WATCH: Rubio faces questions about Trump dinner for top bidders of his meme coin

Under questioning during a Senate Foreign Relations Committee hearing Tuesday, Secretary of State Marco Rubio said he was unaware of a dinner President Donald Trump planned to host this week for the top bidders of his personal meme coin cryptocurrency. Sen. Chris Murphy, D-Conn., asked Rubio if he had a list of the people from foreign countries who would be meeting with the president and whether some of those people “are on our list of sanctioned individuals or whether any of those individuals have connections to, let's say, terrorist organizations abroad.” “I think, if they had terrorist links, the Department of Homeland Security probably would not have allowed him into the country,” Rubio said. “I don't even know there is a dinner. You're asking me about something I don't know about.” Murphy countered that the dinner is “likely going to involve some very significant foreign interests” due to the monetary wealth of the attendees. “Isn't that a relevant question for the secretary of state, as to which foreign interests are going to be speaking to the president?” he asked. “It's kind of naive to believe that they aren't going to be in that room talking about national security matters.” “I’m not the social secretary,” Rubio answered. “I don't think that that's the case at all because I would be aware if it was the case. … I can't answer you because I don't know anything about this dinner. It's the first I heard of it. Like I said, I don't keep the president's social schedule. It's not on my phone. It's not in my pocket.” Murphy called Rubio’s answer a “real problem for this committee because there is clearly a way around the State Department for foreign individuals of significant influence and wealth to be able to directly lobby” Trump. Rubio said that FIFA President Giovanni Infantino, for instance, who is a friend of Trump’s, is “here all the time” and “doesn't have to go through me to meet with the president.” Watch PBS News for daily, breaking and live news, plus special coverage. We are home to PBS News Hour, ranked the most credible and objective TV news show. Subscribe for exclusive content in our newsletters: https://www.pbs.org/newshour/subscribe PBS News podcasts: https://www.pbs.org/newshour/podcasts Stream your PBS favorites with the PBS app: https://to.pbs.org/2Jb8twG Find more from PBS News at https://www.pbs.org/newshour Subscribe to our YouTube channel: https://bit.ly/2HfsCD6 Follow us: TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@pbsnews X: http://www.twitter.com/newshour Instagram: http://www.instagram.com/newshour Facebook: http://www.pbs.org/newshour