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With Donald Trump's announcement that he will tap Sen. Marco Rubio for secretary of state, the Florida Republican is poised to become America's top diplomat in the next administration.
Rubio, a senator since 2011, is a more traditional foreign policy hawk compared with Trump - having built his political identity around support for upending autocratic governments from Latin America to the Middle East to Asia. But in recent years, Rubio's neoconservative positions have softened, and he has increasingly aligned with Trump, who has promised to reverse what he says is a lack of respect for the United States on the global stage with his "America First" approach.
The two Republicans clashed as rivals in the 2016 presidential primary - with Rubio calling Trump a "con man" who was "dangerous" and Trump calling Rubio a "total lightweight." During Trump's presidency, Rubio worked closely with the administration, including on Latin America policy, and this time around, Rubio was a finalist to be Trump's running mate. Shortly after Trump won, Rubio declared a new era in U.S. foreign policy, which he said would be based on "the core national interest of the United States" over "idealistic fantasies."
If confirmed by the Senate, Rubio will be charged with tackling some of the most pressing global issues - from the Israel-Gaza war to Russia's invasion of Ukraine and more. Here's what Rubio has said.
• Rubio strongly backs Israel in its war in Gaza
The senator has repeatedly voiced support for Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu during Israel's offensives against Hamas in Gaza and Hezbollah in Lebanon - and he has accused the Biden administration of not doing enough to support its ally.
He has described Israel's war in Gaza, waged in response to Hamas's Oct. 7, 2023, attacks, as being conducted with "clairvoyance and justice" as it seeks "to destroy the terrorist organization so it may never threaten the people of Israel again." A month into the war, Rubio told activists he would not call for a cease-fire: "On the contrary … I want them to destroy every element of Hamas they can get their hands on. These people are vicious animals who did horrifying crimes." He has condemned decisions by some Western allies to suspend or restrict arms exports to Israel over concerns about potential violations of international humanitarian law as undermining the country's ability to defend itself.
After the State Department imposed sanctions in August on Israeli entities it said were involved in "extremist settler violence" in the West Bank, Rubio said the agency was "undercut[ting]" an American ally. "Israelis rightfully living in their historic homeland are not the impediment to peace; the Palestinians are," he wrote in a letter to Secretary of State Antony Blinken.
• Rubio seeks a more adversarial approach against Iran
Rubio has called Tehran a "terrorist" regime, and in February, he said the "emerging rise of an axis" led by China, Russia and Iran is the greatest geopolitical threat to the United States.
In a statement on Oct. 1, after Iran fired a barrage of missiles at Israel, Rubio said he supported Israel's "right to respond disproportionately to stop this threat," without specifying what that could entail. "Without Iran, there is no Hamas. Without Iran, there is no Hezbollah. Without Iran, there are no Shia militias attacking us from Iraq and Syria," Rubio said in a Nov. 7 television interview. He said a Trump administration would be "very clear and very firm" in dealing with Iran and accused the Biden White House of treating Tehran like "Belgian diplomats at the United Nations."
The Biden administration says it has imposed more than 600 sanctions on Iranian-linked entities. Washington played a key role in defending Israel from Iranian missile attacks in April and October and deployed an antimissile system and 100 troops to Israel.
• Rubio considers China the 'most advanced adversary America has ever faced'
As Trump threatens to scale up economic attacks on Beijing and considers measures that are widely viewed as likely to spark a global trade war, Rubio has also staked out a tough position on China. If confirmed, he would be the first secretary of state to take the role while under sanctions and a travel ban by Beijing. He was one of several U.S. lawmakers targeted in 2020 as part of a tit-for-tat exchange over American sanctions on Chinese officials, as well as for his support of Hong Kong's democracy movement. He is frequently referred to in Chinese media as an "anti-China pioneer."
In an opinion piece published by The Washington Post in September, Rubio described China as "the largest, most advanced adversary America has ever faced." He urged Washington policymakers to prevent China from "eclipsing" the United States by dramatically investing in sectors of the economy critical to national security, imposing further tariffs and taking action to stop "Chinese espionage and intellectual property theft."
Rubio has previously accused China of enabling Russia's invasion of Ukraine as part of a deliberate strategy intended to undermine the U.S.-led world order by a "Moscow-Beijing axis." He has supported several pieces of legislation seeking to curb China's political and economic power.
• Rubio forecasts 'difficult choices' to end Russia-Ukraine war
Both Trump and his incoming vice president, Sen. JD Vance of Ohio, have expressed deep skepticism over U.S. aid to Ukraine. Trump has privately indicated that he would end the war by pressuring Ukraine to cede territory, a position Kyiv has adamantly opposed.
Rubio has repeatedly characterized Russia's war in Ukraine as a costly stalemate that is in Washington's interest to resolve quickly, although he has not expanded on what a negotiated settlement would look like. "We do want to see that conflict end, and it's going to require some very difficult choices," he said in an interview on Nov. 7.
He has praised Ukraine's efforts in defending itself against a more powerful adversary as "extraordinary." But, he said in February, "it's also hyperbole to believe that the Ukrainians are going to completely crush the Russian military" and that the goal should be to help Ukraine "so that we're not seen as unreliable and undermined in our credibility, but do it in a way that doesn't drain us."
Rubio has also downplayed the broader significance of European geopolitics to Washington's core interests, saying that U.S. involvement in Ukraine's self-defense is a costly distraction from efforts to contain China. "The future of the 21st century is going to largely be defined by what happens in the Indo-Pacific. And I think China would love for us to be bogged down in Europe in a conflict and not focused on what's happening in the Indo-Pacific," Rubio said in the interview last week.
• Rubio says NATO has to be a 'real alliance'
Rubio also has echoed Trump's wariness of military spending on Europe's defense, saying it is unfair for Washington to be footing the bill while European countries spend money on "huge social safety nets." "In the 21st century, Europe must take the lead in Europe," Rubio wrote in the American Conservative last year. "… But they'll never take ownership so long as they can rely on America. If this were a welfare policy debate, conservatives would be calling for work requirements."
Trump has hammered members of the transatlantic military alliance and suggested on the campaign trail that he would encourage Russia to attack NATO countries that don't increase their defense spending. Allies are concerned he may consider leaving the 75-year-old alliance. After the election, Rubio said NATO "has to be a real alliance. And rich countries in this alliance have to do their fair share of contribution." He also praised U.S. allies on NATO's eastern flank - Germany, Poland and Lithuania - for doing their part.
Still, Rubio was the sponsor of a bipartisan bill that prohibits any president from unilaterally withdrawing from NATO without the approval of Congress. This check on presidential power, which Rubio had been trying to advance since 2021, was passed and signed by President Joe Biden last year amid long-standing concerns that Trump might try to exit the alliance if he returned to office. In December, Rubio said: "The Senate should maintain oversight on whether or not our nation withdraws from NATO. We must ensure we are protecting our national interests and protecting the security of our democratic allies."
• 'America First,' but Latin America second?
The son of pre-Castro Cuban immigrants to the United States, Rubio helped consolidate Trump's support among Hispanic voters and would be the first Spanish-speaking secretary of state. In the Senate, he has focused much of his foreign policy attention on the region, with special emphasis on dialing up sanctions on Cuba, Venezuela and Nicaragua.
In an April article for the National Interest, he called for shifting U.S. policy in the region toward a "new generation of potentially pro-America leaders in the Western Hemisphere," naming conservative governments in Argentina, El Salvador, Ecuador and Peru, among others, as "willing to strengthen their U.S. partnerships" on security and trade and deserving of more U.S. investment. "We should stop exporting progressive social values," he wrote, and "be more supportive of our neighbors when they signal a willingness to work with us, as opposed to China."
Leftist governments in Brazil, Mexico and Colombia - the largest countries in the region by population and traditionally the ones with the most consequential U.S. relations - were part of a "left-wing fad" and should not be appeased, Rubio wrote.
He may run into difficulties, however, with Trump's expected tough line on immigration. While Rubio strongly supports measures against undocumented immigrants, he partnered with Senate Democrats in sponsoring early calls to grant temporary protected status to Venezuelans, a program that Trump pledged in his first term to do away with. More than 344,000 Venezuelans live in the United States under TPS granted by Biden. Hundreds of thousands of Cubans, Haitians, Nicaraguans and Venezuelans have also been admitted under a Biden-authorized humanitarian parole program.
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