U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry veered into presidential politics by rapping Senator Marco Rubio for blocking the president's nomination for U.S. ambassador to Mexico.
Kerry says Rubio is punishing the United States by keeping nominee Roberta Jacobson from being confirmed.
Rubio, a Florida Republican and GOP presidential candidate, objected to Jacobson because of her role in negotiating the normalization of U.S. relations with Cuba. Jacobson is a career civil servant.
Kerry, who testified Wednesday before a Senate subcommittee, says Jacobson did nothing wrong. She was tasked to be part of the team that implemented President Barack Obama's policy.
"He's out there running for president, he has ample opportunity to make his case about the policy," Kerry says of Rubio. "But don't punish the country because you're angry about what happened.