Rubio Shares Plans For Campus Protesters In Fiery Senate Hearing

Secretary of State Marco Rubio said he hopes to revoke more student visas from campus disruptors during a heated Senate hearing on Tuesday.

“A visa is not a right, it is a privilege,” Rubio said while testifying before the Senate Committee on Foreign Relations. “People apply for student visas to come into the United States and study, and if you tell me that you are coming into the United States to lead campus crusades, to take over libraries and try to burn down buildings and acts of violence, we’re not going to give you a visa.”

“The bottom line is if you come here to stir up trouble on our campuses, we will deny you a visa,” Rubio said. “These kids pay money to go to school, and they have to walk through a bunch of lunatics who are here on student visas.”

NEW: @SecRubio doubles down and says he plans to revoke more student visas.

"These kids pay money to go to school and they have to walk through a bunch of lunatics who are here on student visas." pic.twitter.com/8CILwzDs8h

— Kassy Akiva (@KassyAkiva) May 20, 2025

Rubio added that the State Department will continue to revoke visas and stated, “I hope we can find more of these people.”

The secretary’s comments followed a fiery exchange with Senator Chris Van Hollen, in which the Maryland Democrat told his former Senate colleague that he regretted voting to confirm him.

“I have to tell you directly and personally that I regret voting for you for Secretary of State,” Van Hollen said.

“Your regret for voting for me confirms I’m doing a good job,” Rubio shot back.

Sen. @ChrisVanHollen: “I have to tell you directly and personally that I regret voting for you for Secretary of State.”@SecRubio: “Your regret for voting for me confirms I’m doing a good job.”

Van Hollen: “That’s a flippant statement.” pic.twitter.com/2UHH7tkkrT

— CSPAN (@cspan) May 20, 2025

Rubio also defended the Trump State Department’s attempts to cut government waste and illegal immigration.

“I don’t regret cutting $10 million for male circumcisions in Mozambique,” Rubio said. “I don’t know how that makes us stronger or more prosperous as a nation.”

“We spent $14 million for social cohesion in Mali, whatever the hell that means,” the secretary added. “I can go on and on. … I didn’t even bring the whole list.”

“And in the case of El Salvador, absolutely, we deported gang members — including the one you had a margarita with,” Rubio said, referencing Kilmar Abrego Garcia, the “Maryland Man” deported to El Salvador who has become a cause célèbre for Democrats. Van Hollen flew to El Salvador to meet with Garcia, whom Rubio called “a human trafficker” and “a gangbanger.”

NEW: @SecRubio doubles down and says he plans to revoke more student visas.

"These kids pay money to go to school and they have to walk through a bunch of lunatics who are here on student visas." pic.twitter.com/8CILwzDs8h

— Kassy Akiva (@KassyAkiva) May 20, 2025

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Van Hollen pushed Rubio on the March arrest of Turkish Tufts student Rumeysa Ozturk, who had her student visa terminated over her alleged “activities in support of Hamas.”

In 2024, Ozturk wrote an op-ed calling on her university to acknowledge the “Palestinian genocide” and to divest from companies with ties to Israel.

The Department of Homeland Security previously said it had found Ozturk to have “engaged in activities in support of Hamas,” though details are scarce, and a federal judge ordered her release on May 9.

The fiery interaction comes as the Trump administration continues to crack down on foreign visa holders participating in activities aligned with terrorist organizations, such as the antisemitic protests on college campuses.

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Earlier this month, Rubio said he was reviewing the visa status of masked anti-Israel protesters arrested for occupying Columbia University’s Butler Library.

“We are reviewing the visa status of the trespassers and vandals who took over Columbia University’s library,” Rubio posted to X. “Pro-Hamas thugs are no longer welcome in our great nation.”

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The keffiyeh-wearing protesters, carrying large signs and chanting, invaded the library to disrupt students studying for finals. While inside, the protesters vandalized walls and furniture and graffitied “Columbia will burn for the martyrs” on a glass case.

When protesters tried to leave, they were denied by public safety officers who requested to see their IDs before leaving, causing the protest to intensify. For about five hours, the disruption continued until about 80 protesters were taken into custody by law enforcement officers and placed on police buses, the New York Post reported.