Secretary of State Marco Rubio feels as though he is being ignored by the Trump administration and excluded from any important foreign policy decisions, reported Gabriel Sherman in a Vanity Fair article published on Tuesday.
This state of affairs was brought to the forefront by Trump's shouting match with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky that saw the latter kicked out of the White House — an incident for which Rubio himself was present and did little talking himself.
"While Rubio was quick to get in line in the days after the Zelenskyy showdown, the historic confrontation did indeed reveal a fault line inside the administration: Rubio is privately frustrated that Trump has effectively sidelined him," wrote Sherman. "According to four prominent Republicans close to the White House, Rubio, who has been a Russia hawk and Ukraine supporter, has told people he is upset by his lack of foreign policy influence despite being, on paper at least, the administration’s top diplomat."
ALSO READ:'Absolutely unconscionable': Ex-Republican demands Trump removed from office after fight
The report continued that "One of the sources said they felt as though Rubio is often the last to know when foreign policy decisions are made in the White House."
Republicans who spoke to Sherman said "Rubio’s unhappiness with Trump was brewing before Zelenskyy’s visit went sideways. Two of the sources said Rubio was caught off guard when Trump appointed nine foreign policy “envoys” with high-profile assignments such as ending the wars in Gaza and Ukraine," and one source told him "that Rubio also disapproved of Trump’s decision to revoke former secretary of state Mike Pompeo’s government security detail."
Rubio's lack of policy influence is all the more apparent from the fact that when he was in the Senate, he frequently pushed for aid to Ukraine and adopted a much more hawkish stance on the matter than Trump has ever displayed. It is not lost on his former colleagues, with Sen. Chris Van Hollen (D-MD) even comparing Marco Rubio's change of heart to being lobotomized.
Even prior to his confirmation to the role, many career diplomats believed Rubio would struggle in the position, and may not even last beyond a year.