Trump picks Sen. Marco Rubio as his Secretary of State

STARTS NOW. FIRST HERE AT NOON, PRESIDENT ELECT DONALD TRUMP HAS TAPPED TWO U.S. CONGRESSMEN FROM FLORIDA TO POSSIBLY SERVE IN HIS CABINET. SENATOR MARCO RUBIO IS A CONTENDER FOR SECRETARY OF STATE AND REPRESENTATIVE MIKE WALTZ COULD BE TRUMP’S NATIONAL SECURITY ADVISOR. WESH 2’S BOB HAZEN EXPLAINS WHAT THESE APPOINTMENTS WOULD MEAN FOR THE POLITICAL LANDSCAPE OF OUR STATE. REPORTS ARE SAYING THAT SENATOR MARCO RUBIO WILL BE THE PICK FOR SECRETARY OF STATE. NOW THAT’S NOT OFFICIAL YET. AND THINGS COULD CHANGE. BUT NBC NEWS IS CITING A NUMBER OF SOURCES FAMILIAR WITH THE PROCESS, SAYING THAT TRUMP WILL NOMINATE RUBIO FOR THAT JOB. SECRETARY OF STATE IS ONE OF THE HIGHEST RANKING POSITIONS IN THE U.S. GOVERNMENT. HE WOULD REPRESENT AMERICA IN FRONT OF OTHER COUNTRIES AND IS FOURTH IN THE LINE OF SUCCESSION TO THE PRESIDENCY. RUBIO DOES HAVE A GOOD AMOUNT OF EXPERIENCE IN FOREIGN AFFAIRS. IN FACT, HE IS A SENIOR MEMBER OF THE FOREIGN AFFAIRS COMMITTEE IN THE SENATE. WE’VE REACHED OUT TO RUBIO’S OFFICE FOR COMMENT ABOUT IT, BUT HAVE NOT HEARD BACK ON WHETHER HE WOULD ACCEPT THE JOB. ANOTHER TOP SPOT IS GOING TO A CENTRAL FLORIDA CONGRESSMAN. REPRESENTATIVE MIKE WALTZ WILL BE THE NATIONAL SECURITY ADVISOR. HE’S A RETIRED COLONEL IN THE NATIONAL GUARD AND GREEN BERET WITH COMBAT TOURS IN AFGHANISTAN. AND HE REPRESENTS PARTS OF LAKE VOLUSIA, FLAGLER AND MARION COUNTIES. BOTH OF THESE PICKS WOULD FORCE SOME CHANGES HERE, THOUGH. GOVERNOR DESANTIS WOULD HAVE TO APPOINT A REPLACEMENT FOR RUBIO IN THE SENATE, AND THAT PERSON WOULD SERVE UNTIL THE NEXT STATEWIDE ELECTION, WHICH WOULD BE IN 2026. AND WALTZ’S CASE, THE GOVERNOR WOULD NEED TO CALL A SPECIAL ELECTION TO FILL THAT SEAT IN CONGRESS. REPORTING IN ORLANDO, BOB HAZEN, WESH TWO NEWS. ALL RIGHT. WE WANT TO BRING IN WESH TWO POLITICAL REPORTER GREG FOX TO TALK ABOUT THESE POSSIBLE APPOINTMENTS. AND GREG, WE’RE GOING TO START WITH MIKE WALTZ. YEAH. WE WANT TO ASK YOU FIRST. ARE YOU SURPRISED BY THIS CHOICE. AND DO YOU THINK HE’S A GOOD FIT? IT’S A VERY GOOD FIT. NO, I’M NOT SURPRISED AT ALL. AND IT’S A STRONG FIT FOR ONE BIG REASON. AND THAT’S BECAUSE HE’S BEEN A STRONG SUPPORTER OF PRESIDENT ELECT TRUMP FOR YEARS. EVEN WHEN GOVERNOR DESANTIS JOINED THE REPUBLICAN PRIMARY RACE, WALTZ AND ALL BUT ONE MEMBER OF THE FLORIDA REPUBLICAN DELEGATION SUPPORTED TRUMP. WALTZ IS NOT JUST A GREEN BERET, BUT HE ALSO SERVES ON THE KEY COMMITTEES IN THE HOUSE THAT ARE INTENDED TO KEEP US SAFE. ARMED SERVICES, FOREIGN AFFAIRS. INTELLIGENCE. HE’S WELL VERSED ON THE SECURITY CHALLENGES IN THIS COUNTRY. THE QUESTION IS, WHERE WILL HE FOCUS MOST OF HIS ATTENTION AS NATIONAL SECURITY ADVISER? THE BORDERS, FOREIGN CONFLICTS THAT THREATEN AMERICAN SOIL. WE WILL HAVE TO SEE. ALL RIGHT, SO GREG HIS SEAT, WHICH COVERS DAYTONA NORTH TO JUST SOUTH OF JACKSONVILLE, WILL BE FILLED BY A SPECIAL ELECTION. IT WILL BE JUST AS BOB MENTIONED. IT WILL BE FILLED BY A SPECIAL ELECTION. AND BECAUSE THERE’S A RAZOR THIN MARGIN IN THE U.S. HOUSE, GOVERNOR DESANTIS WILL LIKELY CALL THAT SPECIAL ELECTION QUICKLY. IT’S HEAVY REPUBLICAN DISTRICT. THEY SHOULD KEEP THAT SEAT PRETTY WELL. OKAY. ALL RIGHT, GREG, AND NOW LET’S TALK ABOUT SENATOR MARCO RUBIO. AND HE WAS EVEN CONSIDERED A POSSIBLE RUNNING MATE BEFORE JD VANCE GOT SELECTED. AND NOW THIS POSSIBLE APPOINTMENT THAT COULD COME WITH THE CABINET AND ADMINISTRATION. YEAH. WHEN YOU THINK ABOUT IT, YOU TALK ABOUT RUBIO MAKING SENSE FOR TRUMP, WHO REPLACES HIM AS SENATOR. WE’LL TALK ABOUT THAT IN JUST A SECOND. BUT IF YOU LOOK BACK IN THE PRESIDENTIAL RACE IN 2016, YOU’RE THINKING THERE’S NO WAY RUBIO GETS TO BE SECRETARY OF STATE. THE TWO OF THEM THROWING INSULTS AT EACH OTHER DURING THE DEBATES, TRUMP CALLED HIM LITTLE MARCO. THE LIGHTWEIGHT. RUBIO CALLED TRUMP A CON ARTIST, BUT THE REALITY IS RUBIO IS VICE CHAIR OF THE INTELLIGENCE COMMITTEE. HE SERVES ON THE FOREIGN RELATIONS COMMITTEE. HE HAS AN EXCEPTIONAL GRASP OF KNOWLEDGE ABOUT THE IRANIAN MOVEMENT TO SUPPORT VIOLENCE IN VENEZUELA, BOLIVIA AND OTHER LATIN AMERICAN COUNTRIES. WE DON’T TALK ABOUT THAT AS MUCH. AND HE HAS A SHARP EYE ON CHINA, THE WAR IN UKRAINE, WHICH HE HAS SAID NEEDS TO COME TO AN END. THE QUESTION AGAIN IS HOW WILL A TRUMP PRESIDENCY AFFECT DIPLOMACY UNDER MARCO RUBIO? ALL RIGHT. AND THE SEAT WILL BE VACATED. BUT THE GOVERNOR WILL MAKE AN APPOINTMENT. HE WILL. AND AGAIN, HE’S GOING TO MAKE THAT APPOINTMENT SOME GOVERNORS IN OTHER STATES HAVE ACTUALLY MADE AN APPOINTMENT OF THEMSELVES. SO THE GOVERNOR COULD APPOINT HIMSELF. BUT THE BETTING MONEY IS THAT HE’LL APPOINT A CARETAKER TO KEEP THE SEAT WARM. AND WHEN HIS GOVERNOR TERM IS UP IN TWO YEARS, HE WILL THEN RUN FOR THE SENATE AGAIN, WHICH WILL RAISE HIS NATIONAL PROFILE IN

President-elect Donald Trump named Sen. Marco Rubio of Florida as his nominee for secretary of state on Wednesday, setting up a onetime critic who evolved into one of the president-elect’s fiercest defenders to become the nation’s top diplomat.The conservative lawmaker is a noted hawk on China, Cuba and Iran, and was a finalist to be Trump’s running mate this summer.On Capitol Hill, Rubio is the vice chairman of the Senate Intelligence Committee and a member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee. He has pushed for taking a harder line against China and has targeted social media app TikTok because its parent company is Chinese. He and other lawmakers contend that Beijing could demand access to the data of users whenever it wants.“He will be a strong Advocate for our Nation, a true friend to our Allies, and a fearless Warrior who will never back down to our adversaries,” Trump said of Rubio in a statement.Trump made the announcement while flying back back to Florida from Washington after meeting with President Joe Biden.The selection is the culmination of a long, complicated history between the two men. During their tense competition for the GOP presidential nomination in 2016, Rubio was especially blunt in his criticism of Trump, calling him a “con artist” and “the most vulgar person to ever aspire to the presidency.”He tried to match Trump’s often-crude attacks by joking about the size of Trump’s hands in a reference to his manhood. Trump responded by branding Rubio as “little Marco,” a nickname that stuck with the senator for years.But like many Republicans who sought to maintain their relevance in the Trump era, Rubio shifted his rhetoric. As speculation intensified that Trump might pick him as his running mate, Rubio sought to play down the tension from 2016, suggesting the heated tone simply reflected the intensity of a campaign.“That is like asking a boxer why they punched somebody in the face in the third round,” Rubio told CNN when asked about his previous comments. “It’s because they were boxing.”Rubio was first elected to the Senate in 2010 as part of the tea party wave of Republicans who swept into Washington. He quickly gained a reputation as someone who could embody a more diverse, welcoming Republican Party. He was a key member of a group that worked on a 2013 immigration bill that included a path to citizenship for millions of people in the country illegally.But that legislation stalled in the House, where more conservative Republicans were in control, signaling the sharp turn to the right that the party — and Rubio — would soon embrace. Now, Rubio says he supports Trump’s plan to deploy the U.S. military to deport those in the country illegally.“We are going to have to do something, unfortunately, we’re going to have to do something dramatic,” Rubio said in a May interview with NBC.He also echoes many of Trump’s attacks on his opponents as well as his false or unproven theories about voter fraud. After Trump was convicted of 34 felony counts in what New York prosecutors charged was a scheme to illegally influence the 2016 election, Rubio wrote a column for Newsweek saying Trump had “been held hostage” in court for “a sham political show trial like the ones Communists used against their political opponents in Cuba and the Soviet Union.”Trump, meanwhile, has backed off his insistence while president that TikTok be banned in the United States, and he recently opened his own account on the platform.A bill that would require the Chinese company ByteDance to sell TikTok or face a ban in the United States was supported by Rubio even as Trump voiced opposition to the effort.Rubio's Democratic counterpart on the Senate Intelligence Committee, Chairman Mark Warner of Virginia, praised the pick.“I have worked with Marco Rubio for more than a decade on the Intelligence Committee, particularly closely in the last couple of years in his role as Vice Chairman, and while we don’t always agree, he is smart, talented, and will be a strong voice for American interests around the globe," Warner said in a statement.Earlier Wednesday, Trump announced that longtime aide Dan Scavino will serve as a deputy without giving a specific portfolio, campaign political director James Blair as deputy for legislative, political and public affairs, and Taylor Budowich as deputy chief of staff for communications and personnel. All will have the rank of assistant to the president.Trump also formally announced Stephen Miller, an immigration hard-liner, will be deputy chief of staff for policy and homeland security adviser. That had previously been confirmed by Vice President-elect JD Vance on Monday.Blair was the political director for Trump’s campaign and, once Trump became the presumptive GOP nominee, the political director for the Republican National Committee. He previously worked on Trump's 2020 campaign in Florida and was a top aide for Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis.Scavino was a senior adviser on Trump’s campaign and, in his first term in the White House, he worked as a social media director.He began working for Trump as a caddy at one of Trump’s golf courses, and was part of the small group of staffers who traveled with the president across the country for the entirety of the campaign. He frequently posts memes and videos of Trump's campaign travel online, cataloguing the campaign from the inside on social media.Before joining the campaign, Budowich worked for the pro-Trump Super PAC, Maga Inc., and after Trump left office, Budowich served as his spokesman while working for Trump's political action committee, Save America.“Dan, Stephen, James, and Taylor were ‘best in class’ advisors on my winning campaign, and I know they will honorably serve the American people in the White House,” Trump said in a statement. “They will continue to work hard to Make America Great Again in their respective new roles.”Miller is one of Trump’s longest-serving aides, dating back to his first campaign for the White House. He was a senior adviser in Trump’s first term and has been a central figure in many of his policy decisions, particularly on immigration, including Trump’s move to separate thousands of immigrant families as a deterrence program in 2018.

WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. —

The conservative lawmaker is a noted hawk on China, Cuba and Iran, and was a finalist to be Trump’s running mate this summer.

On Capitol Hill, Rubio is the vice chairman of the Senate Intelligence Committee and a member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee. He has pushed for taking a harder line against China and has targeted social media app TikTok because its parent company is Chinese. He and other lawmakers contend that Beijing could demand access to the data of users whenever it wants.

“He will be a strong Advocate for our Nation, a true friend to our Allies, and a fearless Warrior who will never back down to our adversaries,” Trump said of Rubio in a statement.

Trump made the announcement while flying back back to Florida from Washington after meeting with President Joe Biden.

The selection is the culmination of a long, complicated history between the two men. During their tense competition for the GOP presidential nomination in 2016, Rubio was especially blunt in his criticism of Trump, calling him a “con artist” and “the most vulgar person to ever aspire to the presidency.”

He tried to match Trump’s often-crude attacks by joking about the size of Trump’s hands in a reference to his manhood. Trump responded by branding Rubio as “little Marco,” a nickname that stuck with the senator for years.

But like many Republicans who sought to maintain their relevance in the Trump era, Rubio shifted his rhetoric. As speculation intensified that Trump might pick him as his running mate, Rubio sought to play down the tension from 2016, suggesting the heated tone simply reflected the intensity of a campaign.

“That is like asking a boxer why they punched somebody in the face in the third round,” Rubio told CNN when asked about his previous comments. “It’s because they were boxing.”

Rubio was first elected to the Senate in 2010 as part of the tea party wave of Republicans who swept into Washington. He quickly gained a reputation as someone who could embody a more diverse, welcoming Republican Party. He was a key member of a group that worked on a 2013 immigration bill that included a path to citizenship for millions of people in the country illegally.

But that legislation stalled in the House, where more conservative Republicans were in control, signaling the sharp turn to the right that the party — and Rubio — would soon embrace. Now, Rubio says he supports Trump’s plan to deploy the U.S. military to deport those in the country illegally.

“We are going to have to do something, unfortunately, we’re going to have to do something dramatic,” Rubio said in a May interview with NBC.

He also echoes many of Trump’s attacks on his opponents as well as his false or unproven theories about voter fraud. After Trump was convicted of 34 felony counts in what New York prosecutors charged was a scheme to illegally influence the 2016 election, Rubio wrote a column for Newsweek saying Trump had “been held hostage” in court for “a sham political show trial like the ones Communists used against their political opponents in Cuba and the Soviet Union.”

Trump, meanwhile, has backed off his insistence while president that TikTok be banned in the United States, and he recently opened his own account on the platform.

A bill that would require the Chinese company ByteDance to sell TikTok or face a ban in the United States was supported by Rubio even as Trump voiced opposition to the effort.

Rubio's Democratic counterpart on the Senate Intelligence Committee, Chairman Mark Warner of Virginia, praised the pick.

“I have worked with Marco Rubio for more than a decade on the Intelligence Committee, particularly closely in the last couple of years in his role as Vice Chairman, and while we don’t always agree, he is smart, talented, and will be a strong voice for American interests around the globe," Warner said in a statement.

Earlier Wednesday, Trump announced that longtime aide Dan Scavino will serve as a deputy without giving a specific portfolio, campaign political director James Blair as deputy for legislative, political and public affairs, and Taylor Budowich as deputy chief of staff for communications and personnel. All will have the rank of assistant to the president.

Trump also formally announced Stephen Miller, an immigration hard-liner, will be deputy chief of staff for policy and homeland security adviser. That had previously been confirmed by Vice President-elect JD Vance on Monday.

Blair was the political director for Trump’s campaign and, once Trump became the presumptive GOP nominee, the political director for the Republican National Committee. He previously worked on Trump's 2020 campaign in Florida and was a top aide for Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis.

Scavino was a senior adviser on Trump’s campaign and, in his first term in the White House, he worked as a social media director.

He began working for Trump as a caddy at one of Trump’s golf courses, and was part of the small group of staffers who traveled with the president across the country for the entirety of the campaign. He frequently posts memes and videos of Trump's campaign travel online, cataloguing the campaign from the inside on social media.

Before joining the campaign, Budowich worked for the pro-Trump Super PAC, Maga Inc., and after Trump left office, Budowich served as his spokesman while working for Trump's political action committee, Save America.

“Dan, Stephen, James, and Taylor were ‘best in class’ advisors on my winning campaign, and I know they will honorably serve the American people in the White House,” Trump said in a statement. “They will continue to work hard to Make America Great Again in their respective new roles.”

Miller is one of Trump’s longest-serving aides, dating back to his first campaign for the White House. He was a senior adviser in Trump’s first term and has been a central figure in many of his policy decisions, particularly on immigration, including Trump’s move to separate thousands of immigrant families as a deterrence program in 2018.

Trump picks Sen. Marco Rubio as his Secretary of State

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