Matt Terrill: Marco Rubio's former chief of staff on Rubio being confirmed as Secretary of State

A new Cabinet's awaiting confirmation to drive home Donald Trump's vision for America. 

Trump's four year presidential term has officially begun, and he's already signed scores of executive actions concerning immigration, diversity protections, and the environment. 

The first of his Cabinet nominees, Marco Rubio has also been confirmed as Secretary of State.  

Rubio's former chief of staff Matt Terrill told Ryan Bridge Rubio has his hands full with the complex foreign policy environment, but there's no one better equipped for the job.  

He says Rubio's served on the Foreign Relations and Senate Intel committees, and he knows these world leaders and the issues facing the US and the world. 

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Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:00):
Off the back of all that action in the United States,
including the fact that the United States has now pulled
out of the World Health Organization. They've also canceled their
membership for the Paris Climate Accord, terror threats. You've got
pardons of plenty of the list goes on. Matt Tyrrell
is joining us now. He's the former chief of staff
to the new Secretary of State Marco Rubio and managing

(00:22):
partner of Firehouse Strategies. Matt, good morning, Welcome to the show.

Speaker 2 (00:27):
Great to be with you.

Speaker 1 (00:28):
Lovely to have you here. First of all, what is
your your and Republican's reaction to the I suppose the show,
but also the content of what happened?

Speaker 2 (00:39):
Well, look, first of all, nor surprise. I mean, the
bottom line is is just Trump being Trump. With everything
he's been doing. This has been obviously a non traditional inauguration.
Part of that is because of the weather it took
effect in watching DC yesterday, but part of him being him.
You saw him on the heels of the inauguration speech yesterday,
then go to Capitol One Arena where he did a
rally that's unheard of went during an inauguration day and

(01:01):
knowing that He signed executive orders right then and there
in front of a massive crowd of supporters. Then went
to the Oval office and you know, with reporters in
the room signing more executive orders. You know, it was
a day in which he was fulfilling his Day one promise,
and that was the move on key issues, namely border security, immigration,
mass deportation, and of course on energy and other issues.

(01:23):
There's more to come. You know, you're gonna see more
executive orders come here out of the gate. But of
course legislation will be key. Working with Republicans on Capitol
Hill in particular to drive board his legislative agenda. Expect
one big bill to be crafted here soon to include
tax reform, among many other promises that President Trump made
in the campaign trail. He campaigned on a lot of promises.

(01:44):
Now he's delivering. That's what I think Americans are saying
right now.

Speaker 1 (01:46):
Yeah, he's delivering the executive orders. But will they hold
up in the courts. I noticed that there's already been
a lawsuit file this is about the birthright citizenship.

Speaker 2 (01:55):
Well, look, he had spoken to that yesterday and he's
asked that question with respect to birthright and other issues
and look throughout he is, he said, we'll see. I
think he feels that his administration is on solid ground
with the birthrate issue among the other executive orders that
he is signing. Here. We'll see what happens. But the
bottom line here is he's a mandate. You know, it's
not just the executive orders, it's the voters and the

(02:16):
American people voted for his positions on immigration, border security, energy,
foreign policy. He has a clear mandate. He not only
won the electoral college, he won the popular vote. The
next one hundred days are critical though, for him getting
his agenda across the finish line. Everydale matter in his
four year term, but the first one hundred days will
be key for these executive orders and working with Congress
to get that one big bill passed. They'll have so

(02:39):
many different things and it they'll be instrumental to his agenda.

Speaker 1 (02:41):
So obviously that's Democratic state attorneys sort of filing the stuff.
What about Democrats more generally, how are they reacting to
Trump's in aderation.

Speaker 2 (02:50):
I think Democrats feel lost right now. I mean, look,
it's unclear to me who their leader is right now.
I certainly woult to say that's former Vice president Harris,
it's not foreign President Biden. You know who is the
leader right now the Democrat Party. Who is their next
in line four years from now to be the presumptive
Democratic nominee for president. Those are questions they have to answer.
But the bottom line right now is I don't think

(03:10):
that their policy positions clearly are not aligned with where
the average American is right now. You know, the vast
majority of Americans in this country, majority of Americans that
should say, in this country voted for President Trump. Again,
that was not just with electoral colleges, with the popular vote.
He has a clear mandate right now. And by the way,
it's the polling recently that's come out that shows that
that's holding. Take for example, on immigration and border security

(03:32):
and mass deportation. The latest data I've seen out there
in terms of polling shows that the majority of Americans
agree with what President Trump is doing on those issues.
We'll see what happens here, but right now, I think
he's off to a great start, a strong start. You know,
it's a long ways to go here in this term,
but you know, he is hitting the ground running and
he's doing in a way that I think a lot
of Americans are very receptive.

Speaker 1 (03:52):
To he Court, of course, accused Biden of weaponizing the courts.
Are you, if you stood back, can you, in your
heart of hots honest about things? Are you not worried
that he might just do the exact same thing.

Speaker 2 (04:07):
I don't think it's something he wants to do. I
don't think it's something he's going to do. And I
think it's the furthest saying that they is going to
be a part of his agenda. I think the bottom
line here is that this is someone who's gonna be
focused in on delivering on the promises he made during
the campaign trail. I think that's where his focus should be.
I think he has said that there's no question in
his view that there needs to be Jurassic reforms made
to the Department of Justice. And I think he points

(04:29):
to what he saw yesterday, what many Americans saw yesterday
with President Biden pardoning members of his own family. This
does not sit well, not just with Republicans but Democrats alike.
That was a big issue for people on both sides
of political alley yesterday. But to answer your question, I
think he's gon be focused on the economy, inflation, border security, energy, Ukraine, Russia,
Middle East policy, you know the Abraham Accords, you know

(04:52):
China policy. You know that. The list goes on and
on of the issues that we were facing as a nation,
as a world. He's going to have his hands full,
but there's no question I think it's be bringing reforms
to the Department of Justice. Expect that particular with his
new Attorney general.

Speaker 1 (05:04):
You with the chief of Staff of Mica Rubia. He's
just been sworn in as the new Secretary of State
for the United States. He's what he said, I.

Speaker 3 (05:10):
Want to thank President Trump for nominating me. This is
an extraordinary honor and a privilege to serve in this role,
to be here, frankly, to oversee the greatest, the most effective,
the most talented, the most experienced diplomatic core in the
history of the world resides in this building.

Speaker 1 (05:29):
He's got a big job behead of him, doesn't he.

Speaker 2 (05:32):
Big job a lot? You know, this is a different
world what President Trump faced when he first came to
office in his first term in twenty seventeen. Very different
worlds on the foreign policy stage. And he's got a
Secretary of State right now who's got his hands full.
But there is no one better to help President Trump
take on the challenges in the foreign policy stage than
Secretary of Rubio. Look, this is someone who's served on

(05:53):
the Foreign Relations Committee, the Senate Intel Committee. He knows
these role leaders. He knows the issues facing our country
and the world than anybody you know. In the bottom
line here is that he's gonna be a great Secretary
of State, in my views, be a great individual to
have in the room for President Trump is making decisions
around the direction that the country is going to go
on foreign policy. At the end of the day, this
is the Trump administration, though, and I think he's going

(06:15):
to be set in the tone, set in the vision.
I think you have a great Secretary of State out
there is and to help him implement it.

Speaker 1 (06:19):
All right, Matt Terrell, thanks so much for your time,
Managing partner of Firehouse Strategy, former chief of staff to
Macro Rubio. For more from the Mic Asking Breakfast, listen
live to news Talks it'd be from six am weekdays,
or follow the podcast on iHeartRadio.