Senate confirms Marco Rubio as US secretary of state in boost for Trump
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Ninety-nine senators back confirmation of Rubio, 53, first member of Trump’s cabinet to win Senate approval. The Senate has confirmed one of its members, Republican Marco Rubio of Florida, as the next US secretary of state on Monday, giving Donald Trump the first permanent member of his cabinet just hours after the new president was sworn in for the second time.
Rubio, 53, received overwhelming support from his former colleagues, with 99 senators backing his nomination. Rubio, who becomes the first Latino American to serve as secretary of state, was expected to be easily confirmed, as senators largely viewed him as one of the least controversial of Trump’s cabinet picks.
During his hearing before the Senate foreign relations committee last week, Rubio embraced Trump’s “America First” vision on foreign policy, describing the new president’s approach to the global stage as a “commonsense realization”. “Prudence in the conduct of foreign policy is not an abandonment of our values,” Rubio said in his opening remarks at the hearing.
“It’s the commonsense understanding that while we remain the wealthiest and the most powerful nation on the Earth, our wealth has never been unlimited … Placing our core national interest above all else is not isolation.”. Rubio will step into the role of America’s chief diplomat as the nation navigates escalating tensions abroad on multiple fronts. The war in Ukraine, which Trump dubiously vowed to end within 24 hours of taking office, is about to enter its fourth year with no clear end in sight.
