Rubio is in the spotlight on another big day of cabinet hearings

When President-elect Donald J. Trump’s choice for secretary of state, Sen. Marco Rubio of Florida, appears today before the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, it may be easy for him to convince senators that he can lead American diplomacy at a moment of unusual global unrest.

The more difficult task may be convincing them that he can credibly represent a president with whom he has a long history of personal and political differences.

As a third-term senator who has generally mainstream foreign policy views, Mr. Rubio, 53, to be confirmed with relative ease later this month after Mr. Trump, once inaugurated, has officially nominated him to succeed Secretary of State Antony J. Blinken.

Unlike several of Mr. Trump’s second top cabinet choice, Mr. Rubio decent relations with his Democrats in the Senate, no scandalous allegations about his personal behavior and relevant political experience. He serves as vice chairman of the Senate Intelligence Committee and is a member of the committee that will question him.

Even senior officials in the Biden administration believe that Mr. Rubio could be a responsible head of the State Department as the Trump administration confronts a raging Middle East, the war in Ukraine and looming threats from China.

The bigger questions revolve around Mr. Rubio’s relationship with the incoming president.

The two battled for the 2016 Republican presidential nomination in a duel that began with policy differences and descended into mutual personal ridicule. Mr. Rubio declared Mr. Calling an unfit for office a “fraud,” Trump even mocked his manhood and accused his rival of having “small hands.” In response, Mr. Trump Mr. Rubio as a scripted establishment politician and derided him as “Little Marco.”

Mr. Rubio, a Miami native, law graduate and former Florida state legislator, has since worked his way into Mr. Trump’s advantage. The Floridian was reportedly among the finalists to serve as Mr. Trump’s running mate last year.

But some prominent Trump supporters remain distrustful of Mr. Rubio. They recall his vote to officially confirm the 2020 election results despite Mr. Trump’s false claims of election fraud. And they consider Mr. Rubio’s foreign policy record as dangerously interventionist.

The son of Cuban immigrants, Mr. Rubio, has long been a hawkish voice on national security issues, often in ways that clash with Mr. Trump’s views.

Mr. Rubio opposed the US withdrawal from Afghanistan in 2021, which was initiated by the Trump administration. He criticized Mr. Trump’s efforts to withdraw US troops from northern Syria in 2019 and supported US efforts to oust dictators in Syria and Libya, which Mr. Trump has called foolish.

Mr. Rubio also denounced Saudi Arabia’s Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman as a “gangster” for the 2018 killing of Saudi dissident Jamal Khashoggi; Mr. Trump downplayed the incident. Mr. Rubio has also labeled Russian President Vladimir V. Putin as Mr. Trump openly admires, as a “murderer” and a war criminal.

Those differences, plus his 2016 bout with Mr. Trump, has raised questions about whether Mr. Rubio can convince foreign officials that he really speaks for his president — an essential credential for a top diplomat.

Rex Tillerson, a former oil executive who served as Mr. Trump’s first secretary of state, was widely seen as ineffective as it became clear that he lacked the president’s trust. (Mr Trump fired Mr Tillerson after less than 14 months.)

Democrats are likely to grill Mr. Rubio on his view of Mr. Trump’s most divisive foreign policy stances with potentially awkward results.

A likely subject is Mr. Trump’s longstanding criticism of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization, including his threats to withdraw from the military alliance. In 2023 sponsored Mr. Rubio a measure, clearly in response to Mr. Trump’s comment, which required either approval by two-thirds of the Senate or separate congressional legislation for it to happen.

Then there is the third lane in Trump World: Mr. Putin.

Mr. Rubio is a longtime Russia hawk who has insisted that the Russian leader be held “accountable” for crimes in Syria and Ukraine. Mr. Trump will not interrupt such talk.

By Mr. Tillerson’s Senate confirmation hearing in January 2017, Mr. Rubio, when someone asks, Mr. Tillerson to declare Mr. Putin for a war criminal for Russian military actions in Syria and the murder of Russian dissidents. When Mr. Tillerson hesitated, called Mr. Rubio his response “disappointing”.

Any impression abroad that America is making exceptions to its support for “democracy and freedom,” Mr. Rubio, “these are demoralizing people all over the world.”

A similar scene could unfold on Wednesday if Mr. Rubio is being pressured by Russian hawks in the committee. Like Mr. Tillerson knows Mr. Rubio that Mr. Trump wants a friendly dialogue with Mr. Putin and may end up meeting with the Russian leader.

With respect to at least one major issue related to Mr. Putin and Russia, however, it seems that Mr. Rubio has softened his views. After Russia invaded Ukraine in February 2022, Mr. Rubio Mr. Putin for war crimes and supported a huge US aid package to Kiev.

Recently, Mr. Rubio proposed, in line with Mr. Trump that the war has been stopped and that peace negotiations should begin.

Last April, with his name circulating as a possible Trump running mate, Mr. Rubio one of 15 Republican senators who voted against a new aid package for Ukraine.

It is unclear how central a role Mr. Rubio may play in some Ukraine negotiations. Mr. Trump has named a special White House envoy for the conflict, as well as one for the Middle East and for vaguely defined “special missions,” raising questions about how much important work will be left for Mr. Rubio.

On other major issues, there is little daylight between Mr. Rubio and Mr. Trump. Mr. Rubio is calling for no room for the governments of Cuba and Venezuela, saying any political reform promises they may make cannot be trusted. Mr. Trump has said much the same.

Mr. Rubio is also a constant critic of Beijing’s authoritarian government in a recent report: “Communist China is the most powerful adversary the United States has faced in living memory.”

Mr. Trump has used similar rhetoric and promises to confront China — though Mr. Trump also appeared to enjoy negotiating in his first term with China’s President Xi Jinping.