As our managing editor Jennifer Van Laar reported, Florida Sen. Marco Rubio was at the top of President-elect Donald J. Trump’s list of candidates for secretary of state.
President-elect Donald Trump made numerous announcements Monday regarding his picks for Cabinet posts and, according to the New York Times, he will nominate Sen. Marco Rubio (R-FL) as secretary of state.
The socket reported:
President-elect Donald J. Trump is expected to name Sen. Marco Rubio of Florida as his secretary of state, three people familiar with his thinking said on Monday, as Mr. Trump moves quickly to appoint his foreign policy and national security team to supplement.
Mr. Trump could change his mind at the last minute, the people said, but appears to have chosen Mr. Rubio, whom he also considered in choosing this year’s vice president.
Despite some outcries from the MAGA faithful, the president-elect did not change his mind. The Trump-Vance transition team sent out Trump’s announcement.
🚨 STATEMENT BY PRESIDENT DONALD J. TRUMP
Congratulations, @SenMarcoRubio! pic.twitter.com/0bC8UBctwp
— Karoline Leavitt (@kleavittnh) November 13, 2024
It is my great honor to announce that Senator Marco Rubio of Florida is hereby appointed Secretary of State of the United States. Marco is a highly respected leader and a very powerful voice for freedom. He will be a robust advocate for our nation, a true friend to our allies, and a fearless warrior who will never back down from our adversaries. I look forward to working with Marco to make America and the world secure and great again!
Marco Rubio’s story as the son of Cuban immigrants embodies the American dream. His parents fled Cuba for Florida, where his mother worked as a part-time hotel maid and his father as a banquet bartender. Rubio’s grandfather shaped his political worldview after watching his country fall to communism. Rubio received his Bachelor of Arts in political science from the University of Florida in 1993 and received his JD from the University of Miami Law School in 1996.
In 1998, Rubio was elected West Miami city commissioner before being elected to the Florida House of Representatives in the early 2000s. Rubio was Speaker of the State House from 2006 to 2008.
As part of a Tea Party wave, Rubio ran for and was elected to the United States Senate in 2010. Rubio ran for president in 2016 against then-candidate Donald Trump and 14 other Republican candidates. Despite the controversial beginnings of their relationship, Rubio has become a committed ally and surrogate of President-elect Trump.
When Rubio accepted Trump’s nomination, he made the following statement on X:
My statement on President-elect Donald Trump’s nomination for US Secretary of State: pic.twitter.com/r6q3iaZF0G
– Senator Marco Rubio (@SenMarcoRubio) November 13, 2024
Leading the State Department is a tremendous responsibility, and I am honored by the trust President Trump has placed in me. As Secretary of State, I will work every day to implement his foreign policy agenda. Under President Trump’s leadership, we will build peace through strength, always putting the interests of Americans and America above all else. I look forward to enlisting the support of my colleagues in the U.S. Senate so that the President has his national security and foreign policy team in place when he takes office on January 20.
For those who still believe that Trump has undermined the Republican majority in the Senate, Florida Governor Ron DeSantis will appoint Rubio’s Republican successor if he is confirmed.
