Trump Expects to Nominate Sen. Marco Rubio as Secretary of State: Report

President-elect Trump is expected to nominate Sen. Marco Rubio of Florida as secretary of state, a source tells Fox News.

The source pointed out that while Trump could change his mind at the last minute, he is currently planning to offer the job to Rubio, the three-term senator whom the former president considered as his running mate this summer before Sen. JD Vance appointed as the Republican vice presidential candidate.

Trump transition spokespeople did not immediately comment.

The New York Times first reported the news this evening.

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Rubio, the son of Cuban exiles, was first elected to the Senate in 2010 as part of the Tea Party wave. On Capitol Hill, he is known as a foreign policy hawk who favors maintaining U.S. alliances abroad, including NATO.

But Rubio, who sits on both the Senate Intelligence Committee and the Foreign Relations Committee, has taken similar positions to Trump on international conflicts, including Russia's invasion of Ukraine and Israel's war with Hamas.

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In April, the 53-year-old senator voted against $95 billion in U.S. aid to Ukraine and called on the Eastern European country to negotiate an end to its war with Russia.

Rubio was a rival to Trump in the heated battle for the 2016 Republican presidential nomination [with Trump deriding him as ‘Little Marco’] But over the years he has become a strong ally of Trump in the Senate.

Republican presidential candidate, former U.S. President Donald Trump, appears with U.S. Senator Marco Rubio (R-FL) (R) and Arkansas Governor Sarah Huckabee Sanders during a campaign rally at JS Dorton Arena on November 4, 2024 in Raleigh, North, on stage at Carolina. (Chip Somodevilla)

Rubio, the son of Cuban exiles, would become the first Latin American secretary of state in the country's history.

The Republican Jewish Coalition (RJC), a key supporter of Trump this year, welcomed the news.

RJC National Chairman Sen. Norm Coleman and CEO Matt Brooks said in a statement, “We know that with Senator Rubio at the helm of the State Department, America will stand side by side with our allies and confront our enemies.”

“In these extraordinarily dangerous times, Senator Rubio is an outspoken defender of Israel who has always backed the Jewish state,” they added.

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Less than a week after winning a second term in the White House, Trump has already begun forming his Cabinet.

In the last 24 hours, Trump has named Rep. Elise Stefanik of New York as his ambassador to the United Nations, Tom Homan as the new “border czar” and Rep. Michael Waltz of Florida as his national security adviser. Former Rep. Lee Zeldin of New York is taking over the leadership of the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).

This story is groundbreaking. Please check back for updates.