Dems express Rubio remorse

• As a senator, Rubio on several occasions voiced his support for the humanitarian mission of USAID, which has since been stripped by DOGE-driven cuts, with its remaining functions moved under Rubio at the State Department.
• But Rubio had his grievances with foreign aid and co-authored a 2023 report targeting "Wokeness" and DEI at the State Department.

Driving the news: Sen. Chris Van Hollen (D-Md.), who said in March he regretted voting to confirm his former colleague, didn't hold back in a fiery Senate Foreign Relations hearing Tuesday, saying to Rubio, "I have to tell you directly and personally that I regret voting for you for secretary of State."

• Rubio shot back, saying, "Your regret for voting for me confirms I'm doing a good job."
• Van Hollen characterized Rubio's response as "flippant."

Friction point: During a monologue that preceded a contentious exchange with Rubio, Van Hollen said he believed the two men "shared some common values."

• The Maryland lawmaker, who has become the congressional driving force behind the push to return Kilmar Ábrego García to the U.S., continued, "That's why I voted to confirm you. I believed you would stand up for those principles — you haven't."
• Pointing to the administration's admission of Afrikaners while it ends protections for others, Van Hollen accused Rubio of making "a mockery of our country's refugee process."

The other side: The top diplomat contended he was "actually very proud" of what the administration has done with USAID, pointing to one of Trump's previously cited examples of waste: "$10 million for male circumcisions in Mozambique."

• Rubio — after sparring with Van Hollen over Ábrego García, whose return the administration has been ordered to "facilitate" — said "no judge" could tell him "how to conduct foreign policy."
• He added, in reference to the administration's revocation of hundreds of student visas, "I don't deport anybody, and I don't snatch anybody."
• "What I do is revoke visas," he said.

Zoom out: Sen. Jacky Rosen (D-Nev.) echoed Van Hollen Tuesday, saying to Rubio, "I'm not even mad anymore about your complicity in this administration's destruction of U.S. global leadership, I'm simply disappointed."

• Rosen said she always found "Senator Rubio" to be "a bipartisan, pragmatic partner."

• But she continued, "I don't recognize Secretary Rubio."

Reality check: While it's certainly true Rubio has become more MAGAfied under the Trump administration, he and the president have long had more foreign policy similarities than differences.

• Rubio, for instance, was a top foreign policy adviser to Trump in his first term, helped craft his Cuba and Venezuela sanctions, and expressed a deep mistrust of government bureaucrats thwarting the president's agenda.

Catch up quick: Several Democrats who voted for Rubio have since expressed regret or said he's changed since his MAGA matrimony.

• Sen. Brian Schatz (D-Hawaii) described Rubio to a Council on Foreign Relations audience last week as "someone who, up until four months ago, was an internationalist. Someone who believed in America flexing its powers in all manners, but especially through foreign assistance."
• He called for "Marco Rubio, from all of his career up until about 120 days ago, to re-emerge, reassert himself, and save the enterprise."

What they're saying: In a recent letter to Rubio signed by Van Hollen and others, Senate Democrats evoked Rubio's own past comments about the importance of defending human rights amid the State Department's reorganization and reports that its annual reports on international human rights would be scaled back.

• Citing Rubio's 2013 statement that the world is "a better place" because of U.S. defense of "fundamental human rights," the senators wrote, "As you have previously conveyed, American inaction emboldens authoritarian regimes and weakens protections for vulnerable communities."

Go deeper: Rubio's MAGA matrimony prompts two senators to regret their vote

Axios' Marc Caputo contributed reporting to this story.