Several of Secretary of State Marco Rubio's former Democratic colleagues have already expressed regret over the vote in favour of the former Senator.
However, his boosters on either side of the aisle are not ready to give up his ability to influence President Trump.
“In the long run, he'll have a real impact. In the short run, I think he's probably still on the ground,” Ukrainian supporter Sen. Mike Round told the hill.
“As long as they provide him with the opportunity to make a difference, Marco can do really good things for this administration.”
Rubio, identified on the first day of the administration, is a foreign policy spokesman that often diverges from his past positions, particularly against the Ukrainian War and Russia and its president, Vladimir Putin.
Rubio is also the face of Trump and Elon Musk's crusades against the US Agency for International Development (USAID), which was reduced to shells due to freezes in spending and mass firing. And Trump was responsible for the tall task of gaining control of the Panama Canal, and appeared to be joking during his joint speech to Congress.
“Marco is great and he's going to do a great job,” the president added.
But there's nothing that's testing Rubio's credibility in the Senate, leaving Trump's hard shift to Putin, and away from Ukrainian President Voldimir Zelensky, calling for peace talks.
“His position is not currently Secretary of State, but a secretary of the Sikopan faction,” said Sen. Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.).
“Senator Rubio, his words, his actions, his laws, he is one way, and when he somehow takes that vow to walk that door and become a secretary, they are not the same,” Senator Jackie Rosen, a member of the Senate Foreign Affairs Committee (D-Nev.)
“So maybe I regret it and I'm very disappointed. He knows all this, he's working on it, he has a record, and why doesn't he stand up to what he always believed? So I express a lot of disappointment. I don't think he was confident in himself and his beliefs.”
Chris Murphy sing (D-Conn.) and Chris van Hollen (D-Md.) said they regretted Bucking Rubio in an interview on Sunday's show last weekend.
Sitting quietly with a stone face during an explosive oval office meeting between Trump and Zelensky, Rubio's representation closely monitored the signs of discomfort given his years of passionate support for Ukraine.
“The important thing is to have Putin negotiate,” Rubio told host George Stephanopulos last weekend on ABC's “this week.”
Trump's full defense was a consistent part of Rubio's public opinion. In a closed room, he makes a call from a shocked European allies and an worried senator.
“I'm actively communicating with Secretary Rubio,” said Sen. Chris Coons (d-del.).
A common Democrat who is well versed in discussions in the Senate Foreign Relations Committee said he understands Rubio's difficult position. If he opposes Trump, he would be out of work and not affecting him at all.
Some senators believe Trump is familiar with Rubio's foreign policy experience and State Department assets, despite being the ultimate decision maker.
“I'm in touch with Marco, and he's in the middle. Sen. Steve Daines (R-Mont.), a member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, said:
One of these chefs is a mask. He instructed the Government's Office of Efficiency (DOGE) to bring Sledgehammer to USAID, a nominally independent foreign aid group under the scope of Rubio.
“I think it's easier [Rubio] If all Doge recommendations pass him,” Sen. Susan Collins (R Maine) said.
There are several signals that Rubio has acquired positions in front of it. Trump recently announced an obvious curb for mask authority, saying that the agency manager will use a comparative female instead of hatch to oversee labor cuts.
And playing cards reportedly supported Rubio follows a debate exchange with Musk during the Cabinet meeting, and the president says Rubio is doing a “great job.”
Rubio is traveling to Saudi Arabia next week to travel for a high-stakes meeting with Ukrainian officials and aims to repair a ruptured relationship during the oval office fiasco. The Kyiv line has recovered US military aid and sharing intelligence news, and Trump has stopped this week.
One former Republican official said Rubio appears to be facing obstacles due to his lack of fully equipped teams at the State Department, adding that it is unclear who his allies are in power.
“Perhaps Keith Kellogg appears to have already been marginalized in his role,” the former official said. Trump originally appointed Kellogg as a special envoy for Ukraine and Russia, but handed over communications with one of his closest confidants, Steve Witkov, with the Kremlin.
Witkov will be heading to Rubio and Saudi Arabia next week with national security adviser Mike Waltz.
“Waltz, I think there was hope that he could become Rubio's ally. He's in a tough place too. And I don't think Rubio has ever found an alliance because he definitely has to turn the line toe more than Rubio,” the former official said.
Sen. Jeanne Shaheen (DN.H.), a ranking member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, said he did not regret voting for Rubio's confirmation. However, others wondered what happened to Rubio, whom he once worked with.
“I don't know what happened to Marco Rubio,” said Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.), a member of the Senate Armed Services Committee.
“He was a powerful and effective defender of Ukraine. He fought with dictators, especially Putin, when they invaded Ukraine. He was a consistent and stable supporter of food and medicine for little babies all over the world.”
Trump joked about Rubio's 99-0 vote in the Senate in his joint speech on Tuesday, saying, “I'm very pleased with it or very worried about it.”
Republican allies said the attention from Trump during his famous speech was a sign of Rubio's continued influence in the administration.
“I talk to him every day, sometimes multiple times a day. Sen. Jim Lisch (R-Idaho), chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, said:
“I don't appreciate the president's humor. That's the problem.”
Senator Ron Wyden (d-ore.) also downplayed Trump's ribs.
“Donald Trump often says one thing on Tuesday and gets it back on Wednesday.”
