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Senate votes unanimously to confirm Rubio as secretary of state

The Senate’s rare bipartisan display of support for one of its own is unlikely to be repeated for any of Trump’s other Cabinet nominees

Kevin Dietsch/Getty Images

Sen. Marco Rubio (R-FL) testifies during his Senate Foreign Relations confirmation hearing at Dirksen Senate Office Building on January 15, 2025 in Washington, DC.

Sen. Marco Rubio (R-FL), a hawkish supporter of Israel and a harsh critic of Iran and China, was confirmed on Monday evening by a unanimous bipartisan vote as the nation’s 72nd secretary of state

Rubio, the three-term senator who served as the top Republican on the Senate Intelligence Committee prior to being nominated for the secretary of state role, was the first of President Donald Trump’s Cabinet nominees to be confirmed after Trump was sworn in for his second term earlier Monday. 

All 99 senators present — including Rubio himself — voted in favor of his confirmation, a rare sight and one not likely to be repeated for any other Trump Cabinet nominees. Vice President J.D. Vance’s former Senate seat is currently empty.

Shortly before the full Senate vote, both Republicans and Democrats on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee expressed enthusiastic support for Rubio.

“Anyone in America who wants to see what American foreign policy looks like and get a good rundown on it needs to watch that hearing,” Foreign Relations Chairman Sen. Jim Risch (R-ID) told reporters after voting in committee to advance Rubio’s nomination. “He was flawless in his presentation of American foreign policy.”

Sen. Chris Coons (D-DE), who was a close foreign policy ally of former President Joe Biden said he was “happy to vote yes for my friend and colleague Sen. Rubio.”

Risch and Ranking Member Sen. Jeanne Shaheen (D-NH) issued a joint statement on Monday evening saying they “believe that Senator Rubio has the skills, knowledge and experience to lead the department, and his unanimous vote in committee reflects that.”

The smooth process to Rubio’s confirmation — a result of Rubio’s reputation in the Senate for bipartisanship, his friendships on both sides of the aisle and his foreign policy experience and acumen — will likely be the outlier in what are expected to be a series of more bitter and drawn-out battles in the weeks to come.

Separately on Monday, the Senate Armed Services Committee voted 14-13, along party lines, to advance Pete Hegseth’s nomination to be secretary of defense on Monday, the Senate Homeland Security and Government Affairs Committee voted 13-2 to advance South Dakota Gov. Kristi Noem’s nomination to be secretary of Homeland Security and the Senate Intelligence Committee voted 14-3 to advance John Ratcliffe’s nomination to be CIA director. 

Votes on all three nominees, as well as Office of Management and Budget Director-designate Russell Vought, are expected in the coming days.

The Senate Foreign Relations Committee is set to hold a hearing on Tuesday for Rep. Elise Stefanik (R-NY) to be the U.S. ambassador to the United Nations, but the schedule for hearings for other State Department nominees remains under negotiation, Risch said.

With his confirmation complete, Rubio’s first order of business, according to reports, will be meetings on Tuesday with Australian Foreign Minister Penny Wong, India’s Minister of External Affairs S. Jaishankar and Japanese Foreign Affairs Minister Takeshi Iwaya. All three foreign dignitaries are in Washington for Trump’s inauguration. 

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