Marco Rubio has been repeatedly humiliated after Donald Trump’s special envoy, Steve Witkoff, went behind the secretary of state’s back to conduct crucial foreign-policy negotiations, according to a damning report.
State Department officials are growing increasingly irate at Witkoff for giving Rubio the runaround and failing to disclose his travel plans—including last-minute trips for high-stakes talks aimed at ending the war in Ukraine—sources told NBC News.
Last month, Witkoff, a former real estate mogul and Trump golf buddy with no prior diplomatic experience before landing the envoy role, rushed to attend peace talks with Ukrainian officials in Geneva, Switzerland, in what was seen as a bid to arrive before Rubio, who had been scheduled to participate.
Witkoff did not inform Rubio or other senior State Department officials of his plans, leaving the secretary of state to deal with Witkoff’s sneakiness while attending a wedding in North Carolina. Rubio ultimately made it to Geneva and attended the meeting alongside Witkoff, according to NBC News.
The Geneva episode was not the only instance in which Witkoff appeared to sideline Rubio. In April, Rubio was scheduled to travel to Paris for Ukraine talks, only for his team to discover that Witkoff had arranged a one-on-one meeting with French President Emmanuel Macron without inviting the secretary of state.
Rubio requested to join the meeting, but the French foreign ministry said the decision required Witkoff’s approval. Rubio’s aides then struggled to reach Witkoff “for some time,” NBC News reported, before Rubio eventually tracked him down. Witkoff then reluctantly agreed to allow Rubio to attend the meeting with Macron, according to U.S. and senior administration officials.
State Department spokesperson Steve Pigott dismissed claims that Witkoff was blocking Rubio from meetings in Paris as “absurd.”
“The Secretary’s multiple meetings in Paris, both with and without the Special Envoy, and their close cooperation before, during, and since then, speak for themselves,” Pigott said.
In late November, Witkoff arranged another meeting with Ukrainian officials in Rubio’s home state of Florida without notifying the secretary of state. Rubio reportedly only learned of the talks after Ukrainian officials contacted his team with questions.
“It is so clear that Rubio has been cut out of this. He should be the one leading all of this,” a senior administration official told NBC News.
The issue with Witkoff not being open about his Ukrainian plans, is that he seems to want a different path to peace than Rubio.
Witkoff has pushed a 28-point peace plan that would require Ukraine to cede territory to Russia and abandon its hopes of joining NATO—proposals critics argue heavily favor Moscow. An explosive Bloomberg report last month alleged that Witkoff even coached the Kremlin on how to flatter Trump and steer him toward Russia’s position during negotiations.
Rubio, along with much of Europe, favors ramping up economic and military pressure on Russia to force President Vladimir Putin to make meaningful concessions and ensure Ukraine’s long-term security.
“They seem to be singing off a different sheet of music,” Alexander Vershbow, a former U.S. ambassador to NATO, told NBC News. “And if you don’t have a common understanding of the problem and of your adversary in a negotiation, it can’t be good.”
In a further statement, Pigott denied that there is any rift between Rubio and Witkoff.
“There is no rift between the two and there never has been,” Pigott said. “Secretary Rubio and Special Envoy Witkoff have a close working relationship and are personal friends. They are both fully aligned on the president’s goals and are carrying out President Trump’s vision to end the war in complete cooperation.”
The Daily Beast has contacted the State Department for comment.
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