Rubio, Gabbard, and Gaetz. . . Oh My!

On Wednesday, Donald Trump announced three more headline-grabbing cabinet nominees. Each represents a strand of the unlikely MAGA alliance that triumphed last week and is set to run Washington in the coming years.

The first pick was the most orthodox and least surprising. Earlier this week, The New York Times reported that Trump was expected to select Florida senator Marco Rubio as his secretary of state. And—after a few days of nervous waiting for Rubio and his supporters—he finally did just that.

Rubio’s elevation to the role of America’s top diplomat is a blow to those in Trump’s orbit pushing for a clean break from the Republican foreign policy establishment. More traditional Republicans welcomed Rubio as an adult in the room who has serious views on how to confront China, Russia, and Iran. But they also wondered how long he might last given how many MAGA loyalists have defined him as a war hawk. “That should make Rubio very wary,” a veteran foreign policy hand from Trump’s first term told The Free Press. “He will not last two years.”

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May 19, 2021

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