Trump is quickly picking people to join his upcoming administration. His goal is to destroy the Washington, D.C. Swamp from within.
And Donald Trump’s latest Cabinet pick just turned the political world on its head.
President-elect Donald Trump is reportedly leaning toward selecting Sen. Marco Rubio (R-Fla.) as his pick for secretary of state, a role that would make the Cuban American senator the first Latino to hold the nation’s top diplomatic position.
The New York Times broke the story Monday, citing sources who believe Trump, though yet to make a formal announcement, has “appeared to have settled” on Rubio.
Despite Rubio’s apparent front-runner status, there remains a possibility that Trump, now 78, may change course, as a source close to the situation hinted to the New York Post, saying, “Nothing has been confirmed.”
Rubio, whose parents fled Cuba, has represented Florida in the Senate since 2011. His background in foreign affairs is well-established; he serves as the vice chairman on the Senate Intelligence Committee and is an active member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee.
Prior to Trump’s choice of Sen. JD Vance (R-Ohio) as his running mate at the Republican National Convention in July, Rubio was reportedly considered as a potential vice-presidential pick.
At 53, Rubio has been a prominent voice in foreign policy, frequently voicing concerns about international threats, notably from China and Iran. A month after Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, Rubio warned against focusing exclusively on Russia, urging the U.S. to remain vigilant against “an even more powerful adversary” in China.
Rubio added that the U.S. must not “devote the entirety of our attention to a single geopolitical challenge.”
Alongside Trump’s national security adviser pick, Rep. Mike Waltz (R-Fla.), Rubio has advocated for strengthening the U.S. industrial base to counterbalance China’s influence, emphasizing that the nation must “revitalize our industrial capacity” to effectively “prevail” against the Chinese Communist Party.
He has expressed concerns about China’s increased production of high-tech goods, including electric vehicles, describing it as a calculated move by the CCP to “dominate global trade in vital industrial inputs and high-value goods.” In an op-ed in September for the New York Post, Rubio argued that this strategy poses risks to both international businesses and U.S. national security.
Rubio’s warnings extend to Iran, as he recently called for a renewed “maximum pressure campaign” following an Oct. 1 missile attack on Israel.
“Iran’s brutal missile attack on Israeli civilians reinforces what we have always known: the terrorist Iranian regime seeks to dominate the Middle East through death, chaos, and ultimately the complete destruction of Israel,” he said. “This regime can no longer be appeased.”
Having initially opposed Trump in the 2016 Republican primaries, Rubio has since joined him on the 2024 campaign trail.
Recently, Rubio voiced support for Trump’s intent to pursue a diplomatic resolution in Ukraine, noting on NBC’s “Meet the Press” that, while he’s not “on Russia’s side,” he sees a negotiated settlement as the likely endgame in the Ukraine conflict.
“And I want, and we want, and, I believe Donald Trump wants, for Ukraine to have more leverage in that negotiation,” Rubio stated.
Ric Grenell, who served as Trump’s ambassador to Germany and as acting director of national intelligence, was reportedly also under consideration for the secretary of state role before Rubio emerged as the preferred choice.
If confirmed, Marco Rubio would be an interesting pick as Secretary of State considering his former rivalry with Donald Trump in the 2016 Republican primaries.
However, it’s clear that rivalry has all but ended as the two GOP leaders move forward to help put America on the right track.
Stay tuned to The Federalist Wire.
