Marco Rubio, Trump's choice for secretary of state, has broad support

WASHINGTON – Last time Donald Trump won office, it was Sen. Marco Rubio asking the probing questions.

The Florida Republican used his perch on the Senate foreign affairs panel to grill Trump secretary of state nominee, Rex Tillerson, for more than ten minutes about Russian election meddling in the most recent election.

On Wednesday, it will be Rubio’s turn to field uncomfortable questions about Trump’s unorthodox approach to U.S. national security, as his Foreign Relations Committee colleagues publicly vet him for the nation’s top diplomatic post.

Since winning the November election, Trump has made unconventional pitches for the U.S. to take over Canada, Greenland and the Panama Canal. More immediately, he has pledged swift action to bring home Hamas-held hostages and an end to the yearslong Russia-Ukraine war.

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Yet, Rubio’s confirmation hearing is expected to be one of the least contentious, with Democratic senators focused on a platter of controversial Trump appointments.

“I think that will be the closest hearing that’s a lovefest of any of the confirmation hearings. I can't say that about the other ones,” Sen. John Cornyn, a Texas Republican who sits on the committee, said.

A former presidential candidate and senator of 14 years who served as vice chair of the Senate's famously bipartisan intelligence committee, Rubio is one of Trump’s only Cabinet picks expected to win widespread Democratic support.

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The son of Cuban immigrants, Rubio would be the first Latino secretary of state.

He's well-respected by colleagues and widely seen as an institutionalist, said Emily Horne, a former spokeswoman for the National Security Council in the Biden administration.

“So relative to some of the other Cabinet nominees, who seem to be coming in with a mandate to break the institutions that they're being appointed to lead,” Horne said, “I think there's largely a feeling that Rubio is going to, as secretary of state, execute the administration's foreign policy while not taking a sledgehammer to the foreign service or a whole host of our diplomatic and foreign policy norms.”

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Rubio has earned a reputation as a China hardliner. After Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, he warned about the deepening ties between Moscow and Beijing. He has advocated for a tougher approach to Venezuela and Cuba and pushed the U.S. to respond more forcefully to China's growing influence in Latin America and its financial relationship with Iran.

Although he’s a proponent of foreign assistance to U.S. allies, including Ukraine, Rubio has criticized the Biden administration for refusing to define what victory looks like in that war.

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“He's hawkish, like (Trump) is, when America is threatened. At the same time, he doesn't want new boots on the ground forever wars,” former Trump national security adviser Robert O’Brien told USA TODAY.

Not only does Rubio share Trump’s peace through strength philosophy, former Rubio chief of staff Cesar Conda said in a statement, his positions on the Senate Intelligence and Foreign Relations committees gave him “the experience and relationships around the world to carry it out.”

Rubio’s first task? Navigating Trump

Rubio, who has represented Florida in the Senate since 2011, is viewed as Trump’s most establishment Cabinet pick. And like several of Trump’s nominees, he initially clashed with Trump.

After tangling on the campaign trail in 2016, they forged a mutually beneficial partnership during Trump’s first term.

Rubio established himself as a leading voice on Latin America, worked closely with Trump’s daughter, Ivanka, on increasing the child tax credit and convinced the administration to make him the point man during the pandemic on small business relief.

“He’s proven pretty good at navigating Trump and getting Trump to come around to his viewpoints,” said one former senior aide to Rubio, who asked for anonymity to speak frankly about their dynamic.

The men became closer when Rubio campaigned with Trump during the 2020 and 2024 presidential campaigns. They would spend time together backstage at rallies and on Trump’s private plane, sources familiar with the relationship said.

Trump’s first secretary of state, Tillerson, lasted barely a year. The former energy executive struggled as chief diplomat to a temperamental president who frequently conducts foreign policy through social media posts.

If confirmed, Rubio will enter the job with the view that the secretary of state's mission is to execute the president's vision and agenda, a source familiar with the senator’s thinking said.

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Early Trump national security appointees didn't understand that the former real estate developer had a "very well-defined view of the world long before he became president,” O’Brien said.

Trump already has four years as commander in chief under his belt. “So, I think he'll be looking for foreign policy advice from Marco, especially in Latin America, but he's counting on him to be his representative as the secretary of state, the primary diplomat for the United States and the president, abroad,” O’Brien said.

Rubio is expected to fare much better than Tillerson. He traveled extensively overseas as a senator, current and former aides said, and understands how the State Department and intelligence agencies work.

An easy confirmation

In the lead-up to Rubio’s hearing, senators on both sides of the aisle suggested it would be a walk in the park.

“I know Senator Rubio very well. I have worked with him a long time, and I enthusiastically support his nomination,” Cornyn, R-Texas, said.

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Sen. Tim Kaine, D-Va., said, “I know him very well, I’ll probably ask him a lot about Latin America, because I'm not sure other committee members will, and that's a real interest of mine and his, too.”

Virginia Sen. Mark Warner, who chaired the Intelligence Committee when Rubio served as ranking member, praised Rubio in a statement as someone who would be a “strong voice for American interests around the globe.”

Republicans could approve Rubio with GOP-only votes if no one defects. But already, several Democratic senators have signaled their support.

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Sen. John Fetterman, D-Pa., said he will vote for Rubio. Oregon Democratic Sen. Ron Wyden told USA TODAY he wants to hear what Rubio has to say but “he's been very helpful on some issues that I care about,” particularly foreign surveillance.

New Jersey Sen. Cory Booker, another Democrat on the Foreign Relations Committee, said he was likely to ask about the civil war in Sudan – an issue he's spoken to Rubio about in the past.

“While we don't align on the issues of foreign policy, I know his values, I know his work ethic, there's so many things I respect about Sen. Rubio that make me very inclined to support him,” Booker said.

As for capturing territories such as Greenland through military force, Booker expressed frustration at the question. “I will not be asking about things that I see as distractions and deflections from the urgent issues going on right now,” he said.

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Marco Rubio, Trump's choice for secretary of state, has broad support