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Florida Sen. Marco Rubio was unanimously confirmed by the Senate to be the next secretary of state, making him the first of President Trump’s cabinet picks to receive congressional approval.
Rubio, a senator since 2011, was confirmed during a full house vote Senate Monday night, several hours after Trump took his oath of office earlier in the day. The full Senate vote followed a separate vote by the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, which also voted unanimously to nominate Rubio on Monday.
Rubio enters his role as secretary of state with a bang foreign policy background as a longtime member of the Senate Foreign Relations and Intelligence Committees. He is also a first-generation Cuban-American.
Marco Rubio at President Donald Trump’s inauguration on Monday, before his confirmation vote by the Senate Foreign Relations Committee and later by the full Senate.
His path to confirmation has been less controversial than many of Trump’s other Cabinet picks. At Rubio’s first confirmation hearing last week before the Foreign Relations Committee, the committee’s top Democrat, Sen. Jeanne Shaheen of New Hampshire, said she thought Rubio possessed “the skills” and is “well qualified ” to serve as a leader. next secretary of state. That sentiment was also echoed Monday evening before the full Senate vote.
“I have had a good working relationship with Senator Rubio for many years, and during his hearing I was very impressed with his understanding of politics,” Shaheen said Monday evening. “While we may not always agree, I believe he has the skills, knowledge and qualifications to be secretary of state.”
Rubio expressed during his initial confirmation hearing last week that under Trump, the State Department’s “top priority” will be putting America first.
“This is not going to be easy,” Rubio said. “And it will be impossible without a strong and confident America that engages in the world, putting our core national interests, once again, above all else.”
Rubio will face some major challenges in his new role, notably the Russian invasion of Ukraine and the war between Israel and Hamas in Gaza.
Hamas terrorists greet Gazans during the release of three Israeli hostages on Sunday. (TPS-IL)
Rubio called the clashes between Ukraine and Russia a “stalemate” that “must end” during his confirmation hearing last week, adding that under Trump’s proposed peace deal both countries will have to ” concessions”. Meanwhile, despite previous criticism of Trump North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO), Rubio called the alliance “very important” and insisted that Trump was also a supporter of NATO.
On Gaza, Rubio supported Israel’s actions to defend itself against Hamas, but did not indicate one way or the other whether he thought Israel’s annexation of parts of the West Bank was something he supported. .
“The idea would be that there would be no conflict and people could live with each other without being in conflict and with the ability to pursue prosperity,” Rubio said. “Unfortunately, the conditions for that to exist have not been there for a substantial period of time.”
Senator Marco Rubio (R-FL) takes the stage during Day 2 of the Republican National Convention (RNC) at the Fiserv Forum in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, US, July 16, 2024. (REUTERS/Brian Snyder)
Rubio also singled out repeatedly china during his testimony before the Senate Foreign Relations Committee last week. “We welcomed the Chinese Communist Party into this global order. And they took advantage of all of its benefits. But they ignored all of their obligations and responsibilities,” Rubio posited in his audience. “Instead, they have lied, cheated, hacked and stolen their way to global superpower status, at our expense.”
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Although Rubio did not face significant opposition to his confirmation, some Trump-aligned Republicans have expressed disdain for Rubio’s willingness to certify the results of the 2020 election that Trump claimed were ” stolen”. Sen. Rand Paul, R-Ky., who has been an outspoken supporter of less U.S. intervention, also questioned Rubio’s stance on U.S. intervention amid his confirmation as secretary of state.
