Secretary of State Marco Rubio is following an excellent political strategy to position for 2028, and We The People are likely to benefit from it.

Rubio, Vance and DeSantis will be the financially backed lineup competing for the 2028 Trump endorsement.  DeSantis will use his Florida platform to run alongside every MAGA initiative and be first to execute the priorities of the Trump administration – all good.  From Rubio’s perspective, he’s in a big spotlight and capable of using his influence to rebrand the MAGA opinion strongly in his direction – again, really good.  JD Vance holds the top spot for the ’28 endorsement as long as he continues to be the firm right hand of the one that matters, President Donald J Trump.

None of the three require any endorsement for financial support, all of the background billionaire players have checkbooks fattening as we speak to deliver the needed funding.  However, all of the three require the endorsement for success in the ’28 campaign.  This dynamic ensures some really awesome results will flow from all three positioning leaders in the next few years.

The era of Trump’s influence is the determinative factor, in the real life “Apprentice.” – We benefit. All good.

Secretary of State Marco Rubio announces publicly he will not attend the woke G20 summit this year for all the right reasons.

[SOURCE]

The decision is great MAGA policy, and the decision is great MAGA politics.

I anticipate we will see more of this fortuitous benefit to the era of Trump.

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Secretary of State Marco Rubio was again asked about the USAID review pause and the likely impact to the matrix of NGO’s and financial dependents, including the families of DC politicians, if funding is not quickly restarted. WATCH:

WASHINGTON DC – […] Some of these anticipated layoffs have already begun. According to an email obtained by POLITICO, early last week development group Credence Management Solutions sent formal emails to contractors in its global health bureau laying off around 400 employees.

The CEO of DT Global, one of the world’s leading development contractors, reportedly told employees last week that 2,000 to 3,000 positions would likely be eliminated in the sector the first week of February. Both Credence Management Solutions and DT Global did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

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Secretary of State Marco Rubio is traveling through Panama, El Salvador, Costa Rica, Guatemala and the Dominican Republic as he represents President Trump and the new administration.  He’s doing great.

Today, Secretary of State Marco Rubio delivered remarks to reporters in El Salvador discussing his role as Acting Director of USAID after President Trump and Elon Musk moved to incorporate USAID into the State Department.  Secretary Rubio repeated that USAID must align with U.S. foreign policy and the national interests of the U.S. government.

Citing the “uncooperative” nature of the USAID leadership acting as an independent entity, Secretary Rubio announced he is now Acting Director of USAID with the intention of removing all elements who operate against the direct U.S. interests he outlined.  Additionally, Secretary Rubio affirmed the positive nature of President Trump’s call with Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum [Details soon]. WATCH:

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WASHINGTON, Feb 2 (Reuters) – The Trump administration over the weekend put on administrative leave dozens more staff at U.S. Agency for International Development, three sources familiar with the move said, as it moves to abolish the agency’s independence and bring it under the control of the State Department.

Nearly 30 career staff in the agency’s Legislative and Public Affairs bureau lost access overnight to their emails, the sources said, bringing the total number of senior USAID career staff who have been put on leave over the past week close to 100.

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Knowing the severe ramifications likely and taking a proactive approach toward root-cause analysis, CTH attended the ASEAN summit to gauge how Asia was likely to respond to Trump term-2 and the looming possibility of a severe nationalist approach toward a renewal of USA manufacturing. The untangling of the Beijing Belt & Road initiative was a key topic of interest noted.  [Watch Vietnam, Thailand and the Philippines.]

Secretary of State Marco Rubio traveled to Panama this weekend to express the position of President Donald Trump as it pertains to Chinese influence over the maritime transit gateway known as the Panama Canal. Following the meeting with President José Raúl Mulino, the government of Panama has announced they will no longer support China’s Belt & Road initiative.

Photographic message received; or the one-time Rubio needed to be shorter, you decide.

STATE DEPT – Secretary of State Marco Rubio met with Panamanian President José Raúl Mulino and Foreign Minister Javier Martínez-Acha today in Panama City to address critical regional and global challenges. Secretary Rubio informed President Mulino and Minister Martínez-Acha that President Trump has made a preliminary determination that the current position of influence and control of the Chinese Communist Party over the Panama Canal area is a threat to the canal and represents a violation of the Treaty Concerning the Permanent Neutrality and Operation of the Panama Canal. Secretary Rubio made clear that this status quo is unacceptable and that absent immediate changes, it would require the United States to take measures necessary to protect its rights under the Treaty.

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The promises of an America-First agenda in combination with clearing out the bureaucracy is underway as the first five days of the administration culminate.

Secretary of State Marco Rubio has put a pause on most foreign aid with the exception of Egypt and Israel as the State Dept begins reevaluating spending priorities.  Coinciding with this announcement, President Trump removed over a dozen Inspectors General from various DC agencies.

WASHINGTON DC – Secretary of State Marco Rubio halted spending Friday on most existing foreign aid grants for 90 days. The order, which shocked State Department officials, appears to apply to funding for military assistance to Ukraine.

Rubio’s guidance, issued to all diplomatic and consular posts, requires department staffers to issue “stop-work orders” on nearly all “existing foreign assistance awards,” according to the document, which was obtained by POLITICO. It is effective immediately.

It appears to go further than President Donald Trump’s recent executive order, which instructed the department to pause foreign aid grants for 90 days pending review by the secretary. It had not been clear from the president’s order if it would affect already appropriated funds or Ukraine aid.

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Newly confirmed Secretary of State Marco Rubio has outlined his plans for his first foreign trip on behalf of President Trump.

In keeping with the #1 priority of U.S. border security and western hemisphere focus, Secretary Rubio will be heading to Panama, Guatemala, El Salvador, Costa Rica and the Dominican Republic.  Obviously, the strategic national interest of the Panama Canal will be at the forefront of the visit; however, the visit to Guatemala and El Salvador will likely focus on their role in the transit of illegal aliens to the U.S. southern border.

President Trump has taken a very strong approach in his prior remarks about the central and south American nations being responsible to control migration.  There are numerous Non-Governmental Organizations and U.N agencies operating in Central America who direct and support the illegal migration flow.

This will be a test of Rubio’s capability to transfer President Trump’s open statements about repatriation of unlawful border crossers back into the nations of origin.  Undoubtably, Rubio will carry the economic weapons of trade and tariffs in his discussions with leaders in the region.

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While President Trump was signing executive orders, the Senate voted 99-0 to confirm Marco Rubio as Secretary of State.  Not a single senator voted against Rubio.

Today, Vice-President JD Vance conducted the swearing-in ceremony, thereby immediately putting Secretary of State Marco Rubio officially into place.  Rubio becomes the first cabinet member to achieve Senate confirmation. WATCH:

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Not a surprising appointment all things considered.  Florida Governor Ron DeSantis has appointed Florida Attorney General Ashley Moody to replace Senator Marco Rubio, pending Rubio’s resignation from his Senate seat which will follow his confirmation.

This will provide an opportunity to position DeSantis loyalist, his Chief of Staff, James Uthmeier, as Florida Attorney General to replace Moody. This also positions congressman Byron Donalds to run for Florida Governor, supporting the MAGA coalition.

Moody will take up a pro-DeSantis position in the Senate in preparation for a head-to-head contest between Ron DeSantis and JD Vance in 2028 for the GOP presidential nomination. As senator, Ashley Moody will be unlikely to challenge any of the Trump agenda and will likely support it given the stakes for Ron. All in all, a predictable outcome.

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The alligator emojis will be happy, so too will the MAGA coalition.

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The question is not really whether Sea Island will attempt to regain their power position in 2028 through Ron DeSantis, the question is more appropriately considered: from what position will they launch DeSantis into 2028.

The Florida Governor’s term ends in 2026. Will the traditional path of a year in the private sector to accumulate wealth be followed, or will DeSantis take this opportunity to fill the Senate Seat of Marco Rubio with himself.

[Source]

Perhaps the last sentence in that statement provides a clue. No one uses the phrase “proven record of results” more than the tribe of power organizers who constructed the public image of Ron DeSantis. You cannot converse with a member of Sea Island about DeSantis without them saying “proven track record of results.” It’s almost an autonomic response.

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I’m not going to dwell too much on this announcement, because it has already been discussed.

President Trump has announced his nomination of Florida Senator Marco Rubio for the position of Secretary of State.

[Source]

This move takes Marco Rubio out of the position of Chairman for the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence (SSCI).  That’s the sum value of this move, and the companion reason for President Trump to appoint Steven C. Witkoff to be Special Envoy to the Middle East. (link)

Senator Marco Rubio will be State Dept Secretary with a short leash and a very limited portfolio.  However, from his perspective the political status and future value is awesome.  It will be interesting to see: (1) who is appointed chairman of the SSCI, and (2) who Ron DeSantis appoints as Rubio’s replacement.

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