WASHINGTON (AP) 鈥� Vice President JD Vance and Secretary of State Marco Rubio appear to be to carrying out President Donald Trump鈥檚 national security agenda as the possible 2028 presidential rivals jostle for position in a divided Republican Party.
With vastly different backgrounds and policy experience, they have moved along separate paths to stake out territory: Rubio, the son of Cuban immigrants with a long history in the Senate and , and Vance, a child of the Midwest and Marine Corps veteran who served in the Senate for only two years before being tapped as Trump’s 2024 running mate, with a .
While deferential to each other 鈥� and with the White House and State Department denying any suggestion of a rift 鈥� Vance and Rubio appear the most divergent .
In discussing Iran, Vance has several times been and its actions in Lebanon, saying Trump has been frustrated by Israeli actions against the Iranian-backed militant group Hezbollah that have angered Iran and .
Rubio, meanwhile, has remained supportive of Israel or held his tongue, particularly over the situation in Lebanon 鈥� an issue he has taken the lead on and resulted in a last week.
Vance takes the lead on Iran negotiations and Rubio on Lebanon
“The talk about differences is not idle speculation,” said Dan Fried, a former assistant secretary of state and ambassador to Poland who is now with the Atlantic Council, a Washington think tank. 鈥淭here is definitely something to it.鈥�
The White House fired back at any suggestions of a rift.
鈥淲hy is the legacy media obsessed with driving a wedge between Vice President Vance and Secretary Rubio that does not exist? There is one camp 鈥� President Trump鈥檚 camp 鈥� and the entire administration is fully behind the president鈥檚 efforts to ensure Iran can never possess a nuclear weapon,鈥� White House spokeswoman Anna Kelly said.
State Department spokesman Tommy Pigott added that “Rubio and the entire administration is 100% in lockstep behind President Trump.鈥�
Yet, according to Trump administration officials familiar with the matter, Rubio was so skeptical of obtaining an acceptable that he declined to head the U.S. delegation to the in April in Islamabad, Pakistan.
Vance, however, seeing an opportunity to burnish his foreign policy credentials, jumped on it, asking Trump twice to take the lead before Trump agreed, according to the officials, who spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss internal administration deliberations.
Vance did lead the U.S. delegation to the inconclusive meeting in Pakistan, then again this month to , which followed the signing of a between the U.S. and Iran. The truce agreed to in that document is very fragile, tested by repeated between the sides in recent days.
鈥淚t鈥檚 rather unusual for the VP to be given the lead role in a negotiation, but it鈥檚 quite possible that Rubio is happy to let him. It鈥檚 a pig in a poke. It鈥檚 a loser job,鈥� said Ian Kelly, a retired career diplomat and ambassador during the first Trump administration.
He added that both men seem to 鈥渉ave equal ambitions to replace鈥� Trump, but that the president鈥檚 semi-joking comments this month that he would blame Vance if the Iran talks do not succeed appeared to suggest that he was being 鈥渟et up for failure.鈥�
Vance and Rubio deny any division between them
Vance has talked up the chances of success for a broad agreement with Iran, albeit with caveats, while Rubio, although publicly supportive, has repeatedly taken a more agnostic line while denying any division.
鈥淲e鈥檙e all focused on the jobs in front of us. I think the president loves to stir the pot a little bit and loves the entertainment of it,鈥� Vance said.
鈥淚 love Marco,鈥� he said. 鈥淚 think he鈥檚 a great secretary of state. He鈥檚 become a very, very dear friend. I think both of us are very much focused on accomplishing the American people鈥檚 business right now.鈥�
Rubio also has rejected that there is any schism.
鈥淲hen it comes to foreign policy and national security, we have no drama. We have no games,鈥� Rubio told reporters last week during a trip to Bahrain, the last of a that have been most directly affected by the Iran war.
鈥淲e have a group of people that work very well together and closely to execute on the president鈥檚 directives, which is why I think we鈥檝e had good outcomes and good achievements, and we鈥檙e going to continue to have good outcomes and good achievements,鈥� Rubio said. 鈥淓veryone has an important role to play, and everyone is playing that role and doing it in a collaborative process.鈥�
That has not stopped Trump from fanning the flames of potential rivalry, repeatedly asking crowds of supporters who they would prefer to succeed him and suggesting at one point they might be an unbeatable ticket.
There is little doubt that the men do not share the same worldview, however.
鈥淩ubio speaks within the rubric of the Ronald Reagan construct of the free world and its importance,鈥� Fried said. 鈥淰ance is not interested in the free-world construct. He speaks in the language of not wanting to fight what he believes are abstractions.鈥�
Fried said it is impossible to predict how that would translate into policy but warned that 鈥渨e鈥檙e headed toward a bad place in Iran, which is giving up any support for Iranian civil society and not being terribly good at containing Iran.鈥�
鈥淚nstead, we seem to be allowing ourselves to be backed into a 鈥榮phere of influence鈥� situation where Iran is weaker but ends up better off than before. I can鈥檛 imagine Rubio agreeing to that,鈥� Fried said.
Aides to Rubio point out that he has said several times he would defer to the vice president should Vance choose to run for the 2028 Republican presidential nomination.
At the same time, Rubio has used his dual perch as Trump’s top diplomat and national security adviser to make over the National Security Council, installing several close allies in top White House positions in recent weeks.
Those include his former State Department counselor, Mike Needham, who is now deputy national security adviser. Also, Jeremy Lewin, who oversaw the dismantlement of the U.S. Agency for International Development for Rubio and took charge of foreign assistance last year, is soon to join the NSC as a deputy for the Western Hemisphere. The head of NSC communications, Dylan Johnson, also serves as assistant secretary of state for public affairs.
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