Donald Trump appoints Marco Rubio as Secretary of State

Donald Trump has chosen Florida Senator Marco Rubio to be his Secretary of State, picking someone who was once his critic but later became one of his strongest supporters to serve as America’s top diplomat.

Rubio, known for taking tough stances against China, Cuba, and Iran, was also considered as a potential vice presidential running mate for Trump last summer.

In Congress, Rubio helps lead the Senate Intelligence Committee and serves on the Foreign Relations Committee. He’s been pushing for stronger actions against China and has targeted the social media app TikTok because a Chinese company owns it. Rubio and other lawmakers worry that China’s government could demand to see TikTok users’ data whenever it wants.

“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 of Rubio in a statement.

Trump made this announcement while flying back to Florida after meeting with President Joe Biden.

The choice of Rubio comes after a complicated history between the two men. During the 2016 Republican presidential race, Rubio harshly criticized Trump, calling him a “con artist” and “the most vulgar person to ever aspire to the presidency.”

Rubio even made jokes about Trump’s hand size, hinting at questions about Trump’s manhood. Trump fired back by giving Rubio the nickname “little Marco,” which stuck with the senator for years.

But like many Republicans who wanted to stay relevant during Trump’s time in power, Rubio changed his tone. As people started talking about Trump possibly picking him as vice president, Rubio tried to downplay their past fights, suggesting it was just normal campaign behaviour.

“That is like asking a boxer why they punched somebody in the face in the third round,” Rubio told CNN when asked about his previous comments. “It’s because they were boxing.”

Rubio first became a senator in 2010 as part of a wave of Tea Party Republicans elected to Congress. People saw him as someone who could help make the Republican Party more diverse and welcoming. He played a key role in working on an immigration bill in 2013 that would have given millions of undocumented immigrants a path to citizenship.

But that bill failed in the House of Representatives, where more conservative Republicans held power. This marked the beginning of a sharp rightward shift for both the party and Rubio. Now, Rubio supports Trump’s plan to use the military to deport undocumented immigrants.

“We are going to have to do something, unfortunately, we’re going to have to do something dramatic,” Rubio said in a May interview with NBC.

Rubio now often repeats Trump’s attacks on opponents and supports Trump’s unproven claims about voter fraud. After Trump was found guilty of 34 felonies related to what New York prosecutors said was a scheme to illegally influence the 2016 election, Rubio wrote in Newsweek that Trump had “been held hostage” in court for “a sham political show trial like the ones Communists used against their political opponents in Cuba and the Soviet Union.”

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Interestingly, Trump has backed away from his earlier push to ban TikTok in the United States and recently created his own TikTok account. Meanwhile, Rubio supported a bill to force TikTok’s Chinese owner to sell the app or face a U.S. ban, even though Trump opposed this effort.

The top Democrat on the Senate Intelligence Committee, Chairman Mark Warner of Virginia, praised Trump’s choice of Rubio. “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.

Earlier in the day, Trump announced several other staff appointments. Dan Scavino, a longtime aide, will be a deputy without specific duties. James Blair, who ran Trump’s campaign politics, will be deputy for legislative, political and public affairs. Taylor Budowich will serve as deputy chief of staff for communications and personnel. All will have the title of assistant to the president.

Trump also officially announced that Stephen Miller, known for his strict immigration views, will be deputy chief of staff for policy and homeland security adviser. Vice President-elect JD Vance had already confirmed this on Monday.