Marco Rubio Sworn In as Secretary of State, First Trump Cabinet Official

US Secretary of State Marco Rubio and his wife Jeanette Rubio arrive to speak to employees upon arrival at the State Department in Washington, DC, on January 21, 2025. The US Senate unanimously approved Rubio as Secretary of State on January 20, putting the fellow senator on the front line of President Donald Trump's often confrontational diplomacy. (Photo by ANDREW CABALLERO-REYNOLDS / AFP) Photo by ANDREW CABALLERO-REYNOLDS/AFP via Getty Images

Vice President JD Vance conducted the swearing-in ceremony for Marco Rubio as the 72nd secretary of state on Tuesday, who became the first of President Donald Trump’s official Cabinet members.

On Monday, the Senate voted 99-0 to confirm Rubio, a former Republican senator from Florida, to take the position previously held by former Secretary of State Antony Blinken, who served in President Joe Biden’s administration for his entire term.

Rubio had represented Florida in the U.S. Senate since 2011 and stepped down on Monday as Trump was inaugurated as president. He had served as the acting chairman of the Senate Intelligence Committee in 2020 and 2021, as well as chairman of the Joint China Commission between 2017 and 2019.

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis has named state Attorney General Ashley Moody, a Republican, to fill Rubio’s vacated Senate seat.

During the nominating process, Rubio received little pushback from Senate Democrats, with some describing him as qualified to lead the State Department. During questioning, Rubio said the United States needs to take a strong position against the Chinese Communist Party (CCP), calling it a “dangerous” and “potent” foe.

“They’re a technological adversary and competitor, an industrial competitor, an economic competitor, geopolitical competitor, a scientific competitor now in every realm. It’s an extraordinary challenge and one that I believe will define the 21st century,” Rubio said last week in the upper Chamber.

“We’ve allowed them to get away with things, and frankly, the Chinese did what any country in the world would do given these opportunities, they took advantage of it, so now we’re dealing with the ramifications of it,” he said, adding that the United States has to deal with the CCP in a “domestic” manner as well as through foreign policy.

He added, “We have to rebuild our domestic industrial capacity, and we have to make sure the United States is not reliant on any single other nation for any of our critical supply chains.”

Regarding the Ukraine–Russia war, Rubio said that he doesn’t believe it is possible for Kyiv to push Russian forces out of its eastern regions and that the war should end.

“What Vladimir Putin has done is unacceptable, there’s no doubt about it, but this war has to end, and I think it should be the official policy of the United States that we want to see it end,” Rubio said, referring to the Russian president’s invasion of its neighboring state.

When asked about statements Trump has made about retaking the Panama Canal, Rubio told senators that he has not “looked at the legal research” but is “compelled to suspect that an argument could be made that the terms under which that canal was turned over have been violated.”

But, he added, “Panama is a great partner in a lot of other issues, and I hope we can resolve this issue.”

Responding to comments by Trump about the United States assuming control over Greenland, Rubio said that Greenland is strategically important to the West, noting that the United States has had a mutual defense pact with Denmark for years.

The Arctic will “become incredibly critical” in the coming future because the U.S. military needs to have a strong presence there to keep shipping lanes open, he said.

He noted that the navigable Arctic Ocean will open up between Russia and China, requiring that the United States have a stronger presence on the island, currently controlled by Denmark.