relations Committee hearing, Sen. Jacky Rosen pressed secretary of State Marco Rubio for a yes-or-no answer on whether President Trump\u2019s pardon of former Honduran president Juan Orlando Hern\u00e1ndez\u2014convicted in 2024 of facilitating roughly 400 tons of cocaine trafficking and sentenced to 45 years\u2014undermines U.S. credibility after the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/trump-doj-drops-charges-against-texas-doctor-in-gender-whistleblower-case-washington-examiner\/\" title=\"Trump DOJ drops charges against Texas doctor in gender whistleblower case ... Washington Examiner\">governance recently moved<\/a> to apprehend Venezuela\u2019s Nicol\u00e1s Maduro. Rubio declined to answer in yes-or-no form, saying he is not involved in the pardon process and refusing to \u201cplay games.\u201d He defended the administration\u2019s removal of Maduro, arguing Venezuela had become a base for adversaries like Iran, Russia and China and stressing that Maduro\u2019s narco-trafficking was an <a href=\"https:\/\/amzn.to\/3YuVZYV\" >ongoing state enterprise<\/a>. Rubio also noted Hern\u00e1ndez was not president at the time of the pardon and acknowledged that transitioning venezuela to a stable democracy will be challenging but said progress is being made.  <\/p>\n<p class=\"readmore\">\n    <button onclick=\"showReadMore()\" id=\"readmorebtn\">Read more&#8230;<\/button>\n<\/p>\n<hr id=\"line\">\n<span id=\"more\"><\/p>\n<p><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><\/p>\n<section> \t\t\t\t<script>console.log(\"ad slot (AC1)\")<\/script><script>console.log(\"ad slot (IC1)\")<\/script><script>console.log(\"ad slot (IC2)\")<\/script><script>console.log(\"ad slot (IC3)\")<\/script><script>console.log(\"ad slot (IC4)\")<\/script><\/p>\n<p>Secretary of State Marco Rubio was not having it when Democratic Sen. Jacky Rosen of Nevada tried to get him to answer with &ldquo;yes&rdquo; or &ldquo;no&rdquo; to her questions.<\/p>\n<p>During a Wednesday hearing of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, Rosen wanted Rubio to concede that President Donald Trump&rsquo;s decision to apprehend Venezuelan President <a href=\"https:\/\/www.westernjournal.com\/brave-us-military-operatives-captured-nicolas-maduro\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Nicol&aacute;s Maduro<\/a> earlier this month to stand trial for <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/father-of-saints-super-fan-sentenced-to-eight-years-in-prison-after-stealing-donations-from-sons-charity\/\" title=\"Father Of Saints Super Fan ...tenced To Eight Years In Prison After Stealing Donations From Son\u2019s Charity\">drug trafficking charges<\/a> was undermined by his recent pardon of former Honduran President Juan Orlando Hern&aacute;ndez.<\/p>\n<p>Hern&aacute;ndez was <a href=\"https:\/\/www.justice.gov\/archives\/opa\/pr\/juan-orlando-hernandez-former-president-honduras-sentenced-45-years-prison-conspiring\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">convicted<\/a> in 2024 of aiding in the trafficking of over 400 tons of cocaine into the United States during his time in office. He was sentenced to 45 years in jail.<\/p>\n<p>Trump pardoned him in November, saying on <a href=\"https:\/\/x.com\/sentdefender\/status\/1994520876264677772\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">social media<\/a> that Hern&aacute;ndez had been &ldquo;treated harshly and unfairly.&rdquo; Trump connected the pardon to his desire to see Tito Ashfura become the next president of Honduras. Ashfura, in fact, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.axios.com\/2025\/12\/24\/trump-honduras-presidential-candidate-nasry-asfura-wins\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">won the election<\/a> last month.<\/p>\n<p>First stating that she wanted a &ldquo;yes&rdquo; or &ldquo;no&rdquo; response to a series of questions, Rosen asked Rubio, &ldquo;Was Hern&aacute;ndez convicted of <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/this-is-not-a-game-show-marco-rubio-refuses-to-go-along-with-dem-senators-hearing-tactics\/\" title=\"&#039;This Is Not a Game Show&#039;: Marco ... Refuses to Go Along with Dem ...ator&#039;s Hearing Tactics\">trafficking approximately 400 tons<\/a> of cocaine into the United States?&rdquo;<\/p>\n<p> <script type=\"text\/javascript\"> \t\t\tif ( getCookie( \"ff_subbed\" ) ) { \t\t\t\tdocument.getElementById(\"stnvideo\").remove() \t\t\t} else { \t\t\t\tdocument.addEventListener(\"DOMContentLoaded\", function() { \t\t\t\t\tfunction loadScript(src) { \t\t\t\t\t\tconst script=document.createElement(\"script\"); \t\t\t\t\t\tscript.src=src; \t\t\t\t\t\tscript.async=true; \t\t\t\t\t\tdocument.body.appendChild(script); \t\t\t\t\t} \t\t\t\t\tfunction findPreviousParagraph(selector, x) { \t\t\t\t\t\tconst targetElement=document.querySelector(selector); \t\t\t\t\t\tif (!targetElement) { \t\t\t\t\t\t\tconsole.warn(\"Target element not found.\"); \t\t\t\t\t\t\treturn null; \t\t\t\t\t\t}  \t\t\t\t\t\t\/\/ Get all <\/p>\n<p> elements in order as they appear in the document \t\t\t\t\t\tlet paragraphs=Array.from(document.querySelectorAll(\"p\"));  \t\t\t\t\t\t\/\/ Find the index of the last <\/p>\n<p> before the target element \t\t\t\t\t\tlet targetIndex=paragraphs.findIndex(p=> p.compareDocumentPosition(targetElement) & Node.DOCUMENT_POSITION_PRECEDING);  \t\t\t\t\t\tif (targetIndex===-1 || targetIndex <x) { \t\t\t\t\t\t\tconsole.warn(\"Not enough paragraphs before the target element.\"); \t\t\t\t\t\t\treturn null; \t\t\t\t\t\t}  \t\t\t\t\t\treturn paragraphs[targetIndex - x]; \t\t\t\t\t}  \t\t\t\t\t\/\/ Set up IntersectionObserver \t\t\t\t\tfunction observeElement(element) { \t\t\t\t\t\tif (!element) return;  \t\t\t\t\t\tconst observer=new IntersectionObserver( \t\t\t\t\t\t\t(entries)=> { \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tentries.forEach(entry=> { \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tif (entry.isIntersecting) { \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tconsole.log(\"Paragraph is now visible:\", entry.target.textContent.trim()); \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tloadScript(\"https:\/\/embed.sendtonews.com\/player3\/embedcode.js?fk=s28Az7AY\"); \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tobserver.disconnect(); \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t} \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t}); \t\t\t\t\t\t\t}, \t\t\t\t\t\t\t{ threshold: 0.5 } \/\/ Adjust threshold as needed \t\t\t\t\t\t);  \t\t\t\t\t\tobserver.observe(element); \t\t\t\t\t}  \t\t\t\t\t\/\/ Find the 1st paragraph before #stnvideo and observe it \t\t\t\t\tlet paragraphToObserve=findPreviousParagraph(\"#stnvideo\", 2); \t\t\t\t\tobserveElement(paragraphToObserve); \t\t\t\t}); \t\t\t} \t\t<\/script> <\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;I&rsquo;m not involved in the pardon process. I can tell you&hellip;&rdquo; Rubio began to answer before Rosen cut him off.<\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;No, but I&rsquo;m just asking&hellip;,&rdquo; the lawmaker said.<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.westernjournal.com\/rubio-announced-major-shift-foreign-aid-strategy-ahead-venezuela-moves\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Rubio<\/a> then shot back, &ldquo;Yeah, but I don&rsquo;t do yes or no. I don&rsquo;t play games. This is not a game show.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<p><iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"YouTube video player\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/md6Lo-3ZlzI?si=_5EtoL3PmrjHkC7i\" width=\"560\" height=\"315\" frameborder=\"0\" allowfullscreen=\"allowfullscreen\"><\/iframe><\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;The president felt he was unfairly treated,&rdquo; Rubio added.<\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;It undermines the United States&rsquo; credibility on the world stage,&rdquo; Rosen argued.<\/p>\n<p>Rubio pointed out that Hern&aacute;ndez was not the president of Honduras when Trump pardoned him.<\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;The difference between him and Nicolas Maduro is that he was actively engaged in narco-trafficking. It was an ongoing endeavor,&rdquo; Rubio noted.<\/p>\n<p>However, Rosen reasserted, &ldquo;I think it does undermine our credibility.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<p>In his <a href=\"https:\/\/www.state.gov\/releases\/office-of-the-spokesperson\/2026\/01\/secretary-of-state-marco-rubio-before-the-senate-committee-on-foreign-relations-on-u-s-policy-towards-venezuela\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">opening remarks<\/a> to the committee, Rubio defended the administration&rsquo;s decision to remove Maduro.<\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;And let me just say this: What is our goal going in? We had, in our hemisphere, a regime operated by an indicted narcotrafficker that became a base of operation for virtually every competitor, adversary, and enemy in the world,&rdquo; he said.<\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;It was &mdash; for Iran, their primary spot of operation in the Western Hemisphere was <a href=\"https:\/\/www.westernjournal.com\/venezuela-freedom-fighter-maria-machado-gave-trump-nobel-prize-medal-calling-heir-washington-force-freedom\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Venezuela<\/a>. For Russia their primary base of operation in the Western Hemisphere, along Cuba and Nicaragua, was Venezuela. In the case of China, China was receiving oil at a huge &ndash; about $20 a barrel &ndash; discount, and they weren&rsquo;t even paying money for it. It was being used to pay down debt that they were owed,&rdquo; Rubio added.<\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;And so you had basically three of our primary opponents in the world operating from our hemisphere from that spot,&rdquo; he said.<\/p>\n<p><iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"YouTube video player\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/hb4Q2Ap5QQM?si=pNNvpATJ3LzzOWsu\" width=\"560\" height=\"315\" frameborder=\"0\" allowfullscreen=\"allowfullscreen\"><\/iframe><\/p>\n<p>He concluded by saying that transitioning the Venezuelan government to a <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/this-is-not-a-game-show-marco-rubio-refuses-to-go-along-with-dem-senators-hearing-tactics-2\/\" title=\"&#039;This Is Not a Game Show&#039;: Marco ... Refuses to Go Along with Dem ...ator&#039;s Hearing Tactics\">stable democracy &#038;ldquo<\/a>;won&rsquo;t be easy.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;I mean, look, at the end of the day we are dealing with people over there that have spent most of their lives living in a gangster paradise, so it&rsquo;s not going to be like from one day to the next we&rsquo;re going to have this thing turn around overnight. But I think we&rsquo;re making good and decent progress.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<div style=\"position: relative;\">\n<div class=\"ff-fancy-header-container\"> \t\t\t \t<\/div>\n<div class=\"entry-submit-correction inner-content\">\n<div class=\"correction-form\">\n<form style=\"display: none;\">\n<div class=\"sc-name-field\"> \t\t\t\t\t\t<label>* Name<\/label> \t\t\t\t\t\t<br \/> \t\t\t\t\t\t<input type=\"text\" name=\"name\" required> \t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n<div class=\"sc--field\"> \t\t\t\t\t\t<label>* <\/label> \t\t\t\t\t\t<br \/> \t\t\t\t\t\t<input type=\"text\" name=\"\" required> \t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n<p> \t\t\t\t\t<label>* Message<\/label> \t\t\t\t\t<br \/> \t\t\t\t\t<textarea name=\"message\" required><\/textarea> \t\t\t\t\t \t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n<div class=\"required-message\" style=\"display: none; padding-bottom: 15px;\">* All fields are required.<\/div>\n<p> \t\t\t\t\t<input type=\"submit\" value=\"Submit\" onclick=\"event.preventDefault(); firefly_sc();\"> \t\t\t\t\t \t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n<div class=\"firefly-sc-confirm\" style=\"display: none;\">Success!<\/div>\n<\/p><\/form>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<p> \t\t<script> \t\t\tfunction firefly_sc() { \t\t\t\tif( typeof window.captchaPublicKey==typeof undefined ){ \t\t\t\t\tconsole.error('window.captchaPublicKey is not defined'); \t\t\t\t} \t\t\t\tgrecaptcha.execute( window.captchaPublicKey, { action: 'submit_correction' } ).then( function( token ) { \t\t\t\t\tvar opts={ \t\t\t\t\t\taction:    'firefly_sc_submit', \t\t\t\t\t\tname:      document.querySelector( '.entry-submit-correction [name=\"name\"]' ).value, \t\t\t\t\t\t:     document.querySelector( '.entry-submit-correction [name=\"\"]' ).value, \t\t\t\t\t\tmessage:   document.querySelector( '.entry-submit-correction [name=\"message\"]' ).value, \t\t\t\t\t\tpost_id:   firefly_post_id, \t\t\t\t\t\tcap_token: token \t\t\t\t\t}  \t\t\t\t\tvar inputs=[ 'name', '', 'message' ];  \t\t\t\t\tfor( var i=0; i <inputs.length; i++ ) if( ! ( opts[inputs[i]]=document.querySelector( '.entry-submit-correction [name=\"' + inputs[i] + '\"]' ).value ) ) { \t\t\t\t\t\tdocument.querySelector( '.entry-submit-correction .required-message' ).style.display='block'; \t\t\t\t\t\treturn; \t\t\t\t\t}  \t\t\t\t\tdocument.querySelector( '.entry-submit-correction input[type=\"submit\"]' ).style.display='none'; \t\t\t\t\tdocument.querySelector( '.entry-submit-correction .firefly-sc-submitting-img' ).src=firefly_loading_gif_url; \t\t\t\t\tdocument.querySelector( '.entry-submit-correction .firefly-sc-submitting-img' ).style.display='inline-block';  \t\t\t\t\tconsole.log( 'ma subbing' );  \t\t\t\t\tif( firefly_post_id ) opts['post_id']=firefly_post_id;  \t\t\t\t\t\/* Send the data using post with element id name and name2*\/ \t\t\t\t\tvar posting=jQuery.post( firefly_ajax_url, opts );  \t\t\t\t\t\/* Alerts the results *\/ \t\t\t\t\tposting.done( function( response ) { \t\t\t\t\t\tif( response.success ) { \t\t\t\t\t\t\tconsole.log( response.data ); \t\t\t\t\t\t\tdocument.querySelector( '.entry-submit-correction .firefly-sc-submitting-img' ).style.display='none'; \t\t\t\t\t\t\tdocument.querySelector( '.entry-submit-correction .firefly-sc-confirm' ).style.display='block';  \t\t\t\t\t\t\tdataLayer.push( { 'event': 'submit-correction' } ); \t\t\t\t\t\t} \t\t\t\t\t}); \t\t\t\t}); \t\t\t} \t\t<\/script> \t     \t\t\t\t\t\t     \t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n<p style=\"border: 1px solid #f5f5f5; padding: 16px;\">Advertise with The Western Journal and reach millions of highly engaged readers, while supporting our work. <a href=\"https:\/\/www.westernjournal.com\/advertise-us\/?wj_source=article\">Advertise Today<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p><script>console.log(\"ad slot (BA1)\")<\/script> \t\t<\/p>\n<div class=\"ff-fancy-header-container\"> \t\t\t \t<\/div>\n<\/section>\n<p><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Rubio balked at Rosen\u2019s yes-or-no on Maduro<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":2556034,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mo_disable_npp":"","fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/www.westernjournal.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/Ben-Working-Feature-Image-2026-01-28T182501.809.jpg","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[548,33651],"tags":[34593,72153,34360,48508],"class_list":["post-2556033","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-conservative-news-daily","category-the-western-journal","tag-democratic-senator","tag-hearing-tactics","tag-marco-rubio","tag-senate-hearing"],"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/www.westernjournal.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/Ben-Working-Feature-Image-2026-01-28T182501.809.jpg","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2556033","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2556033"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2556033\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2556037,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2556033\/revisions\/2556037"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2556034"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2556033"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2556033"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2556033"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}