Sen. Marco Rubio (R-Florida) is joined by International Republican Institute President Dan Twining, right, at the Heritage Foundation in Washington on Feb. 11, 2019. (Carolyn Kaster/AP)
In 2019, GOP Sen. Marco Rubio of Florida spoke at an elegant event celebrating the work of the Ronald Reagan-founded International Republican Institute, saying he was “so proud” to support the group and hailing fellow hawks Nikki Haley and Sen. John McCain in the audience.
But as secretary of state, Rubio did not spare the group from President Donald Trump’s freeze on foreign aid and dismantling of the U.S. Agency for International Development. Both threaten to sweep away the organization and the broader universe of U.S. democracy-promoting work.