Secretary of State Marco Rubio had a heated exchange on Wednesday when he refused to call Vladimir Putin a war criminal.
It was a jaw-dropping moment as the top Trump diplomat was posed the exact same question he once asked Rex Tillerson as a sitting senator in 2017.
Rubio was testifying before the House Foreign Affairs Committee when Democratic Rep. Bill Keating asked him if the Russian president was a war criminal.
“Well, I think you can look at instances that have happened there and certainly characterize them as war crimes, but our intent is to end the war,” Rubio said.
“Is he a war criminal?” Keating repeated.
“We can’t end the war without talking to Mr. Putin,” the secretary of state shot back.
The exchange came as the Trump administration is struggling to broker a ceasefire deal between Russia and Ukraine.
The flashpoint on Capitol Hill continued to escalate with Keating arguing the question was “pretty simple” before shouting it again.
“I’m trying to answer your question by telling you we’re trying to end the war here,” Rubio exasperatedly responded.
Keating: Is Putin a war criminal?Rubio: I think you can look at instances there and characterize them as war crimes but our intent is to end the war Keating: Is he a war criminal?Rubio: It’s not a simple answer pic.twitter.com/RtR1Or1Qtx
— Acyn (@Acyn) May 21, 2025
The secretary of state said it was not a simple answer and there was no doubt that war crimes have been committed, but he said there will be a time and place for finding accountability for those responsible. He did not directly call Putin a war criminal.
“So you won’t answer the question,” Keating bellowed, slamming his hand down.
Just eight years ago, when Rubio was a sitting senator, he asked Tillerson, Trump’s then-nominee for secretary of state, the exact same question during his confirmation hearing.
“Is Vladimir Putin a war criminal?” Rubio asked in the January 2017 hearing.
When Tillerson refused to call Putin a war criminal directly, the then-senator rattled off a series of war crimes the Russian military was accused of committing in Syria.
“It should not be hard to say that Vladimir Putin’s military has conducted war crimes in Aleppo because it is never acceptable, you would agree, for a military to specifically target civilians, which is what’s happened there through the Russian military,” Rubio blasted Tillerson.
The then-senator also said he was not trying to get Tillerson to engage in international name calling but argued “in order to have moral clarity, we need clarity.”
“When they see the United States is not prepared to stand up and say ‘yes, Vladimir Putin is a war criminal’… it demoralizes these people all over the world,” Rubio said at the time.
He said in the hearing eight years ago that refusing to call Putin a war criminal and being direct on such issues gave the appearance that the U.S. only cared about democracy and freedom, “as long as it’s not being violated by somebody that they need for something else.”
“That cannot be,” he claimed.
Keating brought up Rubio’s own 2017 line of questioning in the hearing on Wednesday.
“You were very clear then Vladimir Putin is a war criminal, now… you’re unmaking him a war criminal, and you won’t answer the question about the exact same circumstances,” the Massachusetts lawmaker said.
When Rubio said he was not given a chance to answer and accused Keating of putting words in his mouth, the congressman shot back again, “Is Putin a war criminal?”
“I have already told you war crimes have been committed,” Rubio started before Keating cut him off to point out he did not call Putin a war criminal.
The post Marco Rubio Won’t Answer His Own Question About Putin appeared first on The Daily Beast.
