Sen. Marco Rubio, R-Fla., praised the Trump administration's decision to launch more than 50 Tomahawk missiles at a Syrian airfield late Thursday, calling it not just symbolic but also physically damaging to the country's chemical weapons base.

"There's a messaging component to this, for sure, but it is more than just messaging. This achieved a strategic objective and it's a significant degrading of their capabilities in the air. They don't have 100 airfields that they can launch operations from," Rubio told CNN host Anderson Cooper minutes after news of the attacks.

"It is an actual degrading of the capability of the Syrian regime to carry out further chemical attacks against innocent civilians," Rubio added. "My guess is and I think you'll see confirmation of it shortly, the Shayrat Airfield, which is where these attacks were launched from a couple of days ago, is going to be the target."

The Senate Foreign Relations Committee member said striking this specific base was "critical" because it is where non-Islamic State rebels are fighting the regime. Rubio added that he hopes this positive first step is part of a broader strategy.

Despite not mentioning President Trump by name, Rubio said the new commander in chief moved tonight to "ensure he [Assad] does not have the capability or his capability to commit these heinous war crimes is diminished and he's held accountable."