Trump’s grasp on power tightens as first Cabinet pick Marco Rubio is unanimously confirmed by the Senate

Marco Rubio has been unanimously confirmed by the Senate to become the next secretary of state.

The Florida senator, 53, and former presidential candidate was confirmed with a resounding bipartisan vote from his colleagues and himself. 

His nomination to become the head of the State Department moved through the Senate earlier in the evening among a rash of other Trump Cabinet picks who also advanced key hurdles.

The Senate then moved to immediately consider Rubio’s confirmation before the 100 members, even the Florida Republican himself got to vote on his own fate. 

Rubio’s confirmation keeps in line with a tradition among the Senate to confirm at least one presidential Cabinet member on Inauguration Day dating back to Bill Clinton’s first day on the job. 

Usually the nominees have importance to national security, and as incoming head of the State Department, Rubio will have a lot to handle in that vein. 

Trump wants to take back the Panama Canal, rename the Gulf of Mexico, end the Russia-Ukraine war, and address the Middle East, which he mentioned Monday. 

‘I want to be a peacemaker and a unifier,’ Trump said minutes after being inaugurated. ‘I’m pleased to say that as of yesterday, one day before I assumed office, the hostages in the Middle East are coming back home to their families.’ 

‘America will reclaim its rightful place as the greatest, most powerful, most respected nation on earth, inspiring the awe and admiration of the entire world,’ he added, previewing his ambitions of the U.S. on the world’s stage. 

Rubio is now tasked as the top diplomat of the U.S. to negotiate the complicated global affairs landscape on the president’s behalf and achieve the lofty goals he has set forth. 

Speaking with Canadian counterparts about the America’s northern neighbor joining the U.S. and negotiating with Denmark’s officials to acquire Greenland are serious potential tasks Rubio might be handed.

Rubio even recently led credence to the claims that the Panama Canal is being influenced by China, a main point Trump has made for its reacquisition. 

During his confirmation hearing before the Senate Foreign Relations Committee earlier this month Rubio said the canal must be reevaluated. 

He also suggested the agreement under which the U.S. turned it over to Panama may have been violated.

‘I’m compelled to suspect that an argument could be made that the terms under which that canal were turned over have been violated,’ Rubio said in response to a question by Utah Senator John Curtis.

Rubio said Panama has not turned over sovereignty of the canal, but he raised concerns over the Chinese ports operating on either side of it.

‘In reality, a foreign power today possesses through their companies, which we know are not independent, the ability to turn the canal into a choke point in a moment of conflict,’ Rubio said.

Rubio warned it is a ‘direct threat to the national interest and security’ of the U.S.

In addition to Rubio a cast of Donald Trump’s Cabinet nominees also just inched closer to officially joining his administration on Monday evening.

Pete Hegseth, the former Fox News host whose nomination to become secretary of defense has garnered some controversy, passed out of committee 14 – 13 and will soon be considered for a full confirmation vote.