washington — U.S. President-elect Donald Trump announced on Wednesday he is nominating Republican Senator Marco Rubio, a senior member of both the foreign relations and intelligence committees and former political rival, to be secretary of state. “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 in a statement. Rubio, 53, is known as a China hawk, an outspoken critic of Cuba’s Communist government and a strong backer of Israel. In the past, he has advocated for a more assertive U.S. foreign policy with respect to America’s geopolitical foes, although recently his views have aligned more closely with those of Trump’s “America First” approach to foreign policy. In April, Rubio was one of 15 Republican senators to vote against a big military aid package to help Ukraine resist Russia and support other U.S. partners, including Israel. Trump has been critical of Democratic President Joe Biden’s continuing military assistance for Ukraine as it fights Russia’s invasion. Rubio has said in recent interviews that Kyiv needs to seek a negotiated settlement with Russia rather than focus on regaining all of the territory that Moscow has taken in the last decade. On the Gaza war, Rubio — like Trump — has been staunchly behind Israel, calling Hamas a terrorist organization that must be eliminated and saying America’s role is to resupply Israel with the military materials needed to finish the job. Rubio is a top Senate China hawk, and Beijing imposed sanctions on him in 2020 over his stance on Hong Kong’s democracy protests. This could create difficulties for any attempts to maintain the Biden administration’s effort to keep up diplomatic engagement with Beijing to avoid an unintended conflict. Among other things, Rubio shepherded an act through Congress that gave Washington a new tool to bar Chinese imports over China’s treatment of Uyghur Muslims and has also pushed a bill that would decertify Hong Kong’s U.S. economic and trade offices. Rubio had also become a strong Trump backer, after harshly criticizing him when he ran against the former real estate developer for president in 2016. The three-term Republican senator should easily win confirmation in the Senate, where Trump’s Republicans will hold at least a 52-48 majority starting in January. Democratic Senator Mark Warner, chairman of the intelligence committee, quickly issued a statement praising the choice of Rubio, the panel’s vice chairman. “I have worked with Marco Rubio for more than a decade on the Intelligence Committee, particularly closely in the last couple of years in his role as Vice Chairman, and while we don’t always agree, he is smart, talented, and will be a strong voice for American interests around the globe,” Warner said in a statement. Rubio, the son of immigrants from Cuba, will be the first Latino to serve as America’s top diplomat.
