The US Senate unanimously confirmed the appointment of Marco Rubio as Secretary of State, putting the senator, who is popular among his colleagues in the Senate, on the front lines of President Donald Trump’s confrontational and sometimes erratic policies.
Rubio is the first Hispanic American to hold the position of Secretary of State and the first in the Trump administration to be confirmed by the Senate.
Although the country is in a period of sharp partisan division, Rubio’s nomination was approved by a vote of 99 to zero, and many Democratic senators described him as a friend. A seat became vacant in the Senate with the appointment of Senator Jay D. Vance as Trump’s deputy.
Senator Jeanne Shaheen, the ranking Democrat on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, said: “Given the uncertainty surrounding the world right now, it is in America’s best interest not to delay and to fill this position immediately.”
She added in the Senate session, “While we may not always agree, I believe that he has the necessary skills, knowledge, and qualifications to be Minister of Foreign Affairs.”
Shaheen and Republican Committee Chairman Jim Risch agreed to expedite Rubio’s nomination, which the committee accomplished only an hour before heading to the voting hall.
“It is no secret that hostile powers from China to Russia, from North Korea to Iran, have formed an axis of tyranny aimed at weakening the United States,” Risch said.
He added, “We need a principled, action-oriented president of diplomacy like Marco Rubio to confront these people.”