Donald Trump selected US Senator Marco Rubio to be his secretary of state, the New York Times reported on Monday, putting the Florida-born politician on track to be the first Latino to serve as America's top diplomat once the Republican president-elect takes office in January.
Rubio was arguably the most hawkish option on Trump's shortlist for secretary of state, and he has in years past advocated for a muscular foreign policy with respect to America's geopolitical foes, including China, Iran and Cuba.
Over the last several years he has softened some of his stances to align more closely with Trump's views. The president-elect accuses past US presidents of leading America into costly and futile wars and has pushed for a more restrained foreign policy.
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 China aligning itself more closely with US 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, passed in April.
"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 November 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 gains among Latinos and make clear that they have a place at the highest levels of his administration.
Rubio was one of three final contenders for Trump's vice-presidential pick. The president-elect ultimately chose US Senator JD Vance of Ohio, a hard-right figure who is known for his isolationist foreign policy positions.
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