When Marco Rubio signed on as Donald Trump’s Secretary of State, he went into the job “with eyes wide open,” according to a person familiar with his thinking. He knew it wouldn’t be easy working for Trump. He knew that Trump had a track record of firing top officials by tweet. He also knew what it was like to be called, “Little Marco.”
Rubio still lobbied for the prestigious job of being America’s top diplomat after he lost out on being Trump’s vice president to JD Vance.
What Rubio didn’t count on was that he might run the risk of being overshadowed as secretary of state by one of Trump’s closest friends, real estate developer and billionaire Steve Witkoff.
Over the first two months of the second Trump administration, Rubio has in some ways taken a back seat on the world stage to Witkoff, whose portfolio has expanded beyond his official title of special envoy to the Middle East.
Witkoff has been a leading player in some of Trump’s highest profile foreign policy wins — the release of hostages in Israel, a since-broken ceasefire in Gaza, and the return of American Marc Fogel from Russia after Witkoff traveled to Moscow to finalize negotiations for his release.
He’s jetted around the Middle East and become a key mediator in talks to end the war in Ukraine. Witkoff went back to Moscow for a face-to-face with Russian president Vladimir Putin last week to try to advance the administration’s ceasefire proposal.
Witkoff is “flying all over the world playing secretary of state,” said a person familiar with the dynamic. “He has one thing that no one else has — he has Trump’s 100% confidence.”
Rubio, meanwhile, has dived into his role with trips to Central America to discuss immigration, to the Middle East, Europe and Canada for discussions on the wars in Gaza and Ukraine, and to meet with G7 partners.
At times, he has appeared uncomfortable with some of the administration’s moves: he reportedly feuded with Elon Musk in a Trump Cabinet meeting earlier this month, and was notably photographed in what one Rubio ally called a “couch slouch” in the Oval Office as Trump and Vance berated Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky.
The optics have raised questions about Rubio’s influence with Trump, according to people familiar with the State Department. Though Rubio was the first cabinet member confirmed— unanimously at that — his role has lacked some of the profile and portfolio traditionally enjoyed by previous secretaries of state. And there’s a contingent of MAGA faithful still skeptical of his hawkish foreign policy views.
“I think he is frustrated,” a senator still in touch with Rubio told CNN.
While foreign diplomats have praised Rubio for his engagement, multiple sources familiar with Rubio and the job say he appears ill at ease by how the White House has minimized his role.
“It’s not what he expected,” said one person. “Witkoff came out of the blue,” they added. “Trump loves him.”
Nevertheless, only Rubio carries the full trappings of the secretary’s office. While Witkoff often flies on his own Gulfstream private jet, Rubio is welcomed with pomp upon arrival in foreign countries, traveling with a large security detail and on the government’s C-32 jumbo jet emblazoned with “United States of America.”
After the story published on Friday, Rubio posted on X attacking CNN and saying Witkoff is “one of the people I work with the CLOSEST on our team.”
In a statement to CNN, Witkoff said he had a “wonderful working relationship” with Rubio.
“He is already a great Secretary of State and in my view will go down as one of the greatest,” Witkoff said. “Where the media gets these nonsense stories I will never know so I have now learned to dismiss them. Every single issue I am working on comes with the collaboration of Marco Rubio.”
Rubio’s allies in the administration argue he and Witkoff are complementing each other rather than dueling, and both the State Department and the White House pushed back on the notion that he is in any way being overshadowed by Witkoff.
“Nothing could be further from the truth,” National Security Council spokesman Brian Hughes said in a statement to CNN. “Secretary Rubio is a pivotal leader on President Trump’s national security team having spearheaded a number of foreign policy initiatives, especially as it relates to negotiating a peaceful resolution to the war in Ukraine and driving policy in the Western Hemisphere. President Trump has amassed a talented team who are working around the clock to deliver results for Americans.”
State Department spokesperson Tammy Bruce said in a statement, “Your premise is false. Secretary Rubio and Special Envoy Witkoff have a fantastic relationship, and are working together to advance President Trump’s agenda.”
On Friday morning, the president praised Rubio’s work ethic, telling reporters unprompted in the Oval Office, “He’s worked so hard. He’s gone to so many different countries already.”
“He’s a fantastic person – a great man,” Trump said. “I think he has a chance to be our best secretary of state.”
‘Witkoff is a golf buddy’
Trump’s public reliance on Witkoff has already led to speculation in Washington about how long Rubio will want to stay in the job.
One longtime friend of Rubio’s said he approached the job mindful of the revolving door of the first Trump administration, notably Secretary of State Rex Tillerson, who lasted 13 months. Another person familiar with Rubio’s thinking said he took the job to “burnish his credentials” and still has presidential ambitions that were not reached after his 2016 bid fell short to Trump.
He will view his role as a success if he serves for 18 months to two years, the friend added, which would allow him time to plan for a potential presidential run in 2028, should that opportunity present itself.
