REFILE: Marco Rubio, Trump's nominee for Secretary of State in proposed cabinet lineup

Record ID: 1856731

  • Title: REFILE: Marco Rubio, Trump's nominee for Secretary of State in proposed cabinet lineup
  • Date: 12th November 2024
  • Summary: ATLANTA, GEORGIA, UNITED STATES (JUNE 27, 2024) (REUTERS) (SOUNDBITE)(English) REPUBLICAN SENATOR [FLORIDA], MARCO RUBIO, SAYING: "The country was better off when Trump was President, whether you like everything he says or not you have look, that's the bottom line, that's how most Americans are voting, who are they better off under." HIALEAH, FLORIDA, USA (FILE - AUGUST 23
  • Embargoed: 26th November 2024 22:26
  • Keywords: China Israel Palestinian Rubio Russia Secretary of State Taiwan Trump Ukraine foreign polcy
  • Location: VARIOUS
  • City: VARIOUS
  • Country: US
  • Topics: Diplomacy/Foreign Policy,North America,Government/Politics
  • Reuters ID: LVA002898912112024RP1
  • Aspect Ratio: 16:9
  • Story Text: EDITORS NOTE: THIS EDIT WAS REFILED TO REFLECT THE PRESIDENT-ELECT'S ANNOUNCEMENT
    U.S. President-elect Donald Trump said on Wednesday (November 13) he is nominating Republican Senator Marco Rubio to be his secretary of state.
    In a statement, Trump said Rubio "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."
    The new administration will confront a world more volatile and dangerous than it was when Trump took office in 2017, with wars raging in Ukraine and the Middle East and with China aligning itself more closely with U.S. foes Russia and Iran.
    The Ukraine crisis will be high on Rubio's agenda.
    Rubio, 53, has said in recent interviews that Ukraine needs to seek a negotiated settlement with Russia rather than focus on regaining all territory that Russia has taken in the last decade. He was also one of 15 Republican senators to vote against a $95 billion military aid package for Ukraine, Israel and other U.S. partners, passed in April.
    Once the party of hawks who advocated military intervention and a muscular foreign policy, most of Trump's allies now preach restraint, particularly in Europe, where many Republicans complain U.S. allies are not paying their fair share on defense.
    "I'm not on Russia's side — but unfortunately the reality of it is that the way the war in Ukraine is going to end is with a negotiated settlement," Rubio told NBC in September.
    Rubio's selection holds domestic as well as international significance.
    Trump beat Democratic Vice President Kamala Harris in the Nov. 5 election in part by winning over large numbers of Latinos, who had voted overwhelmingly for Democrats in previous election cycles but have become an increasingly diverse demographic in a political sense, with more and more Latinos voting Republican.
    By selecting Rubio for a key policy role, Trump may help consolidate electoral gains among Latinos and underscore that they have a place at the highest levels of his administration.
    Rubio is a top China hawk in the Senate, and was sanctioned by Beijing in 2020 over his stance on Hong Kong following democracy protests.
    Most notably, Rubio called on the Treasury Department in 2019 to launch a national security review of popular Chinese social media app TikTok's acquisition of Musical.ly, prompting an investigation and troubled divestment order.
    As the top Republican on the Senate Intelligence Committee, he has also kept up the heat on the Biden administration, demanding it block all sales to Huawei earlier this year after the sanctioned Chinese tech company released a new laptop powered by an Intel AI processor chip.
    Rubio, whose parents immigrated to the United States from Cuba in 1956, is also an outspoken opponent of normalizing relations with the Cuban government, a position Trump shares.
    The ranking Republican of the Senate subcommittee overseeing Latin American affairs, he is also a frequent and fierce critic of Nicolas Maduro's government in Venezuela.
    Trump will take office on Jan. 20 and wants his cabinet picks installed early next year.
    (Production: Deborah Lutterbeck)
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