The Senate voted Monday to confirm Republican Florida Sen. Marco Rubio as the 72nd Secretary of State of the United States.

The motion passed with unanimous support, with 99 votes in favor and 0 votes against. According to For an unofficial tally. Mr. Rubio will serve as President Donald Trump’s chief foreign policy adviser and the United States’ principal overseas representative.

“While the United States has too often continued to prioritize “world order” over its core national interests, other countries have and continue to prioritize what they perceive to be their best interests. We continued to act as countries have always done,” Rubio said. said He said this at the confirmation hearing on January 15th. “And instead of being integrated into the post-Cold War world order, they have manipulated it to suit their own interests at the expense of ours.” (Related article: Pope Francis congratulates President Trump on historic inauguration despite denouncing key policies as ‘shameful’ hours earlier)

Rubio first rubbed shoulders with Trump in the 2016 Republican presidential primary when they ran against each other. At the time, Trump played a key role in removing Trump from the candidacy, accusing him of taking advantage of lobbyists and giving rise to the derogatory nickname “Little Marco.” ” Rubio hit back at Trump like many others did during the primaries, calling him dishonest and a “con artist.”

The senator developed a reputation in Republican politics for focusing on foreign policy. hawk, Advocating for a globally engaged United States that protects democracy as a “freedom fighter”; According to As Mr. Rubio grew closer to Mr. Trump during the 2024 election cycle, his views became more aligned with Mr. Trump’s “America First” foreign policy agenda.

Mr. Rubio voted against the 2024 foreign aid package, which included funds for Ukraine, while maintaining a hawkish stance on China and Latin America. He has been particularly outspoken about communist Cuba, saying at the hearing that he would reverse Biden’s removal of the country from the list of state sponsors of terrorism.

Additionally, during his confirmation hearing, Rubio emphasized the need for a strong approach to countering China’s economy and military. He also reaffirmed his support for the NATO alliance, which has come under fire from President Trump because the United States pays more for the alliance than other member states.

Mr. Rubio has been outspoken about curbing Iran’s nuclear program and is positive about a deal, but if the U.S. makes concessions to the administration, Iran “will try to build weapons systems and resume support for Hezbollah and other groups.” It’s very likely.” Related entities. ”

He also supported a peace agreement between Russia and Ukraine, saying both sides needed to make concessions to end the nearly three-year conflict.

“Prudence in the conduct of our foreign policy does not mean abandoning our values,” Rubio said at the hearing. “While our country remains the richest and most powerful nation on earth, common sense understands that our wealth has never been unlimited…Putting our core national interests above all else is an isolated Not.”

The Trump transition team did not respond to requests for comment from the Daily Caller News Foundation.

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