Trump announces Rubio as pick for secretary of State

President-elect Trump made official his choice to nominate Sen. Marco Rubio (R-Fla.) as secretary of State on Wednesday, slotting his former rival into his administration's top diplomatic role.

Trump in a statement praised Rubio as a "Highly Respected Leader, and a very powerful Voice for Freedom."

"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," he added.

Rubio’s selection to serve in Trump’s Cabinet completes a drastic turnaround from 2016, when the two were fierce rivals in a GOP presidential primary and exchanged personal insults.

Earlier this year, Trump nearly chose Rubio as his running mate before selecting Sen. JD Vance (R-Ohio).

The Florida senator is seen as a foreign policy hawk who is tough on China and Iran. In a September interview with NBC, Rubio said it was apparent the war between Ukraine and Russia would end “with a negotiated settlement.”

Trump has vowed to quickly restore his “America First” foreign policy vision upon taking office. He has expressed skepticism about continued U.S. support for Ukraine in its war against Russia and called for European allies to do more to aid Kyiv and to support their own defense through the NATO alliance.

Lawmakers on both sides of the aisle have given the Rubio choice a warm reception since it was first reported late Monday. Sen. John Fetterman (D-Pa.) signaled he would vote to confirm Rubio, and Sen. Mark Warner (D-Va.) called Rubio "smart, talented" and "a strong voice for American interests around the globe."

In a statement following the nomination announcement, Rubio said he is honored by the trust Trump has placed in him and will work every day "to carry out his foreign policy agenda."

"I look forward to earning the support of my colleagues in the U.S. Senate so the President has his national security and foreign policy team in place when he takes office on January 20,” he said in the statement.

The Florida senator spoke to reporters on Capitol Hill minutes before his nomination was announced, and offered thoughts on some of Trump's proposals, voicing opposition to the strategy of recess appointments, something Trump has pushed for commitment from senators as a way around the confirmation process for his administration's posts.

“Ideally you'd have a nominations process where people are getting voted on and people can vote any way they want,” he said.

“Recess appointment is something that you would use as a last resort, if you have these really important positions and people are just being unreasonable in their obstruction in terms of time.”

Rubio said he has concerns about the national security risks of the app TikTok but said Trump holds the power on whether to reverse a ban that was passed into law.

“I still have concerns about the app and the vulnerability it poses, but ultimately I'm not the president of the United States.”

When asked about Ukraine, Rubio deferred to Trump, saying “he wants the war to end,” and it’s “the president's job to figure his way through it. I'm not going to discuss his strategies or the decisions he makes in that regard.”

“I think he's made it pretty clear that that's a war that needs to end. It's become a stalemate and it's setting Ukraine back a century,” Rubio said.

Rubio would not commit to more Ukraine funding ahead of the transition.

“Let’s wait until the new administration's in place before we can figure that… We, still have to fund government next month.”

Sen. Tim Kaine (D-Va.), a member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee that would conduct Rubio's confirmation hearing, issued early support for his nomination, in line with other Democrats from the committee, like Sen. Jeff Merkley (D-Ore.).

"All I can say right now is he is a very, very dedicated member of the SFRC, which is a positive thing," Kaine said.

Trump has rapidly rolled out his national security team after winning last week’s election. He has chosen Rep. Elise Stefanik (R-N.Y.) as his ambassador to the United Nations and tapped Rep. Mike Waltz (R-Fla.) to serve as his national security adviser. Trump also tapped Fox News host and veteran Pete Hegseth as his nominee to lead the Pentagon.

Updated at 4:04 p.m.