The Senate on Monday unanimously confirmed Rubio as secretary of State. He represented Florida in the Senate since 2011 and resigned Monday ahead of the inauguration. He has extensive foreign policy experience and was widely considered to have among the smoothest paths to confirmation.
“No one on this body can doubt that Marco Rubio is an intelligent man with remarkable understanding of American foreign policy and a very deep commitment to the American dream,” Sen. Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa) said in remarks on the Senate floor.
Meanwhile on Monday, Senate committees approved Pete Hegseth for Defense secretary and John Ratcliffe to head the Central Intelligence Agency. Hegseth, whose confirmation is among the rockiest, was approved 14-13 by the Armed Services Committee. The Homeland Security and Government Affairs Committee cleared South Dakota Gov. Kristi Noem to lead the Department of Homeland Security with a vote of 13-2. It also approved Russell Vought for director of the Office of Management and Budget by a vote of 8-7.
Any plans by the GOP to move quickly could get gummed up if Democrats work to slow the nominations, potentially giving Trump and his team an early headache as they push to get his top national security officials in place sooner rather than later.
“We’ll find out what the traffic will bear,” Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R-S.D.) told The Hill’s Al Weaver. “We’re prepared to move and do what’s necessary to get them on the forward path.”