The U.S. Senate unanimously confirmed Florida Senator Marco Rubio as Secretary of State on Monday evening, by a vote of 99-0.
Why It Matters
Rubio was widely expected to be confirmed as the U.S.'s top diplomat and was the least controversial of Trump's Cabinet picks.
He is the first nominee to be confirmed by the Senate and Republicans have pledged to work to confirm as many Trump nominees as possible during his first week so the president can hit the ground running.
Rubio's prominent role in Trump's Cabinet is particularly noteworthy given the rocky relationship the two men shared since first campaigning for the 2016 Republican nomination.
Rubio frequently criticized Trump on the campaign trail, making crude remarks about the size of Trump's hands, his appearance and his Twitter habits. Trump returned fire, nicknaming Rubio "Liddle Marco," making fun of the way he drank water and mocking him for applying makeup backstage.
What To Know
The Senate Foreign Relations Committee unanimously voted to send Rubio's nomination to the floor earlier Monday evening.
Republican Senator Jim Risch and Democratic Senator Jeanne Shaheen—the chairman and ranking member of the committee, respectively—released a joint statement saying they were "glad to have worked in a bipartisan way to ensure that one of our own, Senator Marco Rubio, could be positioned to quickly take the helm of the State Department."
"The national security of the United States is this committee's primary focus—and it is to the benefit of our country to have steady leadership in place as soon as possible," the statement said. "We believe that Senator Rubio has the skills, knowledge and experience to lead the department, and his unanimous vote in committee reflects that. We hope to see his nomination pass the full Senate without delay."
Rubio pledged during his confirmation hearing last week that he would implement Trump's "America First" and prioritize American interests "above all else."
He, like Trump, is a China hawk and warned during his hearing that China would launch a war against Taiwan this decade.
"I don't mean to want to be alarmist about it, but if you listen to Xi Jinping, and it's important when you listen to him ... What they're basically saying is that this is a foundational and definitional issue for Xi Jinping personally," he testified before the Senate Foreign Relations Committee.
"And as a result I think we need to wrap our head around the fact that unless something dramatic changes like an equilibrium where they conclude that the costs of intervening in Taiwan are too high, we're going to have to deal with this before the end of this decade," he added.
Rubio also weighed in on Russia's war against Ukraine, saying "there will have to be concessions made" by Ukraine to end the grueling conflict.
"This war has to end and I think it should be official policy of the United States that we want to see it end," the Florida senator testified. "What that master plan looks like is going to be hard work."
He added: "This is not going to be an easy endeavor, but it's going to require both diplomacy, and my hope is that it can begin with some cease-fire and in order to obtain objectives with war like the one in Ukraine, it is important for everyone to be realistic. There will have to be concessions made by the Russian Federation but also by the Ukrainians."
This story is developing and will be updated as more information becomes available.
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