A three-year-old bipartisan measure co-sponsored by then-Sen. Marco Rubio (R-FL) and Sen. Tim Kaine (D-VA) that aimed to preserve the U.S. role in NATO stands out as a reminder of how far Secretary of State Rubio has shifted since he moved from the Senate to the Executive Branch in the second Trump administration, according to University of Pennsylvania lecturer Damon Linker.
Linker noted the distance of Rubio’s trip in comments on the Secretary’s recent remarks challenging NATO’s efficacy as a U.S. partner — remarks in which Rubio found recent the NATO cooperation in the Iran war insufficient.
Remember when Rubio co-sponsored a bill to prevent presidents from withdrawing from NATO w/o Senate approval? That was entirely directed at Trump. Yet here he is laying the groundwork for Trump to do exactly that. https://t.co/CLrOXhNMPc https://t.co/DPSigz99Sw
— Damon Linker (@DamonLinker) March 30, 2026
Questioning the value proposition of the U.S. participation in the alliance, Rubio said in the interview above that “if NATO is just about us defending Europe if they’re attacked, but them denying us basing rights when we need them, then that’s not a very good arrangement.”
[NOTE: NATO is a defense-based alliance, as Rubio indicates, complicating Rubio’s requests of its member nations since the U.S. — with Israel — started the Iran war with a bombing campaign on February 28 and was not, like Ukraine, invaded by a foreign enemy.]
Linker wrote: “Remember when Rubio co-sponsored a bill to prevent presidents from withdrawing from NATO w/o Senate approval? That was entirely directed at Trump. Yet here he is laying the groundwork for Trump to do exactly that.”
Linker doesn’t name the Iran “regime haters” in the post below, but Rubio’s inclusion, like that of Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-SC), is implicit.
Can you believe so many of these Iran “regime” haters put their faith in Trump to execute their grand plans? It’s really amazing. His whole career has been about avoiding responsibility for his own terrible decisions. Now he’s saying to the world, “Clean up my mess, losers.”
— Damon Linker (@DamonLinker) March 31, 2026
The Kaine-Rubio measure Linker refers to was included in the Fiscal Year 2024 National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA). It aimed to preserve the U.S. role in NATO by guarding against any President’s unilateral decision to withdraw the U.S. from the signature postwar Western alliance.
Rubio and Kaine, members of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee reintroduced their bill in the summer of 2023 to “explicitly prohibit any President of the United States from withdrawing from NATO without Senate approval or an Act of Congress.” The bill was seen largely as a reaction to the Russian invasion of Ukraine and potential cold feet by American leadership in the executive office.
In a press release at the time, Rubio said: “NATO serves as an essential military alliance that protects shared national interests and enhances America’s international presence. Any decision to leave the alliance should be rigorously debated and considered by the U.S. Congress with the input of the American people.”