Florida Senator Marco Rubio (R-FL) was unanimously confirmed by the U.S. Senate to be the next secretary of state, making him the first of President Trump’s cabinet nominees to be confirmed.
Rubio, who had served in the Senate since 2011, was confirmed during a floor vote by the full Senate body just a few hours after President Trump was sworn in. The full Senate floor vote came after a separate vote by the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, which also voted unanimously in favor of Rubio’s nomination a few hours beforehand.
Rubio will assume the crucial role with an extensive background in foreign policy, as he has long been a member on the chamber’s Foreign Relations Committee. A Cuban American, Rubio also became the first Latino secretary of state in U.S. history.
Photo: Gage Skidmore
Ahead of his confirmation, Rubio was widely expected to face little to no resistance from Senate Democrats. When Rubio testified before the Foreign Relations Committee in his first confirmation hearing last week, the panel’s ranking Democrat offered high praise of his skill-set. Senator Jeanne Shaheen (D-NH) stated that her former colleague possessed “the…
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