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Secretary of State Marco Rubio got into a testy exchange with a congressman on Wednesday after he repeatedly refused to directly call Russian President Vladimir Putin a war criminal.
It happened during a House hearing when Maryland Democratic Rep. Bill Keating asked Rubio about Putin’s involvement in war crimes against Ukraine.
The hearing comes at a time when the Trump administration is attempting to broker a ceasefire between Russia and Ukraine ― despite failing to get Putin to make any move that would lead to that result.
Things got testy after Keating directly asked the secretary of state, “The person we’re negotiating with, Vladimir Putin, is he a war criminal?”
Rubio tried to answer the question without actually answering the question.
“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.
Keating repeated the question.
“Is he a war criminal?”
Rubio evaded the yes-or-no answer Keating was looking for, saying, “We can’t end the war without talking to Mr. Putin.”
Keating, getting frustrated at the lack of a direct response, tried once again.
“Is he a war criminal?” he asked.
Rubio claimed he “was trying to answer your question by telling you that we’re trying to end the war here.”
Keating exclaimed, “You are equivocating, sir, just answer the question!”
“I’m answering your question, and the answer is that war crimes have been committed, no doubt,” Rubio responded in as passive a tone as possible to (possibly) avoid putting Putin into a tizzy. “And who is responsible for that? There will be a time and place for that accountability. But right now, the job is to end the war.”
“So you won’t answer the question,” Keating said.
Here’s a clip of the exchange:
US Congressman Bill Keating asked the Secretary of State Marco Rubio whether Putin is a war criminal.
- The person we're negotiating with, Vladimir Putin, is he a war criminal?
- Well, I think you can look at instances that have happened there and certainly characterize them as… pic.twitter.com/fN6NrugCn8
Many people weren’t impressed by Rubio’s unwillingness to attack Putin, considering he went after Trump’s then-Secretary of State nominee Rex Tillerson in 2017 for being reluctant to call Putin a war criminal.
In fact, the Republicans Against Trump account on X posted a video of that original exchange.
“It should not be hard to say that Vladimir Putin’s military has conducted war crimes in Aleppo,” the then-Florida senator chastised Tillerson.
Flashback: Marco Rubio scolded Secretary of State Rex Tillerson for refusing to say Putin is a war criminal: “It should not be hard to say that Vladimir Putin’s military has conducted war crimes in Aleppo.” (2017) pic.twitter.com/h99t70vucq https://t.co/ly7HRP10Rb
— Republicans against Trump (@RpsAgainstTrump) May 21, 2025Other people also weren’t impressed with Rubio’s namby-pamby equivocating, and offered evidence suggesting that the “war criminal” tag has merit.
Rubio is unable to call Putin a war criminal after bombed hospitals, churches, playgrounds, destroyed cities, uncovered mass graves and torture chambers, the International Criminal Court's arrest warrant for mass abduction of children, the Kakhovka dam destruction, and God knows… pic.twitter.com/DMhRlgQjY7
— Kate from Kharkiv (@BohuslavskaKate) May 21, 2025Cowardly.
Rubio can’t even say the words “Putin is a war criminal” on record—because “we’re trying to end the war.”
War crimes have been committed—but no one’s responsible?
This isn’t diplomacy. It’s moral collapse in real time.
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We’re negotiating with Putin so we can’t say anything that would upset him, even if it’s true. Funny, they never worried about upsetting Zelenskyy by calling him a dictator and blaming him for starting the war even though both were lies.
— Ron Hughes (@RonaldNHughes) May 21, 2025Marco Rubio in 2017: “It’s not hard. Putin is a war criminal.”
Marco Rubio today: word salad.
Rubio is and has always been a weasel.
🇺🇸 U.S. Secretary of State Rubio refused to directly call Putin a war criminal.
Thousands dead. Cities leveled. Children buried.
But sure—let’s stay polite. Wouldn’t want to upset a genocidal dictator. pic.twitter.com/RwW8RaXkHv
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