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Florida Sen. Marco Rubio was unanimously confirmed by the Senate as the next Secretary of State, becoming the first nominee in President Trump’s Cabinet to receive congressional approval.
Rubio, a senator since 2011, was confirmed in a full House vote senate Monday evening, several hours after Trump took the oath of office earlier in the day. The full Senate vote came after a separate vote by the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, which also voted unanimously in favor of Rubio’s nomination on Monday.
Rubio takes on his role as Secretary of State with a strong performance Foreign policy Background as a long-time member of the Senate Foreign Relations and Intelligence Committees. He is also a first-generation Cuban American.
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Marco Rubio at President Donald Trump’s inauguration ceremony on Monday, ahead of his confirmation vote by the Senate Foreign Relations Committee and later by the full Senate panel.
His path to confirmation was less controversial than many of Trump’s other Cabinet decisions. 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 believed Rubio had “the skills” and was “well qualified” to serve as chairman next foreign minister. She reiterated that sentiment Monday evening before the full vote in the Senate.
“I have worked well with Senator Rubio for many years and was very impressed with his political insight at his confirmation hearing,” Shaheen said Monday night. “While we may not always agree, I believe he has the skills, knowledge and qualifications to be Secretary of State.”
Rubio said at his first confirmation hearing last week that putting America first will be the State Department’s “top priority” under Trump.
“This won’t be easy,” Rubio said. “And it will be impossible without a strong and confident America that engages the world and once again puts our core national interests above all else.”
Rubio will face some major challenges ahead of his new role, particularly the ongoing Russian invasion of Ukraine and the war in between Israel and Hamas in Gaza.
Hamas terrorists wave to Gaza residents as three Israeli hostages were released on Sunday. (TPS-IL)
Rubio described fighting between Ukraine and Russia at his confirmation hearing last week as a “standoff” that “must end,” adding that both countries must make “concessions” under Trump’s proposed peace deal. Meanwhile, despite Trump’s previous criticism of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO), Rubio called the alliance “very important” and emphasized that Trump is also a NATO supporter.
On Gaza, Rubio supported Israel’s actions to defend itself against Hamas, but refrained from clarifying one way or another whether he believed 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 side by side without conflict and with the ability to pursue prosperity,” Rubio said. “Unfortunately, the conditions for this have not been in place for some time.”
Senator Marco Rubio (R-FL) takes the stage on the second day of the Republican National Convention (RNC) at the Fiserv Forum in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, USA, July 16, 2024. (REUTERS/Brian Snyder)
Rubio also repeatedly emphasized this China during his speech before the Senate Foreign Relations Committee last week. “We have welcomed the Chinese Communist Party into this global order. And she took advantage of all her advantages. But she ignored all of her obligations and responsibilities,” Rubio stated at his confirmation hearing. “Instead, they lied, cheated, hacked and won 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, which Trump allegedly “stole.” Sen. Rand Paul, R-Ky., who has been an outspoken supporter of less U.S. intervention, also questioned Rubio’s aggressive stance against American intervention while he was confirmed as secretary of state.
