President-elect Donald Trump is reportedly planning to appoint Senator Marco Rubio (R-Fla.) as his secretary of state, making the Cuban American senator the first Latino to hold this role as the nation's top diplomat. Rubio's expected appointment was first reported by The New York Times on Monday.
Elected to the Senate in 2010, Rubio is seen as a foreign policy hawk and is expected to lead Trump's prowess in global affairs. He is currently the leading Republican on the Senate Intelligence Committee and was reportedly on Trump's shortlist for vice president earlier this year. Rubio has built his brand in Washington for taking a tough stance on Iran and China.
Trump's Right-Hand Man
Trump, 78, may still reconsider his choice for State Department leader, according to the report, but he "appeared to have settled" on Rubio. "Nothing has been confirmed," a source familiar told The New York Post.
Rubio, son of Cuban immigrants, is also currently a member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee.
Rubio was reportedly one of the top contenders to be Trump's vice-presidential pick before the president-elect chose Senator JD Vance (R-Ohio) at the beginning of the Republican National Convention in July.
The 53-year-old Florida Republican has long highlighted the dangers posed by foreign adversaries, particularly China and Iran.
A month after Russia's invasion of Ukraine, Rubio warned that China represents "an even more powerful adversary" than Russia, led by President Vladimir Putin. He urged the U.S. not to focus solely on one geopolitical issue.
Like Trump's national security adviser pick, Representative Mike Waltz, Rubio has stressed that the U.S. must "revitalize our industrial capacity" to succeed against the Chinese Communist Party.
He has also cautioned that China's strategy of flooding markets with high-tech products, like electric vehicles, is "far from accidental" and part of the CCP's broader plan to dominate global trade in essential industrial goods and high-value products.
Foreign Policy Hawk
Trump is committed to ending Russia's war in Ukraine on the first day of his second term in office. The Middle East, already in turmoil due to Israel's ongoing conflict with Hamas, Hezbollah, and Iran, will pose significant challenges as China intensifies its efforts to undermine the United States.
Rubio previously ran for president in 2016, unsuccessfully competing against Trump in a crowded GOP field. Despite their rivalry during the primaries, Rubio has supported Trump on the campaign trail in recent weeks.
Rubio would take over from Trump's former Secretary of State Mike Pompeo.
Over the weekend, Trump made it clear on Truth Social that Pompeo would not be returning to his next administration. In the post, he also said that former U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations Nikki Haley and Pompeo would not be part of his second term.
"I will not be inviting former Ambassador Nikki Haley, or former Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, to join the Trump Administration, which is currently in formation," Trump posted on social media.
