Secretary of State Marco Rubio on Friday slammed a CNN report claiming he is "frustrated" by the role one of President Trump’s closest friends, billionaire Steve Witkoff, is playing in the administration.
"@CNN is an anti-Trump gossip tabloid that uses thinly sourced stories to generate clicks and try to make trouble. Witkoff is one of the people I work with the CLOSEST on our team. These people are pathetic," he wrote in a post on the social platform X on Friday, sharing the CNN piece.
The report said Rubio "lobbied" to serve as Secretary of State after he wasn't selected to serve as Trump's vice president.
"What Rubio didn’t count on was that he might run the risk of being overshadowed as secretary of state by one of Trump’s closest friends, real estate developer and billionaire Steve Witkoff," CNN reported.
Witkoff, who was relatively unknown until recently, has rapidly increased his visibility beyond his role as special envoy to the Middle East. Since returning to the White House, Trump has relied on Witkoff, a longtime friend, to implement key aspects of his foreign policy agenda, including crucial ceasefire talks in Gaza and negotiations with Russia over the Ukraine conflict.
“Special Envoy Witkoff has brought a wealth of private sector negotiating experience and urgency to the diplomatic stage and we’re already seeing results in just a few weeks,” White House national security adviser Mike Waltz said in a statement to The Hill last month.
“He has been an integral part of President Trump’s national security team to restore peace to the world," the statement added.
Officials added that Witkoff's role is attributed to his close personal connection with Trump and their common experience in real estate transactions, according to officials.
Witkoff’s friendship with Trump dates back decades. He testified in November 2023 as a defense witness in Trump’s civil fraud trial in New York, recounting how they first met at a New York City deli in the 1980s.
The Hill reached out to Witkoff's office for comment.
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