Secretary of State Marco Rubio, who is also serving as President Trump’s national security adviser, is expected to testify on Capitol Hill Wednesday about Venezuela’s future after the capture of former Venezuelan leader Nicolás Maduro. The unusual dual assignment—last held at the same time by Henry Kissinger in the 1970s—has renewed questions about how the administration manages multiple global crises.
Marco Rubio is navigating a rare dual position in the Trump administration, serving simultaneously as U.S. secretary of state and national security adviser—an arrangement not seen since Henry Kissinger held both posts in the 1970s. Rubio is expected to appear before lawmakers on Capitol Hill Wednesday to discuss Venezuela’s path forward, in what NPR described as his first public congressional testimony since the capture of former Venezuelan leader Nicolás Maduro.
The attention on Venezuela, and uncertainty about what comes next, has heightened scrutiny of Rubio’s influence inside the administration. The White House has argued that earlier National Security Council structures had grown too large and did not fit President Donald Trump’s decision-making approach. A White House official who was not authorized to speak publicly described it as a centralized process in which the president makes the final call on foreign policy based on what he believes best serves Americans.
Former national security adviser John Bolton questioned whether any single official can effectively perform both jobs at once. In an NPR interview, Bolton said he was unsure “anybody, including Henry Kissinger,” has the bandwidth to manage the responsibilities of secretary of state and national security adviser simultaneously, particularly amid overlapping international challenges.
NPR reported that Trump asked Rubio to take on the national security adviser role after Michael Waltz came under scrutiny for adding a reporter to an online group chat discussing a U.S. military strike in Yemen.
Supporters of the arrangement argue that the risks of concentrating two jobs in one person are reduced if senior officials share broad alignment on major priorities. Alexander Gray, a former NSC chief of staff who is now at the Atlantic Council, told NPR that when the team is generally aligned, the process value of an “honest broker” national security adviser can be less pivotal.
Rubio has also criticized parts of Washington’s foreign-policy machinery as resistant to change. Speaking after Maduro’s capture, Rubio said he believes the administration’s message is that it will not be slowed by internal deliberation, calling Trump “a president of action,” and adding that he does not understand why people have not recognized that reality.
