Trump’s pick for secretary of state, Marco Rubio, will be heard: NPR

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WHO:Marco Rubio

Nominated for: secretary of state

You may know him from: The Senate and the 2016 Republican primary race, when Trump nicknamed him “Little Marco” and Rubio warned voters not to support Trump, saying “friends don’t let friends vote for crooks.”

Learn more about Rubio:

• He would be the first Latino to hold this position.
• He is known for his hawkish positions towards China, Cuba and Venezuela.
• His interventionist foreign policy positions put him at odds with Trump.

What is this role for: The Secretary of State is fourth in line to the President and the highest Cabinet position. The secretary oversees American foreign policy.

Watch Rubio’s confirmation hearing scheduled for 10 a.m. ET:

Among President-elect Donald Trump’s Cabinet picks, secretary of state nominee Marco Rubio could face the easiest confirmation process. He is a longtime member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, so he is well known to lawmakers who will question him at 10 a.m. Wednesday.

If confirmed, the 53-year-old Florida Republican would be the first Latin American to serve as America’s top diplomat. Born in Florida, the son of Cuban immigrants was first elected senator in 2010 and built a reputation as a hawkish spokesperson in China, Cuba, Venezuela and Iran.

His relationship with Trump is difficult. In 2016, Rubio told voters they should not support Trump as a presidential candidate, saying “friends don’t let friends vote for crooks.” Trump called him “Little Marco,” although Rubio has become a fixture on the campaign trail in 2024.

He could face tough questions about why he voted against aid to Ukraine last year, despite his previous positions on Russia’s war there. He could also face questions about how his interventionist foreign policy views conflict with Trump’s positions.

China has imposed sanctions on Rubio, which could make his travel difficult. Rubio accused China of a “grotesque campaign of genocide” against Uyghur Muslims and authored a law banning imports from the Xinjiang region. This human rights advocacy put him at odds with Trump ally Elon Musk, who opened a Tesla dealership in Xinjiang shortly after the Rubio Uyghur Forced Labor Prevention Act was signed into law in 2021.

The outgoing Biden administration has made it a priority to build alliances in Asia to counter the rise of China. At the State Department, Secretary of State Antony Blinken created “China House,” an office that draws on U.S. government experts to focus on China. This may be a position Rubio will want to keep.

The secretary of state oversees U.S. foreign policy, but Trump has already reduced some of the work of America’s top diplomat by bringing in numerous special envoys for Ukraine, Gaza and Lebanon. He also named a longtime foreign policy adviser, Richard Grenell, who was in the running for secretary of state, as envoy for “special missions.” “Ric will work in some of the hottest places on earth, including Venezuela and North Korea,” Trump said in a post on his social media platform Truth Social, announcing his nomination.