Trump taps Cuban American Marco Rubio to lead the US State Department

Putting an end to days of speculation, United States President-elect Donald Trump nominated Florida Senator Marco Rubio to lead the State Department under the incoming administration.

The choice of his former political rival had been rumoured for days and signals the new administration’s commitment to a hawkish foreign policy.

A Cuban American known for his hardline views on China and staunch support for Israel, Rubio would be the first Hispanic American to serve as Washington’s top diplomat if confirmed to the role.

“Marco is a Highly Respected Leader, and a very powerful Voice for Freedom,” Trump wrote in a statement announcing his choice on Wednesday. “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.”

Trump also tapped former Democratic congresswoman Tulsi Gabbard to serve as director of national intelligence.

“I know Tulsi will bring the fearless spirit that has defined her illustrious career to our intelligence community, championing our constitutional rights and securing peace through strength,” Trump said in a statement.

From ‘Little Marco’ to Secretary of State

Since his election to the US Senate in 2010, Rubio has staked out a reputation for holding hawkish views on US adversaries such as China, Iran, Venezuela and Cuba. He has also staunchly backed Israel’s war in Gaza, telling a peace activist last year that Hamas was “100 percent to blame” for the deaths of Palestinians in the enclave.

“I want them to destroy every element of Hamas they can get their hands on,” Rubio said in a confrontation with Code Pink co-founder Medea Benjamin in December.

“These people are vicious animals who did horrifying crimes, and I hope you guys post that because that’s my position.”

Rubio currently serves on the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence and the Committee on Foreign Relations.

His relationship with Trump has shifted significantly since the two first faced off in the 2016 presidential primary and Rubio appears to have adapted his views on issues such as the war in Ukraine and immigration policies to Trump’s.

In 2016, Trump famously mocked Rubio’s physical stature, branding him “Little Marco”. For his part, Rubio derided his rival, calling him “Small Hands Trump”.

Compared to his soon-to-be boss, Rubio is more of a traditional interventionist when it comes to foreign policy, advocating for a muscular approach to foreign conflicts while Trump’s foreign policy has focused on avoiding military interventions abroad.

This has, at times, moved Rubio to publicly criticise Trump’s foreign policy, including in 2019 when he accused the then-president of “abandoning” the US military effort in Syria before it was “completely finished”.

Rubio heads a group of like-minded Cuban Americans in Congress seeking to prod US foreign policy in Latin America in a more conservative direction.

“The tyrants in Havana, Caracas and Managua will not sleep today,” wrote a fellow Cuban American Republican from Miami, US Representative Carlos Gimenez in a post on X. “Their days are numbered. Their time is up.”

Aligning with Trump

However, in recent years, experts said, Rubio has softened his stance to fall in line with Trump.

“Rubio is a flexible and pragmatic politician who has accommodated himself to the rise of President Trump,” Paul Musgrave, an associate professor of government at Georgetown University in Qatar, told Al Jazeera.

In the initial months after Russia’s full-scale invasion in February 2022, for instance, Rubio took to social media to fervently rally support for Ukraine among Americans. He labelled Russian President Vladimir Putin “a killer” and questioned his mental health – a significant departure from Trump’s at times deferential approach to the Russian leader.

In recent interviews, Rubio has suggested Ukraine needs to seek “a negotiated settlement” with Russia, and he was one of 15 Republican senators to vote against a military aid package for Ukraine that passed in April.

But some Trump loyalists view Rubio with suspicion.

Al Jazeera’s Shihab Rattansi reported that there has been an “uproar” among some of the president-elect’s staunchest supporters over Rubio’s appointment.

“He’s seen with great suspicion among the Trump base, but at the same time, he’s certainly charmed Donald Trump,” Rattansi said.

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Al Jazeera and news agencies