Marco Rubio is set to become Donald Trump's secretary of state in his upcoming administration, different outlets reported on Monday night. The New York Times broke the news, which have not been formally announced.
The Florida senator is in contention for the post with household names like North Dakota Governor Doug Burgum and Tennessee Senator Bill Hagerty. Rubio held a high profile during the final stretch of Trump's campaign, appearing alongside him in several events and defending his agenda before the press.
Throughout his career, the Florida Senator has heavily spotlighted foreign policy issues in Latin America. In fact, under the Trump administration, his policies in the region were jokingly dubbed as "Make Marco Rubio Happy," suggesting a high level of influence in the White House, The New York Post reported.
He has also had a hardline approach against Venezuela's authoritarian president Nicolas Maduro, leading the Senate push for improved trade ties in the Western Hemisphere via the extension of the Caribbean Basin Economic Recovery Act.
Most recently, Rubio has denounced Venezuela's controversial elections. Just minutes after the country's National Electoral Council (CNE) announced Maduro was reelected, Rubio released a statement on X that said the regime had just pulled off "the most predictable and ridiculous sham election in modern history." He has continued to speak against the process, as several countries have so far refused to recognize the elections until the government releases granular data.
Rubio has also been highly critical of Cuba's communist government. A son of Cuban immigrants and a top Florida official, he has been at the forefront of efforts to keep pressure on the island and prevent Cuban officials from entering the United States.
Rubio also seems to support NATO, an organization Trump has repeatedly denounced and voiced concerns over.
During a rally in February, Trump bashed NATO— as it is customary for him— and expressed his grievances at countries not contributing their fair share. Rubio would go on to dismiss concerns over these comments.
"He's not the first American president— in fact, virtually every American president at some point in some way has complained about other countries in NATO not doing enough," Rubio said on CNN.
"You know, Trump's just the first one to express it in these terms, but I have zero concern because he'd been president before, I know exactly what he has done and will do with the NATO alliance, but there has to be an alliance. It's not America's defense with a bunch of small junior partners," he continued.
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