{"id":17395,"date":"2026-01-08T10:01:42","date_gmt":"2026-01-08T10:01:42","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/bluelightnews.com\/category\/politics\/marco-rubio-left-the-senate-but-hes-still-part-of-the-club\/"},"modified":"2026-01-08T10:01:42","modified_gmt":"2026-01-08T10:01:42","slug":"marco-rubio-left-the-senate-but-hes-still-part-of-the-club","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/bluelightnews.com\/category\/politics\/marco-rubio-left-the-senate-but-hes-still-part-of-the-club\/","title":{"rendered":"Marco Rubio left the Senate. But he\u2019s still part of the club."},"content":{"rendered":"
\n

As senators woke up Saturday with questions on President Donald Trump\u2019s audacious decision to order the capture of Venezuelan leader Nicol\u00e1s Maduro, one of their old colleagues was ready with answers.<\/p>\n

Secretary of State Marco Rubio worked the phones in the wee hours of the morning and, in the days since, has played an outsize role in not only formulating the administration\u2019s strategy in Venezuela but explaining it to skeptical lawmakers wary of a protracted military commitment.<\/p>\n

That outreach has been to his former Republican colleagues as well as Democrats, including those who see him as a rare Trump official with whom they can maintain a trusted and respectful relationship amid profound policy disputes.<\/p>\n

\u201cAlthough I may disagree with him on a day-to-day or hour-to-hour basis \u2026 he has shown extraordinary competence,\u201d Sen. Dick Durbin of Illinois, the No. 2 Democratic leader, said in an interview. \u201cI voted for him in this position; I still have confidence in his abilities.\u201d<\/p>\n

Others said they respected his particular expertise on issues in Latin America while also raising doubts about the strategy for Venezuela he is laying out<\/a> in public and in private briefings \u2014 which for now involves propping up interim president Delcy Rodriguez as a de facto U.S. puppet.<\/p>\n

\u201cYou can talk to Marco about \u2014 \u2018Tell us about Delcy.\u2019 \u2026 He knows all of that, and he can give you a sense of who they are and what they’re up to,\u201d said Sen. Tim Kaine (D-Va.), a former colleague on the Foreign Relations Committee.<\/p>\n

Kaine complimented Rubio for putting a renewed focus on the Americas, while quickly adding that Trump\u2019s self-proclaimed \u201cDonroe doctrine\u201d<\/a> is the \u201cwrong kind of attention.\u201d<\/p>\n

Rubio returned to his old stomping groups Wednesday as part of a delegation of senior Trump officials who briefed lawmakers on the weekend military operation. There his status as a figure of special consequence who has taken on increasingly significant roles in the administration was on display.<\/p>\n

\u201cHe’s the one in the center \u2014 he’s the one that starts it, no notes,\u201d Sen. John Barrasso (R-Wyo.), the No. 2 GOP leader, said in an interview describing the briefing. \u201cTo me, he’s a mature, experienced, reliable voice as secretary of State, and \u2014 specifically for this part of the world \u2014 he knows the issues, he knows the people, and that brings a lot.\u201d<\/p>\n

Also on display was Rubio\u2019s membership in the rarefied club of senators and former senators.<\/p>\n

He hugged and briefly huddled with Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer in view of dozens of reporters. A grinning Rubio came up to cameras afterward and joked to reporters, \u201cI\u2019m against everything he said.\u201d<\/p>\n

Schumer, who like most Democrats has been a persistent critic of the administration, offered no praise for Rubio but stopped short this week of disavowing his previous support for Rubio\u2019s nomination as secretary. Asked Tuesday if he regretted his vote, the New York Democrat said he was \u201cdeeply, deeply disappointed in Marco Rubio even before Venezuela and even more so now.\u201d<\/p>\n

Rubio took in stride the criticism from Schumer and other Democrats that he and other Trump administration officials have not fully thought through their strategy.<\/p>\n

\u201cI used to be a senator, too \u2014 that’s what you always say when it’s the other party,\u201d he told reporters Wednesday. \u201cThe bottom line is, we’ve gone into great detail with them about the planning.\u201d<\/p>\n

The Senate voted 99-0 hours after Trump\u2019s Jan. 20 swearing-in to confirm Rubio \u2014 the only nominee who got through<\/a> on Day 1.<\/p>\n

At the time Democrats praised Rubio as a qualified foreign policy hand. They believed he shared some of their views and would work with them on key global matters such as helping Ukraine defeat Russia and strengthening the NATO alliance.<\/p>\n

But since then, Rubio has rankled his former Democratic colleagues at times as he worked with Trump to upend America\u2019s foreign aid infrastructure and back the president\u2019s often erratic policy priorities \u2014 ranging from his attempts to force a peace deal in Ukraine to his ongoing push to take over Greenland.<\/p>\n

Those tensions have at times spilled out into the public.<\/p>\n

Sen. Chris Van Hollen (D-Md.) told Rubio during a committee hearing last year, \u201cI have to tell you directly and personally that I regret voting for you for secretary of State.” Sen. Jacky Rosen (D-Nev.) said at the same hearing that she found \u201cSenator Rubio to be a bipartisan pragmatic partner\u201d but \u201cI don\u2019t recognize Secretary Rubio.\u201d<\/p>\n

That said, lines of communication have stayed open. Sen. Mark Warner (D-Va.), who worked closely with Rubio on the Intelligence Committee, bristled this week at the administration\u2019s decision not to notify top congressional leaders about the Venezuela operation in advance. But he credited Rubio for reaching out soon after.<\/p>\n

“My phone had been hacked a few months back, and I had a new number,\u201d Warner said. \u201cSo he did try to reach me, but it was after the strikes had started.\u201d<\/p>\n

Rubio did manage to reach many of his former Republican colleagues \u2014 including Sen. Mike Lee of Utah, with whom he had sometimes clashed over national security issues when they served together.<\/p>\n

As news of the U.S. raid began to trickle out, Lee posted to X shortly after 3 a.m. with a skeptical note: \u201cI look forward to learning what, if anything, might constitutionally justify this action in the absence of a declaration of war or authorization for the use of military force.\u201d<\/p>\n

Less than two hours later, Lee posted again<\/a>, saying he had spoken to Rubio: \u201cThis action likely falls within the president\u2019s inherent authority under Article II of the Constitution to protect U.S. personnel from an actual or imminent attack. Thank you, @SecRubio, for keeping me apprised.\u201d<\/p>\n

Rubio also reached out to Senate Majority Leader John Thune and Speaker Mike Johnson soon after the operation launched, as well as chairs and members of key committees.<\/p>\n

\u201cHe is a gift to America right now,\u201d Johnson said Wednesday.<\/p>\n

\u201cAll members are comfortable with him \u2014 certainly those that served with him, which is just about everyone here,\u201d Barrasso said. He added that Rubio was confirmed unanimously \u201cbecause people knew him and respected him.\u201d<\/p>\n

Democrats who worked with him in the Senate had a more nuanced assessment as they emerged Wednesday from their closed-door briefing with the Trump officials. They raised deep concerns over the administration\u2019s strategy for Venezuela, but they also said they were in no way surprised by Rubio\u2019s role in developing and promoting it given his long opposition to dictatorships in the region.<\/p>\n

\u201cMarco has been evangelical on Latin America for a long time, for a long time \u2014 I mean, he\u2019s, you know, a pretty classic neocon who believes that America will generally be greeted as liberators,” said Sen. Chris Murphy (D-Conn.), another former Foreign Relations colleague. \u201cI didn\u2019t vote for him because I thought he was going to suddenly agree with me on the importance of military restraint overseas.\u201d<\/p>\n

Added Kaine, \u201cAt the end of the day, he\u2019s going to do what Trump tells him to do.\u201d<\/p>\n

Meredith Lee Hill and Daniella Cheslow contributed to this report.<\/i><\/p>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

As senators woke up Saturday with questions on President Donald Trump\u2019s audacious decision to order the capture of Venezuelan leader Nicol\u00e1s Maduro, one of their old colleagues was ready with answers. Secretary of State Marco Rubio worked the phones in the wee hours of the morning and, in the days since, has played an outsize […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-17395","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-congress"],"amp_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/bluelightnews.com\/category\/politics\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/17395","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/bluelightnews.com\/category\/politics\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/bluelightnews.com\/category\/politics\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bluelightnews.com\/category\/politics\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bluelightnews.com\/category\/politics\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=17395"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/bluelightnews.com\/category\/politics\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/17395\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/bluelightnews.com\/category\/politics\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=17395"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bluelightnews.com\/category\/politics\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=17395"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bluelightnews.com\/category\/politics\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=17395"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}