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Marco Rubio is America’s new Secretary of State; Trump directs “America First” policy

Jan 21, 2025 09:15 PM IST

Marco Rubio from Florida is the first cabinet rank official in the Donald Trump administration to be confirmed

Washington: The US Senate late on Monday (Tuesday morning IST) unanimously approved Marco Rubio as America’s new Secretary of State, making the senator from Florida the first cabinet rank official in the Donald Trump administration to be confirmed.

US Secretary of State Marco Rubio speaks after he was sworn at the White House in Washington, DC, on January 21, 2025 (AFP)
US Secretary of State Marco Rubio speaks after he was sworn at the White House in Washington, DC, on January 21, 2025 (AFP)

Rubio’s confirmation came just as Trump issued an “America First” policy directive for the Secretary of State as a part of his initial flurry of executive orders.

Rubio’s confirmation sets him up to participate in the Trump administration’s first foreign policy engagement — a meeting of Quad foreign ministers at the State Department on Tuesday afternoon eastern time. External affairs minister S Jaishankar, who represented India at Trump’s inauguration and had a front row seat, was set to meet Rubio at an evening reception, and is participating in the Quad meeting.

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Rubio has been a ranking member of the Senate intelligence committee and a member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee (SFRC). Led by Republican Jim Risch and Democrat Jeanne Shaheen, SFRC approved Rubio’s confirmation and marked it up, unanimously, for a Senate vote. In their statement, Risch and Shaheen said, “We believe that Senator Rubio has the skills, knowledge and experience to lead the department, and his unanimous vote in committee reflects that.”

Among the most respected and well-liked Republican senators, Rubio walks into the job with both expertise, especially on Latin America and China, and strong beliefs, especially on the threat China poses to America.

At his confirmation hearing last week, he said, “We welcomed the Chinese Communist Party into this global order. And they took advantage of all its benefits. But they ignored all its obligations and responsibilities. Instead, they have lied, cheated, hacked and stolen their way to global superpower status, at our expense.”

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Rubio warned Americans that if they continued on the current trajectory, China will be in a position to decide how Americans live in 10 years -- their health, food, security and prosperity. Rubio also wanted that by the end of this decade, there could be a crisis in Taiwan, given how central Taiwan was to Xi Jinping’s sense of his legacy. In his role as a senator, Rubio has introduced tough legislations on China for its treatment of Uighurs in Xinjiang, exposed the concentration of supply chains in China, spoken out strongly in favour of Hong Kong and Tibet. Rubio has also been a strong supporter of close ties with India, bringing forth legislation that will deepen the military and strategic partnership with Delhi.

More broadly, Rubio said at his confirmation hearing that Trump’s instructions on foreign policy were clear. “Every dollar we spend, every program we fund, and every policy we pursue must be justified with the answer to three simple questions: Does it make America safer? Does it make America stronger? Does it make America more prosperous?”

Rubio’s comments aligned with an executive order that Trump issued on Monday night eastern.

In the order meant for the Secretary of State, the President said, “From this day forward, the foreign policy of the United States shall champion core American interests and always put America and American citizens first.”

He instructed Rubio to issue guidance to bring policy, personnel, programmes and operations of the State Department “in line with an America First foreign policy, which puts America and its interests first” -- a statement that is set to define the early days of the Trump presidency and its interaction with the world.

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