US President-elect Donald Trump is expected to name Florida Senator Marco Rubio as secretary of state, The New York Times reported Monday night. It quoted three people as saying that the decision is not final, but that Trump appears to be leaning more towards Rubio, a loyalist whom he even considered as a potential running mate for the 2024 election.
Marco Rubio has been frequently identified in the past week as a top contender for a senior role in U.S. diplomacy, along with the blunt former ambassador to Germany, Ric Grenell.
When asked by CNN last week about his chances for a high-ranking cabinet position, Rubio said, “I’m always interested in serving this country.”
The possible nomination of the Cuban-American congressman would represent a notable shift in his relationship with Donald Trump, highlighting a surprising change in their dynamic.
Who is Marco Rubio?
Rubio has held his Senate seat since 2011 and currently serves as the vice chair of the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence. The 53-year-old, who was in the race to be chosen as Trump’s running mate before the Republican Party announced Ohio Senator JD Vance as his VP pick, also sits on the chamber’s Committee on Foreign Relations.
Rubio’s bid for the Republican presidential nomination in 2016 fell short but, he secured victories in the Minnesota, District of Columbia, and Puerto Rico primaries.
Following Trump’s win, Rubio in an interview with CNN said that the US. will see “pragmatic foreign policy” with Trump in the White House.
“We’re entering into an era of pragmatic foreign policy in which the world is rapidly changing,” Rubio said in an interview with CNN. “Adversaries are uniting — North Korea, Iran, China, Russia are increasingly coordinating — it’s going to require us to be very
pragmatic and wise and how we invest overseas and what we do,” he was cited as saying.
Also, Trump has asked Mike Waltz, Republican senator from Florida, to serve as his national security adviser, according to CNN and Fox News among other outlets.
