President Donald Trump may have passed over Marco Rubio to be his vice president in 2024, but he’s had no problem giving him several major jobs within the White House.
On May 1, Trump announced that he would be removing Mike Waltz as his embattled national security adviser and instead nominating him to become the U.S. ambassador to the United Nations, effectively removing him from the White House’s inner circle.
In Waltz’s absence, the president shared on Truth Social, Rubio will serve as the acting national security adviser.
Related: Trump Is Ousting National Security Adviser Mike Waltz After He Put a Journalist in the Signal Group Chat: Reports
Serving as national security adviser is a significant undertaking, even as a primary focus area. And for Rubio, it’s one of multiple high-profile titles that have been slapped onto his name since Trump took office in January.
The former Florida senator has already been serving as the secretary of state, the acting administrator for the United States Agency for International Development (USAID), and the acting archivist of the United States.
Related: Panicked USAID Workers Grapple with Defunding of Humanitarian Efforts: ‘People Will Starve, Babies Will Die’ (Exclusive)
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Secretary of State Marco Rubio and President Donald Trump share a laugh during a Cabinet meeting on April 30, 2025
Trump nominated Rubio to be his secretary of state shortly after winning the presidential election in November 2024, giving him the most coveted spot in any president’s Cabinet.
“Leading the U.S. Department of State is a tremendous responsibility, and I am honored by the trust President Trump has placed in me,” Rubio said in a statement at the time. “As Secretary of State, I will work every day to carry out his foreign policy agenda. Under the leadership of President Trump, we will deliver peace through strength and always put the interests of Americans and America above all else.”
Related: Trump Has Sought Outside Opinions on Pete Hegseth and Mike Waltz amid Signal Scandal: ‘He’s Worried’ (Exclusive Sources)
His USAID position came as a surprise to the nation shortly after Inauguration Day, when the Trump administration began taking sudden action to dismantle the agency, which administers civilian foreign aid and development assistance.
In the hours following Trump’s swearing-in, the president signed an executive order that put a near-total freeze on all foreign aid. The following month, he placed most USAID employees on administrative leave. By the end of March, almost all of the organization’s 900 remaining employees — including political appointees — had been terminated.
The administration folded what little remains of USAID into the State Department, which Rubio leads.
Related: National Archives Still Missing Several Records from Trump Administration, Officials Say
Rubio’s role as acting U.S. archivist has so far been slightly less controversial — his February appointment was a result of Trump clearing out Biden appointees — however, it came full-circle when the secretary and other senior officials were sued as part of the Signal scandal.
Nonprofit American Oversight named Rubio in his capacity as acting Archivist — as well as other members of the group chat — in their April 21 lawsuit alleging the senior Trump advisers violated federal records laws by allowing some of the controversial messages to be deleted.
Related: CIA Scanned the Agency Head’s Phone After ‘Signalgate’ for Evidence of War Plan Chats. Here’s What They Discovered
In an April 8 letter to Rubio and Attorney General Pam Bondi, Senate Democrats also called on Rubio to recuse himself and allow the National Archives and Records Administration to carry out an independent investigation into “Signalgate.”
“As the official responsible for ensuring that the records of government are adequately preserved, it is incumbent upon you to put a stop to any practices at odds with that mission,” they wrote.
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