Rubio confirmed as Hegseth, Ratcliffe pass key thresholds
- ️Tue Jan 21 2025
The Senate on Monday voted unanimously to confirm Marco Rubio to serve as secretary of State, making him the first member of President Donald Trump’s new Cabinet. Lawmakers also advanced Trump’s nominations for secretary of defense and CIA director.
The vote to confirm Rubio occurred just hours after Trump’s inauguration. All 99 sitting senators — Ohio’s replacement for Vice President JD Vance has not yet arrived — voted to make Rubio America’s top diplomat.
Rubio, a long-serving Republican senator from Florida, is considered a relative moderate in the GOP and was among Trump’s least controversial cabinet picks. He weathered little criticism from Democrats during his confirmation hearing last week.
Rubio, 53, has vowed to advance Trump’s “America First” vision for foreign policy. He told lawmakers last week that the United States would remain committed to core allies such as Israel and Taiwan while pursuing a more aggressive strategy to counter China and taking a more “realistic” approach to dealing with the war in Ukraine and other global humanitarian crises if they don’t “advance U.S. interests.”
During his confirmation hearing, Rubio signaled the Trump administration would work quickly to achieve a ceasefire between Russia and Ukraine, and predicted that both sides would have to make “concessions.” He also expressed support for the NATO defense alliance, but echoed Trump’s demands that Europe must shoulder more of the financial responsibility.
In the Middle East, Washington’s steadfast support for Israel would remain unchanged, Rubio has said. The Trump administration, he told lawmakers, intends to take a tough approach to adversary Iran, and remain cautiously open to the dramatic changes underway in Syria, where new militant leaders swept to power last month.
Earlier Monday, Pete Hegseth and John Ratcliffe, Trump’s picks to lead the Pentagon and the Central Intelligence Agency, respectively, also mustered approval from the Senate committees overseeing their nominations — necessary steps before they can be considered by the full Senate.
Hegseth, a former Fox News host and soldier in the National Guard whose nomination process has been clouded by allegations of sexual assault, financial mismanagement, excessive drinking and other misconduct, barely scraped by. The Senate Armed Services Committee approved him 14 to 13, along party lines.
Hegseth, 44, who faced withering scrutiny from Democrats during his confirmation hearing last week, is unlikely to win any Democratic support and can afford to lose only three Republican votes when his nomination goes before the full GOP-controlled Senate.
The leaders of the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence, meanwhile, urged a swift Senate-wide vote to confirm Ratcliffe, 59.
“Our world is far too dangerous for any delay in having a Senate-confirmed leader in charge of the CIA. We urge expeditious consideration of this important nomination,” committee chairman Sen. Tom Cotton (R-Arkansas) and Sen. Mark R. Warner (D-Virginia) said in a statement.
The Senate is expected to vote on both men’s nominations this week, though leaders have not yet set a date. Both are expected to be confirmed.