Marco Rubio, a former critic of President Donald Trump, is heading to the Vatican to meet with the first U.S.-born pope, Pope Leo, who has been critical of some of the administration's policies. Rubio has served as acting national security advisor, acting archivist of the US. He has also served as director of the U.N. Agency for International Development. Despite his brief brief brief on the Iran war and ongoing tensions with Cuba, Rubio's performance received largely rave reviews on the political right. He is seen as a stabilizing force within the administration and as a potential future presidential contender, Sarah Longwell, publisher of The Bulwark, has been leading weekly focus groups that regularly ask Republicans about their potential 2028 presidential bid.