Donald Trump Expected To Nominate Marco Rubio For Secretary Of State

Donald Trump reportedly plans to nominate Sen. Marco Rubio (R-FL) as secretary of state.

Multiple media outlets reported that Rubio, who was reelected to a third term in 2022, would be the president elect’s pick for the cabinet post, one of the key positions in the incoming administration.

There also were reports that Trump has asked Rep. Mike Waltz (R-FL) to be his national security adviser, a post that, unlike secretary of state, does not require Senate confirmation.

Rubio, first elected in 2010 in that year’s Tea Party wave, emerged as one of Trump’s final foes in the 2016 Republican primary. Trump referred to him as “Little Marco,” while Rubio called the Celebrity Apprentice host a con artist.

Since then, Rubio has emerged as one of Trump’s steadfast defenders, appearing with him on the campaign trail this year. Rubio serves as vice chairman of the Senate Intelligence Committee.

Rubio’s departure from the Senate would open up a seat to be appointed by Florida Governor Ron DeSantis. As news of Rubio’s potential selection broke, so too did speculation that DeSantis could nominate himself, given that he is approaching the end of his second term as governor.

Earlier today, Trump’s team announced that Rep. Elise Stefanik (R-NY) would be nominated as UN ambassador and former Rep. Lee Zeldin would be appointed EPA administrator.

The departure of Stefanik and Waltz would leave two vacancies in the House, at a time when Republicans are expected to once again have a very slim majority. The AP has yet to call which party will take control, as there are a handful of races where a sizable number of votes remain to be counted. But Speaker Mike Johnson may be faced starting a new Congress with just three or four votes to spare, at least until special elections are held to replace the newly anointed Trump administration figures.