Rubio Next SECRETARY OF STATE? 

The choice of Rubio will ease concerns among many US diplomats, who had feared that Trump would choose Ric Grenell, a pugnacious former US ambassador to Germany, for the role…reports Asian Lite News

President-elect Donald Trump plans to nominate Marco Rubio to serve as secretary of State. If confirmed for the role, Rubio may bring some more traditional GOP views into Trump’s foreign policy orbit. The Florida Republican has hawkish views on many US foes, but he has also championed maintaining alliances, such as NATO. 

It’s unclear whether Rubio would endorse large-scale cuts to the State Department workforce as some Trump allies hope to push through, but he will likely support some reforms to the institution. The people confirming the information — a former Trump administration official and another person told of the decision — were granted anonymity because of the sensitivity of the selection process. 

The choice of Rubio will ease concerns among many US diplomats, who had feared that Trump would choose Ric Grenell, a pugnacious former US ambassador to Germany, for the role. Many believed Grenell would be particularly antagonistic toward the department. 

“That sound you hear is a tiny sigh of relief,” one State Department official said as the news spread. Rubio, 53, has years of foreign policy and national security experience. He is a senior Republican on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, and is currently the top Republican on the Senate Intelligence Committee. 

His nomination is expected to face little resistance from his colleagues on the Senate floor — the Republicans won a 53-seat majority, and senators seldom oppose their colleagues, former or present, when they are nominated for key Cabinet roles. The New York Times previously reported Trump’s selection of Rubio for the position. Rubio’s Senate office did not immediately respond to a request for comment. 

Rubio made a name for himself on the Foreign Relations Committee as a sharp critic of what he viewed as soft Obama and Biden administration policies toward authoritarian Latin American countries such as Nicaragua, Cuba and Venezuela. He also distinguished himself early on as a vocal detractor of both presidents’ strategies in the Middle East and Asia, arguing for a more aggressive response to rivals such as China, Iran and militant groups such as the Daesh and al Qaeda. 

Rubio’s nomination is the ultimate reflection of his rapprochement with Trump, the man he ran against in the 2016 Republican primary. But he emerged as a key ally for Trump during his first stint in the White House. Rubio is a major proponent of strong defense spending and has at times supported the idea that US military intervention should be an option in some foreign crises. But, especially in more recent years, as the GOP has changed under Trump, he’s expressed more skepticism of the use of force. 

In April, he voted against the supplemental spending package to support Ukraine, Israel and Taiwan, arguing that while he supported helping all three countries, inaction on the US southern border with Mexico constituted “legislative blackmail.” 

But Rubio also was a leader in pushing through bipartisan legislation that will make it harder for Trump to pull the US out of the NATO military alliance, as the president-elect has hinted he might try to do. 

Should Rubio become America’s chief diplomat, tensions with Havana are likely to soar. Rubio, the son of Cuban immigrants, has long been a sharp critic of efforts under the Obama and Biden administrations to offer the Cuban government olive branches and pursue new economic and diplomatic ties with the island. 

He has also advocated for tougher sanctions and actions against friends of Havana in Latin America, including the governments of Nicaragua and Venezuela, saying that Washington should take a tougher stance in opposition to human rights abuses in the region. 

Rubio’s confirmation will provide Florida’s Republican governor, Ron DeSantis, the chance to appoint his successor. It is all but guaranteed that DeSantis will name another Republican to fill the seat, and the replacement would likely be named quickly after Rubio is confirmed. 

It was previously reported that DeSantis would look toward his most trusted confidants to fill Rubio’s seat, citing Lt. Gov. Jeanette Nuñez, Florida Attorney General Ashley Moody, former Florida House Speaker Jose Oliva and chief of staff James Uthmeier as possibilities. The choice could upend the 2026 governor’s race and indicate that DeSantis wouldn’t appoint himself or his wife, Florida first lady Casey DeSantis, to the seat. 

He introduced a Bill in July to strengthen India-US cooperation in Defence, citing the “increased aggression from Beijing” that India faces. 

The US-India Defense Cooperation Act seeks to treat India as if it were of the same status as US allies such as Japan, Israel, Korea, and NATO allies regarding technology transfers, according to him. It would also give India “a limited exemption from CAATSA sanctions for purchases of Russian equipment that are currently used by the Indian military”, according to him. 

The CAATSA – Countering America’s Adversaries Through Sanctions Act – imposes sanctions on countries entering into military deals, among others, with Russia, Iran and North Korea, and it would affect India with its reliance on Russian armaments. In a statement ahead of Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s visit to Washington last year, Rubio said, “We find ourselves at a new juncture in global history in which both India and the United States can further strengthen this vital partnership and build upon the foundation of our shared democratic values and national interests.” 

“Our nations’ economic and security interests overlap on many of the most pressing issues, especially the growing hostility of the Chinese Communist Party in the Himalayas and in the Indian Ocean”, he said urging Congress and the administration to prioritise relations with India. 

While he has assumed strong postures against Russia, he appears to accept Trump’s line that the war with Ukraine should be ended with some compromise that some view as giving Moscow an edge and putting Kyiv at a disadvantage. 

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