‘There will be changes’: Marco Rubio confirmed as US secretary of state

The furniture of United States President Donald Trump has started to instrumentality shape, with its archetypal nominee confirmed to a role: Florida lawmaker Marco Rubio.

On Tuesday, Rubio, 53, was sworn successful arsenic caput of state, the country’s main diplomat and the highest-ranking relation successful the cabinet, 2nd lone to the vice president and president.

The ceremonial came aft a uncommon unanimous ballot successful the Senate to elevate him to the role.

All 99 members voted successful favour: The lone ballot missing successful the 100-seat enclosure was Rubio himself, arsenic helium had to measurement down arsenic legislator to instrumentality up his caller position.

Speaking astatine the swearing-in ceremony, Vice President JD Vance described Rubio arsenic a “needed departure from a procreation of failed overseas policy”.

“He is simply a bipartisan solutions-seeker, a feline who tin really get things done, but a blimpish of large rule and vision,” Vance said. “And I deliberation much than anybody that I’ve met successful Washington implicit the past fewer years, Senator Rubio, I think, understands the distinctive priorities of President Trump.”

But what has Rubio pledged to bash successful his caller role? And what did Tuesday’s ceremonial uncover astir the newly-minted diplomat? Here are 3 takeaways.

Secretary of State Marco Rubio is sworn into bureau by Vice President JD Vance, arsenic helium places his manus connected a book held by his wife, Jeanette Rubio [Evan Vucci/AP Photo]

Rubio defends State Department employees

In his archetypal remarks arsenic caput of state, Rubio praised the national employees who behaviour day-to-day operations astatine the US Department of State, the enforcement bureau helium is present charged with running.

“This is an bonzer honour and a privilege to service successful this role, to beryllium present — frankly, to oversee the greatest, the astir effective, the astir talented, the astir experienced diplomatic corps successful the past of the world,” Rubio said.

“ I privation to besides convey the locally employed staff, the nationals of those countries who enactment with us,” helium added. “Without their help, without their support, it would beryllium intolerable for america to behaviour our mission.”

Rubio’s remarks travel astatine a delicate clip for national civilian servants, arsenic Trump sweeps into bureau with a raft of enforcement actions designed to rein successful authorities bureaucracy.

Just 1 time earlier, connected the archetypal time of his 2nd term, Trump threatened to occurrence those employees helium perceives arsenic loyal to his predecessor, Democrat Joe Biden.

“To summation contiguous power of the immense national out-of-control bureaucracy, I volition instrumentality an contiguous regularisation freeze, which volition halt Biden bureaucrats from continuing to regulate,” Trump told supporters gathered astatine the Capitol One Arena successful Washington, DC.

“Most of those bureaucrats are being fired. They’re gone. Should beryllium each of them, but immoderate sneak through.”

By contrast, Rubio entered his caller relation defending the enactment of the State Department and praising its employees.

“ There’s nary different bureau successful the world, there’s nary different bureau successful our government, that I’d alternatively pb due to the fact that of the endowment that’s collected present successful this country and those watching astir the world,” helium said.

State Department unit perceive arsenic Secretary of State Marco Rubio addresses them connected Tuesday successful Washington, DC [Jacquelyn Martin/AP Photo]

Rubio pledges to beforehand ‘America First’

Still, Rubio erstwhile again restated his steadfast committedness to advancing Trump’s “America First” argumentation platform, and warned that changes would travel to the State Department arsenic a result.

“There volition beryllium changes, but the changes are not meant to beryllium destructive. They’re not meant to beryllium punitive,” helium told the assemblage astatine his swearing-in, made up mostly of State Department employees.

Rubio outlined a imaginativeness wherever the State Department takes much of a starring relation successful authorities affairs.

“Sometimes, the Department of State has been benignant of relegated to a secondary relation due to the fact that immoderate different bureau tin determination faster oregon seems to beryllium bolder oregon much creative,” Rubio said.

“It’s not your fault. But we’re going to alteration that. We privation to beryllium astatine the centrepiece. We privation to beryllium astatine the halfway of however we formulate overseas policy.”

The erstwhile legislator explained that the department’s relation moving guardant would beryllium much inward-looking, seeking to trade policies that would marque the US “stronger oregon safer oregon much prosperous”.

He besides advised employees to look astatine Trump’s predetermination to a 2nd word successful November arsenic a mandate to centre US priorities.

“Our job, crossed the world, is to guarantee that we person a overseas argumentation that advances the nationalist involvement of the United States,” helium said, adding: “I expect each federation connected world to beforehand their nationalist interests.”

Secretary of State Marco Rubio speaks to State Department unit adjacent to his wife, Jeanette Rubio [Jacquelyn Martin/AP Photo]

Balancing hawkishness with peace

But contempt his unifying code connected Tuesday, Rubio faced protesters arsenic helium sat for Senate hearings astir his information implicit the past week.

“Little Marco, support your hands disconnected our country!” 1 protester shouted, denouncing the US’s engagement successful “forever wars”.

Another, speaking Spanish, criticised hardline US policies abroad: “The sanctions of Marco Rubio are sidesplitting kids successful Nicaragua, Cuba and Venezuela.”

Rubio brushed speech the interruptions with light-hearted remarks. “I get the bilingual protesters,” the lawmaker, a kid of Cuban immigrants, quipped. He volition beryllium the archetypal Latino idiosyncratic to service arsenic caput of state.

But the protests were a reminder of Rubio’s estimation arsenic a foreign-policy hawk, known for his assertive stance to US adversaries overseas.

One peculiar people during Rubio’s confirmation hearings was China, which has sanctioned the Florida person for his enactment of Hong Kong’s autonomy. He told senators past week that helium believed the US-China rivalry would “define the 21st century”.

“The Communist Party of China that leads the PRC [People’s Republic of China] is the astir potent and unsafe near-peer adversary this federation has ever confronted,” Rubio said.

He explained the menace of China dwarfed that of the US’s Cold War rival, the Soviet Union.

“They person elements that the Soviet Union ne'er possessed. They are our technological adversary and competitor, an concern competitor, an economical competitor, a geopolitical competitor, a technological rival present — successful each realm.”

Still, contempt his hawkish posture, Rubio told State Department employees connected Tuesday that helium planned to travel done with Trump’s promises of delivering satellite peace.

“That’s what we endeavour to do: to beforehand bid astir the satellite due to the fact that that’s successful our nationalist interest,” Rubio said. “Without peace, it is hard to beryllium a beardown nation, a prosperous nation.”

He did, however, admit that “there volition beryllium conflict”. In explaining however helium viewed US argumentation abroad, helium echoed rhetoric fashionable among the Christian right: namely, that the US is founded connected a spiritual mandate.

“We are, astatine the extremity of the day, a federation founded connected a almighty principle. And that almighty rule is that each men are created adjacent due to the fact that our rights travel from God, our creator — not from our laws, not from our governments,” Rubio said.

“We anticipation the full satellite tin 1 time unrecorded nether that. And we volition always, ever beryllium beardown defenders of that principle.”