Donald Trump formally nominates Marco Rubio to be his secretary of state

President-elect Donald Trump has formally named U.S. Sen Marco Rubio as his pick for secretary of state, elevating a Miami native and Latin America foreign policy hawk to the highest ranks of the U.S. State Department.

Rubio, the son of Cuban immigrants who fled the island before Fidel Castro’s 1959 revolution, is widely expected to coast through the confirmation process in the Senate to become the first Hispanic secretary of state and the first Floridian to hold the prestigious post.

The Miami Herald and several other news outlets reported earlier this week that Trump was likely to nominate Rubio for the Foggy Bottom job. In a statement on Wednesday, Trump called Rubio a “Highly Respected Leader, and a very powerful Voice for Freedom.”

“He will be a strong Advocate for our Nation, a true friend to our Allies, and a fearless Warrior who will never back down to our adversaries,” Trump said. “I look forward to working with Marco to Make America, and the World, Safe and Great Again!”

Earlier this year, Rubio was vetted as a potential running mate for Trump, but was ultimately passed over in favor of U.S. Sen. JD Vance. Even then, Trump’s allies floated Rubio as a top choice for secretary of state, citing his deep foreign policy experience — and friendly relationship with Trump — as major assets.

Rubio won the appointment over jockeying from several other prominent allies of the president-elect, including Vivek Ramaswamy, an entrepreneur, and Ric Grenell, Trump’s former U.S. ambassador to Germany, who emerged as a favorite of far-right firebrands who earlier this week cast Rubio as a “neocon” war hawk out of step with Trump’s MAGA movement.

Rubio brings with him deep foreign policy bona fides. He currently serves as the vice chair of the Senate Intelligence Committee and sits on the Foreign Relations Committee. During Trump’s first term in the White House, Rubio advised the former and future president on Latin America policy, helping him earn Trump’s trust.

Rubio called the secretary of state role a “tremendous responsibility” and vowed to earn the support of his colleagues in the U.S. Senate “so the President has his national security and foreign policy team in place when he takes office on January 20.”

“As Secretary of State, I will work every day to carry out his foreign policy agenda,” Rubio said in a statement. “Under the leadership of President Trump, we will deliver peace through strength and always put the interests of Americans and America above all else.”

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(McClatchy Chief Washington Correspondent Michael Wilner contributed to this report.)

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