The ever-diminishing role of Marco Rubio

(Ivo Daalder – Politico) U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio traveled to Rome yesterday, looking to repair relations with both the Pope and the Italian government after their spats with President Donald Trump over the war in Iran. It is a useful mission for a secretary of state. But it does raise a fundamental question: Why isn’t Rubio leading the diplomatic effort to end the war in Iran, resolve the stand-off between Israel and its neighbors, find a solution to the war in Ukraine, or forge a more stable engagement with China — to name just a few key issues other U.S. officials are leading in his stead? Similarly, one would be forgiven for asking to see any evidence of a well-functioning policy process that would provide the president with different options, detail their costs and benefits, and provide coherent strategies for implementation — all of which are normally the responsibility of the national security adviser, the other hat Rubio now wears? Indeed, few people have been better positioned to dominate U.S. foreign and national security policy than the person who currently serves as both. And yet, what is most remarkable about Rubio is the increasingly shrinking role he seems to play. – The ever-diminishing role of Marco Rubio – POLITICO