The emergence of Marco Rubio, once a fierce critic of US President Donald Trump, as arguably the most influential figure in the new US administration is one of the more surprising developments Washington has experienced since January’s inauguration.
The politician once patronised by Trump, who took to calling him “Little Marco” because of his diminutive stature, now finds himself enjoying the same vice-like grip over Washington’s foreign and security policy as the legendary Dr Henry Kissinger did during the Nixon administration in the 1970s.
Having initially been appointed to the key position of US Secretary of State after Trump returned to the White House in January, Rubio's role in the administration was further boosted by his being appointed National Security Advisor.
This followed the surprise removal of former National Security Advisor Mike Waltz in early May, whose position became increasingly untenable following his involvement in the chat group scandal in March, where sensitive details of planned US military action against Houthi rebels in Yemen were inadvertently shared with a prominent American journalist.
Trump’s go-to-guy
Rubio’s appointment as Waltz’s successor—albeit on a temporary basis—means that, by holding both the position of Secretary of State and National Security Advisor, he has become one of the most influential figures in the Trump administration, placing him on a par with Vice President JD Vance in terms of his ability to steer administration policy.
As if this were not a sufficient workload to occupy Rubio’s time, the former Florida senator has also been appointed the acting administrator for USAID, America’s foreign aid department, as well as acting lead archivist, indicating that Rubio has quietly emerged as Trump’s go-to-guy in terms of filling big roles within his administration.
No US official has occupied the offices of national security adviser and secretary of state since Kissinger during the Nixon administration. Prior to his appointment to these key roles, the 53-year-old former Sunshine State senator has supported the US adopting a more muscular approach to the challenge presented by both China and Iran, while taking a more pragmatic view on American support for Ukraine in its war with Russia, opposing further funding for Kyiv.
His appointment as secretary of state meant Rubio made history as the first Latino to serve as America's top diplomat, while his appointment as national security advisor has been warmly received by America’s influential Latino community.
As Mauricio Claver-Carone, a Rubio ally and former National Security Council aide, commented after his appointment, "This is the time Latin America will be most on the map in the history of any US presidency. It's historic. There's no other way to say it."
Former Trump rival
Rubio’s rise to become one of the most important figures in the Trump administration has taken place in spite of the fact that previously he had positioned himself as a rival to Trump’s bid for the presidency. Having endorsed Republican Mitt Romney’s bid for the White House in 2012, in 2016 Rubio threw his own hat into the ring, lining himself up against future president Donald Trump.
It was during this period that Trump and Rubio traded insults with each other on the campaign trail, with Rubio laying into Trump at a rally in Dallas in February 2016, publicly mocking him for his "small hands" while criticising his lack of foreign policy experience. "A tough guy?" Rubio scoffed at a rally. "This guy inherited $200m. He's never faced any struggle."
Trump responded by referring to his rival as "little Marco", although the campaign ultimately ended with Rubio endorsing Trump for the 2016 nomination, becoming much more aligned with the president in the years that followed.
