Rubio in line to lead intel panel after Burr resigns
Florida Republican Sen. Marco Rubio could be tapped to lead the Senate Intelligence Committee, among the highest-profile positions in the U.S. Senate, after chairman Richard Burr resigned the leadership position following the FBI’s seizing his cellphone as part of an investigation into his stock transactions.
Or, Rubio could end up leading the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, another high-profile slot that dovetails with his personal interests in Latin America and China policy.
Rubio is the third-ranking Republican on the Intelligence Committee, after Burr and Idaho Sen. Jim Risch. But Risch already leads the Senate Foreign Relations Committee.
Rubio, in contrast, leads the lower-profile Senate Small Business Committee.
If Risch is tapped to lead the Intelligence Committee, that would put Rubio in line to lead the Foreign Relations Committee, which is responsible for foreign policy and the State Department. If Risch isn’t chosen, Rubio becomes the senior-most Republican on the Intelligence Committee, which oversees the nation’s intelligence programs and often conducts classified work.
In an interview minutes after Burr announced his resignation, Rubio said Senate
Majority Leader Mitch McConnell will pick the new Intelligence Committee chairman.
“I’ll do whatever they ask, but it’s not up to me,” Rubio said in an interview. “That’s a committee that’s governed by the majority and Democratic leader, so they appoint the chair. I’ll do whatever they ask, but it’s not up to me, it’s a select committee, the majority leader makes those decisions.”
South Dakota Sen. John Thune, a member of Senate Republican leadership, told CNN that Risch intends to stay on as Foreign Relations chair, potentially opening up the Intelligence slot for Rubio. A spokesperson for Rubio said “we’ll keep you posted” when asked about Rubio’s interest in the job. Risch declined to comment.
But if Risch is tapped by McConnell to lead the Intelligence Committee, Rubio would be in line to lead the Foreign Relations Committee,
where leaders are chosen by traditional seniority roles instead of being solely chosen by the majority leader.
“That’s a seniority committee, if senator Risch were to get Intel then that’s different,” Rubio said. “My personal preference? They’re both great committees, they’re the ones I spent the most amount of time in until the last couple months.”
Unlike assignments to other Senate committees, which are decided by fellow Senate Republicans, McConnell makes Republican appointments to the Intelligence Committee. The Kentucky Republican has so far not indicated the timing for his announcement regarding a new chairman, or whether he would adhere to the seniority system or pull an interim chairman from elsewhere down the line, or even from outside the panel.
McConnell’s office declined to comment.