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The reported episode is shedding light on the dysfunction within Trump's inner circle...
President Trump's special envoy, Richard Grenell, is causing tensions within the State Department, as critics say his "independent work" is harming US diplomatic negotiations and threatening national security.
The most recent controversy involves a failed attempt to secure the release of Americans wrongfully detained in Venezuela, which fell through because Grenell and Secretary of State Marco Rubio were negotiating separate deals, The New York Times reported.
Grenell's deal reportedly included an extension of the deadline for exporting Venezuelan oil to Chevron, a policy option that Rubio has rejected in the past. The reported episode is shedding light on the dysfunction within Trump's inner circle, coinciding with the confusion over the Pentagon's halt to arms shipments to Ukraine and the ever-shifting targets for tariffs.
“It just says that the administration, one part of it, doesn't know what the other is doing, and that could put Americans at risk ,” Sen. Chris Van Hollen (D-Md.) told The Hill newspaper.
Last month, Van Hollen joined a bipartisan group of 20 senators urging Rubio to continue efforts to free at least eight Americans wrongfully detained in Venezuela. Grenell is a divisive figure in Trump’s world. He is praised by supporters as one of the president’s most ardent defenders and for his willingness to challenge conventional foreign policy thinking. But his critics within the administration have succeeded in ousting him from the high-level positions he most coveted, secretary of state and national security adviser.
Trump named him a "special envoy" with a mandate that stretched from Venezuela to North Korea. He has added to his portfolio the post of president of Washington's cultural house, the Kennedy Center, and was sent to California to oversee the federal response to the wildfires.
But his role in Venezuela is amplifying critics who say his behind-the-scenes diplomacy is harming U.S. interests. While Grenell has brought home seven Americans wrongfully detained in Venezuela, Rubio was forced in May to publicly reject Grenell’s suggestion that Trump would extend a license for Chevron to operate in Venezuela in exchange for the Americans.
When asked about The New York Times' reporting and who Grenell takes over from, White House press secretary Caroline Leavitt told The Hill: "There is no faction or division. The president has a team and everyone knows he is the ultimate decision-maker."
Elliott Abrams, who served as special representative for Iran and Venezuela in Trump's first term, said there are "certainly" tensions between Grenell and the Secretary of State.
"I think that's what happens when Grenell starts working as an independent. So I think what needs to happen here is that foreign affairs should be left to the State Department, and in this case, Rubio and Deputy Secretary of State Chris Landau, and just taken off Grenell's hands," Abrams said.
A source close to Trump World said that “Ric Grenell is a man looking for a job.” And another source familiar with White House thinking described Grenell as “out of control.”
" I would describe Ric as kind of - maybe not a little - a loose man. He's involved in a million things. He's running around. The president likes it and it's a classic thing, like, the president likes it, these guys feel empowered. There are no checks and balances ," the source added.
Grenell’s nomination as special envoy did not require Senate confirmation. The New York Times reported in December that, while Grenell was pursuing the position of secretary of state or a senior intelligence role, confirmation hearings would have forced scrutiny of his communications role on behalf of foreign clients, including Hungary, Congo, Kenya and Iran.
While special envoys require Senate confirmation if they are under the jurisdiction of the secretary of state, the Republican-controlled Senate Foreign Relations Committee supported Trump's view that the special envoy position operated under the president's jurisdiction and did not require Senate confirmation.
“Ric is a good guy, close to the president, who does a good job. He has a special role, and it’s a unique role. And as such, they have a lot of leeway in that role overall, and I know he talks to us all the time. He talks to the secretary of state all the time, so that’s all I have to say,” Sen. James Risch (R-Idaho), chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, told The Hill when asked about Grenell and Rubio’s efforts in Venezuela.
Trump's other special envoys, including Steve Witkoff for the Middle East and Russia, Keith Kellogg for Ukraine and Massad Boulos for Africa, have also acted without confirmation. Michael Rubin, a senior fellow at the American Enterprise Institute, a conservative think tank in Washington, said Rubio should exercise more authority to keep Grenell in line.
“ Every administration suffers from different people working with opposing agendas. In the Trump administration, the problem is exacerbated because Trump gives orders from the hip and directs through social media posts, and so subordinates interpret their mandates differently. In every administration, the job of the secretary of state or national security adviser is to contain that. Since it’s now down to one person, Marco Rubio, it’s hard not to blame him ,” Rubin said.
Grenell’s reported appointment is at odds with lawmakers who see any effort to normalize or legitimize Venezuelan dictator Nicolás Maduro as a dangerous threat to U.S. national security.
In April, Sen. Rick Scott (R-Fla.) praised Trump and Rubio for revoking Chevron’s license and previously said that “there is no scenario where the United States should be doing business with thugs like Maduro and his evil regime.”
The Justice Department, during Trump's first term, indicted Maduro and 14 other current and former senior officials on narcoterrorism, corruption, drug trafficking and other criminal charges. Freddy Guevara, a Venezuelan opposition figure in exile and former vice president of the Venezuelan Parliament, highlighted Maduro's alliance with America's opponents as another reason why the US should continue its isolationist policy.
“The Maduro regime depends on the Chinese, on the Iranians, on the Russians, people who think they are doing realpolitik are just being naive. There is nothing the United States can offer that will be more secure than the support of Iran, China and Russia ,” he said.
Rubio is seen by insiders as having more influence with Trump than Grenell, at least for now.
"He has manifested exactly what Trump wanted. A smart and charming guy who articulates, who parrots exactly what the president wants. He is the president's man," said the source familiar with the White House's thinking. / Adapted from "The Hill"
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