Brian Mast Predicts U.S. Focus on Latin America Will Last Through Trump's Term as He Prepares to Hand Foreign Affairs Gavel to Democrats

U.S. Rep. Brian Mast, the Stuart Republican who chairs the House Foreign Affairs Committee, says Washington's focus on Latin America will continue through the final two years of President Donald Trump's term, even though Mast is about to lose his gavel when Democrats take control of the House in January.

In an interview with Florida Politics published Wednesday, Mast said much of the current foreign policy emphasis on the Western Hemisphere has been driven by the Trump administration, which he said has re-embraced the Monroe Doctrine, the 1820s principle that the United States would oppose outside powers gaining a foothold in the Americas. He predicted that approach will not change.

For Florida, the forecast carries more weight than it would almost anywhere else. The state sits 90 miles from Cuba, hosts U.S. Southern Command in Doral, and is home to large Cuban, Venezuelan, Colombian and Haitian communities whose families are directly affected by U.S. policy toward their home countries.

What Mast said

"Whether it's Venezuela, whether it's Cuba, whether it's Colombia, take your pick of places, we're not going to have this situation where the biggest commodity that a neighboring nation has to sell is that there's a strategic high ground to the United States of America," Mast told Florida Politics. "We're not allowing that to happen."

He said whoever leads the Foreign Affairs Committee must watch the region out of practical necessity. "It's not just Latin America; it's our backyard," Mast said, adding that the description also covers Canada and, moving outward, the Pacific. "But yes, I think you can expect a continuation of that through the administration, 100%."

Mast also endorsed Trump's view that Cuba's communist government may be close to collapse. "I think they're very near failure," he said.

Losing the gavel

Mast has chaired the committee since January 2025. He won reelection on Nov. 3, defeating Democrat James Martin in the newly redrawn 21st Congressional District, which includes parts of Palm Beach, Martin and St. Lucie counties, WPTV reported. But Democrats won control of the House in the midterms and will also control the Senate when the new Congress convenes in January, according to CBS News.

U.S. Rep. Gregory Meeks, the New York Democrat who is the committee's ranking member, is expected to take the gavel, Florida Politics reported. Meeks chaired the committee the last time Democrats held the House majority.

Mast told Florida Politics he expects a Democratic majority to try to restore foreign aid programs, citing work at the U.S. Agency for International Development that was shut down under Secretary of State Marco Rubio, a Miami native. He criticized spending under the Biden administration in sharp terms, listing programs he called wasteful and arguing that Democrats have never apologized for them. "I think that's what the climate will be like," he said. "How do we go back to doing those ridiculously stupid things that Republican, Democrat, Independent, non-voters know is a waste of their money?"

Mast, a U.S. Army veteran who lost both legs while serving in Afghanistan, has represented the Treasure Coast in Congress since 2017. Closer to home, he has made water a central issue. After his win, he told WPTV that one of his biggest priorities is the fight over Lake Okeechobee discharges. "They think they're going to go into next summer on a high Lake (Okeechobee) instead of a low lake, so they're already thinking about where, when, how much water they're going to put in different places; that is a day-to-day fight," Mast said. "That is the fight that I'm engaged in every single day."

In the minority, Mast will no longer control the Foreign Affairs Committee's agenda or hearings.

Venezuela after Maduro

The region Mast described has changed sharply this year. In January, a surprise U.S. military raid captured Venezuelan leader Nicolás Maduro and brought him to the United States to face drug trafficking charges, which he denies, The Associated Press has reported. Delcy Rodríguez, Maduro's vice president, has governed since as acting president.

Rubio met Venezuelan Foreign Minister Oliver Blanco at the State Department on Nov. 2 as the administration pressed the interim government and opposition groups to prepare for elections that could be held in 2027, the AP reported. The meeting came two weeks after Venezuelan authorities and opposition figures agreed on a blueprint to reform the country's electoral process. Energy Secretary Chris Wright sealed a large oil deal with Rodríguez's government in Caracas in August, and opposition leader María Corina Machado returned to Venezuela in October.

Cuba under pressure

Cuba policy has hardened in the same period. On Nov. 5, the State Department issued a determination clearing the way for sanctions on several sectors of Cuba's economy, including electronics, manufacturing, marine and technology, and targeted eight entities and two individuals, among them two China-based companies accused of supplying Havana's military and security forces, the AP reported.

"Cuba's ruling elite is hoarding the island's energy, shipping, and technology resources for its own enrichment, leaving the Cuban people to contend with blackouts, shortages, and a stagnant economy," Rubio said in a statement. Trump's threat in late January to impose tariffs on any country that sells or provides oil to Cuba has made islandwide blackouts more common, with daily outages now surpassing 24 hours, according to the AP.

What it means for Florida

Florida Politics noted that, according to the Center for Immigration Studies, Florida is the home state for a plurality of the country's Colombian, Cuban, Haitian and Venezuelan immigrants.

Mast's argument is that the direction of U.S. policy in the hemisphere will not hinge on who holds the committee gavel, because, as he told Florida Politics, much of the focus has been driven by the administration itself. The committee's power lies mainly in oversight, hearings and legislation, while sanctions, diplomacy and military operations remain in the hands of the executive branch.

What's next

Mast will remain chairman until the 119th Congress ends in early January, when Democrats organize the new House and formally assign committee leadership. Open questions in the region, including Venezuela's path to elections and the direction of Cuba policy, will carry into a Congress where Democrats set the committee's agenda.