A staff shaking this week turned Marco Rubio into the first person in 50 years to occupy the two main national security positions in the US government, the culmination of a trip from His role as rival of Donald Trump for the presidency to one of his most prominent assistants.
See more: Trump relegates Michael Waltz and appoints Marco Rubio as an interim national security advisor
Rubio’s rise to both Secretary of state and Interim National Security Advisor agreed with the fall of Mike Waltz, whose hawk positions in foreign policy made the Maga base of Trump be suspicious. Waltz was expelled from his position in the west wing after Inadvertently include a journalist in a chat of the Signal Group on military actions and will be appointed Trump ambassador to the United Nations.
On the surface, the agitation highlights the skilled navigation of former Florida senator around concerns about his late good faith in the world of Trump and his emergency as passionate messenger of the president.
However, the question of who won or lost Trump’s favor masks a reality for both men: Neither Rubio nor Waltz have taken the initiative in some of the most important foreign policy issues for the presidentand its influence has never been truly tested.
President Trump Holds Cabinet Meeting At White HouseWASHINGTON, DC – APRIL 30: U.S. President Donald Trump (R) listens as U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio speaks during a Cabinet meeting at the White House on April 30, 2025 in Washington, DC. Trump convened the meeting as reports released today say the U.S. economy contracted 0.3% in the first quarter of 2025, the first negative reading in three years, fueled by a massive surge in imports ahead of the administration’s expected tariffs. (Photo by Andrew Harnik/Getty Images)(Andrew Harnik)
Despite being the main American diplomat, Rubio goes to the background in regards to end the Ukraine war and dealing with the Iranian nuclear program In favor of Steve Witkoff, Trump’s real estate and friend For a long time. In Africa, Trump has appointed his daughter Tiffany, Massad Boulos, to supervise the conversations related to the Democratic Republic of Congo and other issues.
Rubio’s rival for the position of Secretary of State, the special envoy Richard Grenelll, has directed negotiations with Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro, sometimes colliding with Rubio.
See more: Rubio announces reorganization of the US Department of State
That without counting everyone who has Trump’s ear, including Elon Musk, The American agency for international development dismantled and other government agencies; Trump’s son, Donald JR; the television personality Tucker Carlson; and the extreme right activist Laura Loomer, who attributed the merit of a previous personnel purge in the National Security Council.
“It is a greater presence for Rubio; it remains to be seen with it,” said Justin Logan, director of Defense and Foreign Policy Studies of the Cato Institute, of libertarian tendency. “The national security advisor is always important for his proximity to the president”, but it can be less in this White House “because power In this administration it is very centralized in one person. ”
Rubio’s actions in the coming weeks will help clarify to what extent its expanded portfolio increases its influence. It will not be easy, since the White House You still have to appoint or nominate personnel for numerous positions of responsibility both in the State Department and in the National Security Council.
Rubio may not occupy both positions for a long time. The last person who did was Henry Kissinger in the 1970s. The White House is considering permanent substitutes for Waltz. Among the candidates are Grenelll, the White House Cabinet Deputy Chief, Stephen Miller, and Sebastian Gorka.
“The president has gathered a world -class team that works together to apply the policies he establishes,” said a state department official on Saturday, who spoke under anonymity. “There are no egos and all row in the same direction.”
Although Waltz’s march gives more power to Rubio, he also leaves him without an ally in Washington in several matters. ANDLy Waltz were aligned in many of their political positions publicly declared, with a traditionally conservative inclination that agrees with decades of republican political convention. That clashes with Maga supporters such as Vice President JD Vance, Carlson and other members of the Administration.
In matters such as Iran, “Will Rubio look for influence on that type of decision tree?” Logan said. “I have to imagine what he will do, but he is faced with the presidentWill it back or press? That is a question for Marco Rubio. ”
Rubio’s rise is one of the most surprising turns of the second Trump’s mandate, since it has detached from many opinions previously maintained -on the Russian President Vladimir Putin, NATO, the value of the USAID- to adopt a much more strident tone that attracts the president of the president.
He scrapped the concerns about the dismantling of the USAID and closed the mouth of the journalists who criticized the measure of revoking the visas to dozens of international students studying in the US. And he has been a firm defender of Trump’s measure to deport Kilmar Armando Abrego García, Maryland’s resident deported by mistake a prison in El Salvador.
See more: The United States will continue if you cannot end war in Ukraine: Marco Rubio
Hours after his appointment as an interim national security advisor, Rubio went to Fox News for an interview with Sean Hannity, in which he joked on a joke that Vance had done before that same Day, according to which Rubio could be chosen as the next Pope, given the speed of his ascent. And gave Trump credit for the first 100 days of foreign policy.
“The question here is, who is the only leader in the world who can speak with both parties and, hopefully, take them to an agreement?”he said about the war between Russia and Ukraine. “And that is President Trump.”
The comments only caught the attention in the current White House for whom he said. As a senator who had sought the Republican nomination against Trump in 2016, Rubio crushed the former president of Exxon Mobil Corp. Chief Executive Rex Tillerson – the first Trump nominated nominated to be Secretary of State – for refusing to call Putin war criminal. He praised the USAID and many programs that are now being dismantled in the State Department.
See more: Marco Rubio talks about efforts to approach countries and leaders in Latin America aligned with the USA.
“He was an unconditional opponent of authoritarian governments and a critic of Vladimir Putin,” said Kori Schake, a senior member of the American Enterprise Institute, who worked in the administration of George W. Bush. “And none of those seem to be neither administration options nor attitudes that the Secretary of State continues to maintain.”
Read more at Bloomberg.com
