Rubio Says Trump's Foreign Policy Won't Change Even With Democrats in Control of Congress
Secretary of State Marco Rubio made it clear before the midterms that President Donald Trump's foreign policy would not change even if Democrats took control of Congress. Now that they have, his words are getting a second look.
Speaking to reporters on Saturday, Rubio was asked whether his job would get harder if Democrats won one or both chambers.
"Congress plays a role, there's no doubt about it, but the central role belongs to the executive branch," said Rubio, who was serving as a U.S. senator from Florida before becoming the nation's top diplomat.
"It won't influence or change the president's directives in terms of what he was elected to do," he added. Rubio was in Atlanta hosting the two-day G20 foreign ministers' meeting.
READ MORE: JD Vance Blames Iran War for GOP Midterm Losses: 'The Reason We Lost Is the War'
"Not Unique to Have Divided Power"
Rubio pointed out that divided government is nothing new. "The previous president, Biden, had a Republican Senate to deal with at one point. President Obama had to deal with a Republican majority at some point," he said, according to the Wall Street Journal.
"So it's not unique to have divided power in our system."
Still, Democrats will have real tools. With control of Congress, they can use spending and policy bills to limit some of Trump's initiatives and slow down his nominees.
And their majorities will be substantial. Democrats routed Republicans on Tuesday, picking up more than 25 House seats, and their Senate majority currently stands at 54-44, with final margins still being determined.
Vance: "The Reason We Lost Is the War"
Foreign policy is now at the center of the Republican post-mortem. Vice President JD Vance blamed the defeat on the Iran war in a lengthy post on X on Wednesday, an assessment Trump later agreed with publicly.
Vance wrote that Republican turnout was solid. In Florida, he noted, the electorate was 9 points more Republican than Democratic, only a couple of points worse than 2024. "The main problem is that many people who voted for Trump/Vance in 2024 voted for Democrats in 2026," he wrote.
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He said one pollster he respects told him the party's economic messaging wasn't sharp enough down the stretch. "But the real reason we lost is obvious to almost everyone," he added.
Vance said another pollster, who predicted Republicans would lose the generic ballot by 13 points, asked Trump voters who defected what would bring them back. The top four answers were ending the war, focusing on the cost of living, putting America First, and changing the relationship with Israel.
He also defended Rachel Campos-Duffy, who had been attacked for calling for a diplomatic resolution to the conflict, saying her political advice turned out to be sound. Vance closed bluntly: "The reason we lost is the war. The president himself said so last night."
A Collision Course?
That leaves the administration in a difficult spot. Rubio insists the executive branch sets foreign policy, while Trump's own vice president says that same policy cost Republicans control of Congress.
Trump has made clear he stands by the decision to confront Iran. With Democrats taking over in January, Congress is likely to test how far Rubio's view of executive power really goes.