Trump likely to name Marco Rubio as Secretary of State: NYT report

WASHINGTON (AA) – President-elect Donald Trump is expected to name Florida Senator Marco Rubio as his secretary of state, according to a report published on Monday.

Trump may still make a last-minute change, but he seems to have decided on Rubio, said The New York Times, citing three people familiar with his plans.

Neither Rubio’s team nor that of Trump has confirmed the report.

Rubio, first elected to the Senate in 2010, is known for his hardline stance on Cuba, Iran and China.

Recently, however, he has aligned more closely with Trump’s foreign policy, echoing the president-elect’s calls for an end to Russia’s war in Ukraine, which he said has reached a “stalemate” and “needs to be brought to a conclusion.”

Rubio, a staunch supporter of Israel, has consistently adopted hardline positions.

Earlier this year, he accused President Joe Biden of appealing to “antisemites” in the Democratic Party by criticizing Israel’s actions in Gaza and urged the administration to revoke visas for foreign students involved in protests against Israel’s war on Gaza, labeling them as “terrorist sympathizers.”

In November last year, when confronted by a group of activists in Congress, Rubio opposed calls for a cease-fire between Israel and Hamas, describing the Palestinian group as “vicious animals” and saying: “I want (Israel) to destroy every element of Hamas they can get their hands on.”

Following an Iranian missile attack on Israel in October, he encouraged a strong Israeli response, saying “those demanding Israel show ‘restraint’ should remember that they have the ability to inflict regime-threatening damage on Iran and have already shown restraint by not doing so.”