Speaking to attendees at a Federalist Society event Friday, Secretary of State Marco Rubio described a fluctuating two-year period that featured tax cuts, an assassination attempt and a buckling economy, after which Democrats defeated Republican lawmakers in the midterms.
Rubio was referring to the first half of Ronald Reagan’s first presidential term, drawing an unspoken comparison to the Democrats’ recent sweep of Congress last week. But instead of fixating on this cycle’s negative outcomes, Rubio drew upon the renaissance of the conservative movement in the years that followed — which includes Reagan’s historic landslide reelection in 1984 — in connection with what Republicans can do moving forward.
Republicans were “on the defensive, but it was against that backdrop … that something new began to stir,” Rubio said, drawing a more optimistic tone than many other party members left frustrated after Election Day.
“There will be more triumphs, and there will be more disappointments,” he said. “There are no great men or great causes in the pages of history that did not suffer the same, but we are persuaded of the justice of our cause, and we, too, will triumph in the end.”
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The secretary of state’s keynote address follows a line of addresses at other Federalist Society National Lawyers Convention events from former Republican presidential contenders like Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas), former South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley and Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis. While Rubio has distanced himself from a 2028 run — telling a reporter it was a waste of time to discuss the next cycle earlier this week — the former 2016 candidate has been seen as a potential top contender.
During his 30-minute speech, Rubio went on to describe the growth of the conservative Federalist Society while attacking the modern landscape of international law and lamenting what he characterized as the United Nations and the International Criminal Court’s interference in global affairs.
Many Republican lawmakers and strategists blamed rising costs from the Iran war for their poor showings last week. Rubio similarly acknowledged the war’s economic consequences.
Unlike Vice President JD Vance — whose public criticism of the conflict’s effect on the midterms ruffled feathers — Rubio drew a balance between acknowledging the war’s unpopularity and praising the administration’s efforts to prevent Iran from developing a nuclear weapon.
“Believe me, no war is popular,” he said. “Right now, frankly, the economic pain that we are inflicting on that regime is so great that there’s no need for military action because we’ve weakened them so much. But I think victory is ensuring that they never have a nuclear weapon.”
Ignoring it, Rubio said, “would have been the easiest thing for the president to do, frankly … He said, ‘I’m not going to leave it unaddressed.’”
Rubio said the administration recognizes the “pain” the conflict has inflicted.
He also jokingly acknowledged the tranche of investigations Democrats are expected to launch upon taking control of Congress in January. Rep. Robert Garcia (D-California), who is poised to lead the House Oversight Committee, posted “LAWYER UP” on X as it became clear Democrats were poised to retake the House — prompting backlash from the Trump administration and Republican lawmakers.
“Are there any lawyers here?” Rubio asked, to the crowd’s laughter. “Good. Thank you, because on election night, there was a congressman that said we all needed to lawyer up. So here we are.”
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