Amid speculation about his political future , Secretary of State Marco Rubio declared that there is more work to be done as he downplayed Republicans’ losses in the midterm elections.
“We have much more to do over the next two, the next six, the next 20 years. Great things that last are built in decades, not election cycles,” Rubio said in an address to the conservative Federalist Society’s National Lawyers Convention in Washington, DC, on Friday evening.
Rubio has faced mounting questions about whether he will seek the presidency in 2028, particularly in the wake of last week’s midterm elections. His speech, for which he was introduced by his daughter Daniella, could further fuel speculation.
“Though we are prepared for the twists and turns and the ups and downs of the road ahead, of this I believe with all my heart that we in this generation will leave for our children and our grandchildren what Americans always leave for their children and their grandchildren: the single greatest nation in the history of the world,” Rubio said to conclude his lengthy remarks, which were met with a standing ovation.
Rubio made direct references to his party’s defeats at the ballot boxes. He also joked to the packed ballroom of lawyers and law students at the Mayflower Hotel that “on election night there was a congressman that said we all needed to lawyer up, so here we are.” He was referencing a statement from Democratic Rep. Robert Garcia — the incoming House Oversight Committee chairman.
However, Rubio downplayed the absolute power of elections, saying, “politics requires more than simply winning elections, because the government is not the only source of political power.”
“Elections (decide) who holds office for a season. Elections … they do not decide by themselves what our institutions teach or what our lawyers believe, which ideas are treated as respectable, normal, and which are deemed beyond the pale,” he said.
The top US diplomat also cited setbacks suffered during the American Revolution, suggesting that “those who believe that one setback, one defeat, one bad election spells the end of the Republic” should look to the founding fathers.
“There will be more victories, and there will be more defeats. There will be more triumphs, and there will be more disappointments. This is the nature of all undertakings of this weight and of this magnitude. There are no great men or great causes in the pages of history that did not suffer the same,” he said.
Rubio lashed out against the “weaponization of international law” and “activist courts who seek to govern by injunction” in the US. He specifically targeted the International Criminal Court, which the Trump administration is working to dismantle .
In a question-and-answer session after the speech, Rubio reiterated, “America is exceptional, but it’s not self-perpetuating.”
“It has always required those in charge to do what it takes to keep it moving forward, and that that’s what we’re called to do, and then have confidence that we can do it. It’s an enormous undertaking, and it’s like I said in my speech, it’s something that happens over you know, years and decades, not election cycle to election cycle,” he said.
