WASHINGTON — Marco Rubio’s new role as national security adviser will place him closer to President Donald Trump at a higher frequency as the administration struggles to hatch a peace deal between Russia and Ukraine.

But the added responsibility will also test the bandwidth of the secretary of state, with experts expressing skepticism Rubio will be able to effectively juggle two high-wire positions for half a year or longer, as some officials forecast.

“I honestly don’t see how he can do both jobs,” said John Bolton, who served as national security adviser during Trump’s first term. “Something’s got to give and it’s got to be one job or the other ... They will see more quickly than I think they believe that this just isn’t going to work.”

Robert D. Kaplan, an author of 23 books on foreign affairs, described the dynamic as “not a stable situation.”

“Managing the State Department, which is a massive bureaucracy, is hard enough for any one person,” he said.

A senior State Department official said Rubio was looking forward to his interim role as national security adviser “while ensuring the mission critical work at the State Department continues uninterrupted.”

While Rubio’s dueling roles denote his ascent in Trump’s orbit, it’s too soon to ascertain how significantly his larger presence will impact the president’s foreign policy decisions. Policy experts warn that just because Rubio’s responsibility has increased, doesn’t mean his authority will be enhanced. The dismissal of former national security adviser Mike Waltz may also incentivize Rubio to stay a team player, rather than an adviser who challenges the prevailing MAGA worldview that’s rooted in anti-interventionist nationalism.

“Waltz’s ouster carries a key message for Rubio: Stay subservient and don’t cross the White House staff,” said Stephen R. Sestanovich, a former ambassador and senior fellow for Russian and Eurasian studies at the Council on Foreign Relations. “Can he really heed that lesson and shape policy on his own?”

‘Still far apart’

One policy that’s coming to a head is American involvement in the Russian war in Ukraine. For weeks, Rubio has been signaling that the U.S. is ready to abandon talks on a ceasefire deal that has proven to be elusive.

While the secretary of state has tempered any optimism with reasons to be concerned that a lasting agreement between Vladimir Putin and Volodymyr Zelenskyy can be reached, the president has vacillated between public frustration and casual confidence.

After declaring that “maybe (Putin) doesn’t want to stop the war” late last month, on Monday Trump signaled the administration was in a good position to secure a resolution to the conflict that’s trudged into a fourth year.

“They want to settle. Ukraine wants to settle,” he said.

That assessment came just days after Rubio told Fox’s Sean Hannity that the Russians and Ukrainians are “still far apart.”

Rubio has been careful to try to mirror Trump’s shifting posture as best as he can, but analysts warn it would be foolish to overestimate his influence given Trump’s mercurial nature, transactional tendencies and sensitivity to criticism that he failed to deliver on a central campaign promise of resolving the war in a single day.

Rubio’s dual roles aren’t unprecedented, but they are unusual.

The only other secretary of state to simultaneously serve as national security adviser was Henry Kissinger, who held both roles as the Watergate scandal consumed the country and Richard Nixon was forced to resign the presidency. Kissinger remained in both positions from September 1973 until November 1975, when President Gerald Ford appointed Brent Scowcroft as national security adviser as part of a broader reshuffling of his administration.

“When Kissinger became secretary of state, he left behind an experienced, capable and loyal deputy who kept the NSC machine running for him. Rubio has nothing of the sort. He hasn’t even learned how to be secretary of state yet,” said Sestanovich.

But with Russia continuing its assault on Ukraine, Israel preparing a large-scale attack on Gaza and India and Pakistan saber-rattling, it remains to be seen if Rubio can manage his diplomatic duties and global travel required as secretary of state along with the national security briefings that demand White House face time. The national security adviser is traditionally among the principals who meet with the president during his intelligence briefings.

Witkoff vs. Rubio

One reason Rubio’s influence was perceived to be reduced in the early months is that he hasn’t been the face of the negotiations with Russia. That duty belongs to Steve Witkoff, the president’s special envoy, golfing buddy and decadeslong friend from their New York real estate days.

Witkoff, a Miami property owner, has had four confirmed meetings with Russian officials, including multihour sessions with Putin, whereas Rubio has had two. When Rubio’s chief spokeswoman Tammy Bruce was asked about the intent of Witkoff’s most recent meeting, she conceded she had no idea.

“Well, it’s a good question ... I don’t know what his plan is,” Bruce responded, illustrating a glaring communication gap between the Trump envoy and the State Department.

Though the president has allotted his confidence in Witkoff, the arrangement — which falls outside the typical executive branch flow chart — has not yet borne fruit. Even as Witkoff has demanded more concessions from Ukraine than Russia, Putin has continued his bombardment of Kyiv and looks no closer to brokering a lasting peace.

The Russian leader has proposed a limited three-day ceasefire this week to mark the anniversary of the Nazi surrender during World War II, but hasn’t signed on to a 30-day ceasefire to try to resolve Europe’s biggest conflict since then. Skeptics see Putin’s offer as granting the illusion of cooperation to string the U.S. along.

“They’re running circles around Witkoff,” said Peter Doran, an adjunct senior fellow at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies, who believes Rubio has been a loyal messenger for Trump on Russia. “Special Envoy Witkoff is 0 for 4 on his trips to Moscow. He’s made four trips and he’s returned with nothing of substance to show for his visits.”

Rubio said last week would be “really important” for making a determination about whether the Russian war in Ukraine is an endeavor the U.S. wants to continue to be involved in.

A pivotal question is, if the Trump administration decides to pull the plug on its diplomatic efforts, will it also cut off military and intelligence assistance to Ukraine?

“It’s going to take a real breakthrough here very soon to make this possible, or I think the president is going to have to make a decision about how much more time we’re going to dedicate to this,” Rubio said.

But Kaplan, the book author, believes that rhetoric is simply a negotiating tactic and that some level of U.S. influence in Ukraine will be enduring.

The United States “will claim it is walking away but it will never walk away,” he said.

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