The New York Times reported Tuesday that President-elect Donald Trump has chosen Republican Senator Marco Rubio for the position of Secretary of State. The Cuban-American senator would become the first Hispanic Secretary of State in US history.
Rubio currently serves as vice chairman of the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence and sits on the Foreign Relations Committee. Sources speaking to The New York Times indicated that while Trump could still change his mind at the last moment, he appears to have settled on the 53-year-old Rubio, whom he had previously considered for vice president.
Rubio is known as a strong supporter of Israel. Together with Democratic Senator Jeanne Shaheen, he initiated legislation to restrict Hezbollah's activities. The law authorizes sanctions against international financial institutions conducting business with the terror group and its affiliated organizations.
Following his visit to Israel last May, Rubio wrote, "Israel's enemies are also our enemies. The Iranian regime and its proxies . . . seek Israel's destruction as part of a multi-stage plan to dominate the Middle East and destabilize the West. The Jewish state is on the front lines of this conflict, fighting with many shared American-Israeli lives."
Rubio was elected to the Senate in 2010 and maintains hawkish positions toward China and Iran. Recently, he has echoed Trump's stance on Russia's war against Ukraine, stating that the conflict has reached a stalemate and "needs to be brought to an end."
