WASHINGTON _ Few expect the vice president to fill the void left by President Donald Trump's absence at the upcoming 8th Summit of the Americas in Peru. In steps Sen. Marco Rubio, R-Fla.
Rubio told McClatchy on Tuesday that he will attend the summit, where he is expected to help fill the vacuum of leadership at a critical juncture for an administration that is calling for the Western Hemisphere to take stronger action against Venezuela. Vice President Mike Pence will act in Trump's role at the summit.
"Trump declining to attend the summit opens the door for Rubio to rise up and be a pre-eminent voice at the summit," said Jose Cardenas, who served in the National Security Council under George W. Bush and regularly speaks with Trump administration officials.
No one can replace the president, but the other 30 or so Latin American leaders at the summit know that Rubio has Trump's ear and is seen as the president's principal adviser on Western Hemisphere issues, particularly those involving Venezuela and Cuba. Rubio also knows many heads of state in the region personally.
Trump gave Rubio a heads-up before Tuesday's announcement about the weekend summit. Rubio has been extraordinarily influential on Latin American issues in the Trump administration. Besides the president, Trump's nominee for secretary of state, Mike Pompeo, also listens to Rubio's advice on the region. As a member of Congress from Kansas, Pompeo endorsed Rubio over Trump in the 2016 presidential race.
This will be the first time that a U.S. president didn't attend the Summit of the Americas. It's a setback for the "Year of the Americas" that the administration is trying to promote.
"There is nothing that focuses the bureaucracy or the news cycle like the president of the United States," said Eric Farnsworth, vice president of the Washington-based Council of the Americas who testified before Congress about the summit Tuesday.
Pence will officially fill in for Trump and carry White House talking points, but Pence, though he has visited the region, has not demonstrated a deep interest in the area, said Benjamin Gedan, who served as Latin America director at the NSC under former President Barack Obama.
Rubio has dedicated his Senate career to the subject, so he can tell world leaders of the continued U.S. interest and commitment to Latin America. But as a single member of the U.S. Senate, Rubio's influence has its limits.
Rubio, who planned to attend even before Trump bowed out, will meet with Pence on Wednesday to share his thoughts on the trip. He'll discuss the importance of U.S. leadership and commitment to working with regional and international partners to provide more humanitarian aid through nongovernmental organizations to the suffering Venezuelan people.
On Cuba, he'll urge the administration to increase efforts to support the country's movement on democracy and human rights, and stress the importance of meeting and engaging with Cuba's pro-democracy civil society.
"What's being asked now of Latin America is a very difficult request, which is to impose sanctions on Venezuela. Panama has done so. But no other country in the region seems prepared to take that step," Gedan said.
Since Trump took office, he's been listening to Rubio, who has been described as the "Trump whisperer" on Latin America.
It was Rubio who gave the Trump administration a list of Venezuelan officials who were sanctioned last month and before.
Rubio also helped draft a revised Cuba policy that led to Trump's first presidential visit to Miami to fulfill a campaign promise to the conservative Cubans who helped him win the White House.
Ambassador Roger Noriega said Rubio will be careful not to overstep Pence, but he said his role could be more significant. And Trump's departure could actually be an opportunity for Pence and Rubio to work without all the added dynamics and distractions that come when a U.S. president or secretary of state attends a summit.
"A lot of the dynamic of the summit is the corridor conversations," Noriega said. "The pull-asides that can be arranged among the leaders and one-on-one conversations that can get to the nub of these issues in a very candid exchange. This is another set of hands to take on those responsibilities on behalf of the U.S. point of view. "
