Mr. Secretary of State Marco Rubio!
Washington, Jan 20 (EFE).-
The United States Senate unanimously confirmed Florida Senator Marco Rubio as the country’s new secretary of state on Monday, making him the first Hispanic to lead US diplomacy.
Rubio, 53, the son of Cuban migrants, is the first confirmed cabinet member of President Donald Trump’s new administration, sworn in hours earlier.
A senator since 2010, Marco Rubio, who did not receive a single vote against his confirmation, has earned the respect of his colleagues over the years, which facilitated a quick confirmation to the post, unlike other much more controversial cabinet nominees.
Democratic Minority Leader Senator Chuck Schumer instructed his caucus to vote for Rubio’s confirmation because, “despite our differences,” it is “the right thing to do,” recalling that the US Senate Committee on Foreign Relations had unanimously approved his confirmation hours earlier.
Schumer warned Trump that the Senate would not give the same support to the rest of Trump’s nominees for his new cabinet.
Democratic Senator Jeanne Shaheen, a member of the Foreign Relations Committee, said she had a “very good working relationship” with the new secretary of state and that he had shown “mastery of foreign policy issues” during his confirmation hearing.
Rubio is seen as a hardline foreign policy hawk and an expert on international affairs, particularly Latin America.
In the Senate, he has taken a hard line on China and Iran and has supported sanctions against Venezuela, Cuba, and Nicaragua.
During his confirmation hearing, he also expressed a willingness to seek a ceasefire agreement to end the war in Ukraine.
Rubio rose to national prominence in 2016 when he sought the Republican presidential nomination in a primary that ultimately went to Donald Trump.
During that primary, Trump belittled him as “Little Marco,” but the senator later expressed his support and loyalty.
In the last election campaign, Rubio was in the running to be Donald Trump’s vice-presidential running mate before Trump chose JD Vance.
After the election, Trump chose him to be secretary of state, seen as a nod to the Latino community, which voted for the Republican in record numbers. EFE
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