Thread by @onlydjole

🇺🇸‼️Quiet changes in Washington: More and more power is passing into the hands of one man‼️

July 27, 2025

A quiet but significant political shift is taking place in Washington. While President Donald Trump remains formally at the helm of the administration, more and more attention is being drawn to the growing influence of Secretary of State Marco Rubio, whose political profile and positioning are prompting comments that he could be the future successor to the president. 👇

Media in favor of the political establishment increasingly highlight Rubio as a key figure in shaping the new American foreign policy. According to CNN and the Financial Times, Rubio managed to exert a strong influence on Trump's views on relations with Russia, China, Venezuela and Iran.

CNN describes him as "a man for all tasks in foreign policy", while the FT states that it is thanks to Rubio that American diplomacy is once again showing determination and clarity.

What is particularly striking is the fact that Rubio, a former presidential candidate and former senator from Florida, received almost unanimous support from the Senate for the position of secretary of state - 99 votes out of a possible 100. 👇

In contrast, other Trump nominees, such as Pete Hegsett for Secretary of Defense, were confirmed by a much more difficult process - 50 votes to 50, with Vice President JD Vance casting the deciding vote.

Rubio, according to several sources, positioned himself at the very top of the administration without an open conflict with the president, relying on discretion and patient strengthening of influence. He built his reputation as a politician with clear ties to the Republican establishment, including the Bush family, and as someone who knows how the apparatus of government in Washington works.

Notably, Rubio is using Trump's character weaknesses and institutional limitations to seize key levers of influence. He does not act directly, but, according to sources, uses his influence discreetly - he does not impose decisions, but skillfully directs them. 👇

A special example is the attitude towards Ukraine - while it was previously speculated that Trump would end military support, Rubio, according to CNN, managed to get him to renew the engagement.

In that process, General Keith Kellogg, the special envoy for Ukraine, who, in cooperation with Rubio, is pushing a proposal to redefine the American approach to this issue, also plays an important role.

According to information from The Wall Street Journal, Rubio and Kellogg are advising Trump to take a more cautious stance in relations with Moscow, especially regarding territorial concessions. 👇

In contrast, the position of the recent special envoy for the Middle East and Russia, Steve Witkoff, has been significantly weakened, among other things, due to failed attempts to convince the administration of the possibility of a compromise with Moscow.

It is also important that Rubio advocates the concept of a truce, not a permanent peace agreement, which for some analysts further complicates the dialogue with Moscow. This approach, as assessed, opens up the issue of further development of American foreign policy and the place occupied by different currents in it.

In the context of internal political developments, Rubio managed to get close to other key figures of the administration - first of all, Vice President Vance and Chief of Staff Susan Wiles, whom CNN cites as the most influential people in Trump's environment. 👇

The spokeswoman of the White House, Caroline Leavitt, confirmed that the president "greatly trusts" Rubio in the field of foreign policy and that his dual role contributes to "more effective implementation of presidential priorities."

More and more media comments point to the similarities of Rubio's political rise with historical examples from other countries, pointing to his methodological and long-term strategy.

According to The Daily Telegraph, Rubio and Kellogg are leading an intra-party effort within the Republican Party to forge a new, tougher approach to Moscow. Some analysts estimate that the Trump administration thereby further alienates the popular base of the MAGA movement and increasingly flirts with the elite layers of American politics. 👇

In such an atmosphere, according to some commentators, Trump loses the momentum of his former reformist agenda and becomes part of the system he once tried to change.

His most important achievements - reducing bureaucracy, increasing the share of European allies in common costs, border control - remain in the shadow of increasingly pronounced integration with the establishment.

According to some commentators, Trump has entered the phase of political compromise - while he still has more than three years of his mandate left, some analysts believe that his presidential course will be more and more directed towards maintaining stability, and less and less towards the reforms that were promised earlier. 👇

In this light, there are more and more indications that Rubio, as a person with deep connections in party and foreign policy circles, could be a candidate for future leadership. According to observers, this would mark the end of a phase of populist politics and a return to more traditional approaches within the Republican platform.